Chloe Conway Yr11 student from The Herts and Essex High School chose the evocative topic of globalisation to research whilst on her virtual work experience placement. 

In the modern day, globalisation shares a hand in hand relationship with technology. From technology enabling us to easily communicate with each other, to technology processing our data faster than ever before; technology has sky rocketed globalisation in the recent decades. This somewhat complex phenomenon has led to the world now being called by many as a “global village”. To put it in perspective how far globalisation has developed, would you believe that back then, it took 1000 years for the invention of paper to travel from China to Europe? However now in a matter of seconds, a message can be sent to the other side of the world to whom you may desire, at any time of the day.

What is globalisation and why is it important?

Globalisation is a relatively new term. Invented in the 1970’s, the word was made to describe the process in which people, businesses and even governments worldwide interact with each other. This certainly means that the world has seen a large increase in trade and cultural exchange between countries. 

Moreover, globalisation has been able to open up international access for many. It has meant that we are now able to have a freer movement of capital, goods and services. The use of digital communication has allowed small businesses to open doors to the international market which they can reach through platforms such as social media, website content and mobile marketing campaigns etc. For example, if you happen to sell a product to the UK market, it’s now undeniably easy to promote and sell your products across the borders. 

The impact of technology on globalisation 

Information technology has played a vital part in global growth as knowledge and expertise on subjects can shared far quicker than ever before. First, digital networks such as the internet which is currently being used by 4.57 billion active users as of April 2020 has led to production works being made cheaper and easier. Without such technological advancements, globalisation would have not been possible to the level it is at now. This can rightly be said as one of the most fundamental factors which has benefited globalisation economically.

Similarly, technology has impacted globalisation culturally from such inventions like the TV and the telephone. The telephone has made it feasible for us to reach out and talk to people regardless of their geographical location whilst the TV has enabled us to explore content from across the globe, diversifying our entertainment watching for the better. An example could be the award-winning Korean movie “Parasite” which recently swept the Oscars by storm as it was the first ever non-English movie to win “best picture”. This achievement would have never been able to happen if the creation of the TV was never invented.

The drawbacks

Although many extraordinary outcomes have been because of globalisation and technology, we cannot deny that there are still many unfortunate consequences present such as the failure to deliver equal human and labour rights across the world. It is clear to us that major companies are regularly taking advantage of the cheap labour costs in low income countries. This means that many labour workers receive hardly any pay and poor working conditions whilst the managers, founders and investors thrive. Globalisation is meant to enable us to become closer to one another however when it is clear to us that these terrible repercussions happening, are we really sure that globalisation is advancing, or do we see a reversal in our progress? 

In addition, globalisation revolves around the basis that we are able to trade goods and services between countries but what happens if something hinders that? Since the hit of Covid-19, the trade between countries has dramatically slowed down. In the last two decades, China has become a crucial part of the global economy and as of today, around 20 percent of global trade in manufacturing intermediate products originates in China. Many companies relying on products from China are now experiencing shortages of what they need and therefore, this impacts their overall performance capabilities, exports to around the world and the economy dramatically.

In conclusion, despite there being some downsides to the way globalisation has changed our world, it is definitely exciting to see how technology has brought countries closer together and has allowed to communicate. Technology has already revolutionised the way we all live our lives and it will be fascinating to see how much more progress will happen in the years to come.

Chloe Conway

The Herts and Essex High School

Sources

https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ditcinf2020d1.pdf?user=1653

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikecollins/2015/05/06/the-pros-and-cons-of-globalization/#4e068462ccce

https://blogs.imf.org/2018/04/09/globalization-helps-spread-knowledge-and-technology-across-borders/

https://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/globalisation-benefits-and-drawbacks

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/globalization-become-important-77671.html

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/08/globalisation-has-the-potential-to-nurture-innovation-heres-how/