First, economies may become less dependent on single points of failure—and less dependent on China. Fragile supply chains are not an indictment of globalization per se, but of the way companies have become dependent on single sources of supply. It is easy to imagine companies, both on their own and at the behest of their governments, diversifying the supply of key inputs and shifting to domestic or regional production.
Advances in automation and other labor-saving manufacturing technologies would make this easier; continued trade war with China would force it along. Second, economic integration will still take place, but it will continue to shift from the global to the regional and bilateral level. Global multilateral trade talks have gone nowhere since the Uruguay Round in Instead, the European Union concluded separate trade agreements with South Korea and Japan, African countries are talking about a continent-wide trade zone, and a pact similar to the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership has taken effect after Washington withdrew.
The problem is that the preferred remedy—protectionism—makes many problems worse, not better. The coronavirus pandemic may mark the endpoint of the post-Cold War era. The enchantment with ever-greater international integration is gone. But it would be folly to replace globalization with the same kind of isolationism and protectionism that has impoverished nations before. Bush administration. Twitter: RHFontaine. Shusha was the key to the recent war between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Now Baku wants to turn the fabled fortress town into a resort. Argument An expert's point of view on a current event. Demonstrators set up a mock customs checkpoint to protest against potential trade restrictions due to Brexit in Killeen, Northern Ireland, on Feb.
April 17, , PM. Analysis Joseph E. Stiglitz , Robert J. Shiller , Gita Gopinath , Carmen M. The Coronavirus Is Killing Globalization as We Know It The outbreak has been a gift to nativist nationalists and protectionists, and it is likely to have a long-term impact on the free movement of people and goods.
Argument Philippe Legrain. What in the World? November 12, , PM. Trending 1. A Blueprint for Peace in Ethiopia. Blame Brussels. Latest Analysis. Reading Time: 9 minutes. Hire anyone, anywhere, quickly and easily. Use our AI-driven, automated, fully compliant global employment platform powered by our in-house worldwide HR experts. There is no question about it — globalization has transformed the modern world. It shapes, and will continue to shape, the way people do business, travel, and connect.
Globalization provides a wealth of benefits, but it also comes with economic and cultural consequences that can be difficult to navigate. As globalization continues to shape worldwide interactions in commerce, technology, and more, companies will need to understand both its benefits and challenges. Imagine a business call with members of eight different countries. Imagine a joint United Nations peacekeeping mission in which different member nations join forces to save lives on another continent.
You can use a phone to reach someone instantly, no matter how far across the globe that person is. You can Skype, text, or use Whatsapp. You can get on a plane and in a matter of hours show up halfway around the world.
Globalization is part of that shrinking world, bringing people together for common — or competitive — goals. Though, of course, multinational conglomerates see globalization in every aspect of business, even smaller startups and entrepreneur-led businesses will be impacted.
Globalization affects businesses in a variety of ways:. What are the advantages of globalization for businesses?
International cooperation has a number of tangible benefits. The economic benefits of globalization to much of the world are hard to ignore.
Increased trade to larger and more diverse markets results in greater revenues and increased gross domestic product GDP. India, for example, is a country whose GDP has benefited immensely from globalization in the technology sector:. Globalization also means that businesses can realize greater profits by tapping into previously untouched markets and taking advantage of lower local costs.
By expanding into new countries, businesses reach markets that are hungry for their novel goods and eager to pay top dollar for them. They can achieve higher revenues in unsaturated markets while saving money via the lower cost structure that results from cheaper labor, rent, and materials.
Global competition in the markets leads to both quality and affordability. As consumers realize they have a variety of options from all corners of the globe , they will choose to purchase the best and cheapest options, requiring companies to enhance quality and provide affordable prices if they wish to remain competitive. The outsourcing of work also contributes to lower prices, as many companies hire foreign laborers to do the work for lower pay. Combining efforts and resources allows for more creativity and innovation to solve problems that affect people all around the globe.
Conservation efforts and efforts to combat rising carbon emissions, for example, will require a concentrated global effort if they are to succeed. Nongovernmental organizations NGOs use a collaborative approach to address issues that are not confined within borders, such as child labor, human trafficking, and health care and disease prevention. Not all the positive effects of globalization take place at the scale of billions and trillions of dollars.
Cross-cultural exchanges of ideas, food, music, media, and language are just as valuable. Individuals who travel around the world for business or leisure and try different foods, listen to different music, read different books, gain exposure to different media outlets, and learn to express themselves, even poorly, in another language gain a broader perspective on the world.
Their new knowledge helps develop stronger empathy and appreciation for people of other cultures. Arguably one of the top advantages of globalization has been the rapid spread of technology worldwide. Google, Dell, and Microsoft, for example, all have offices on many continents.
Developing countries often appeal to investors because of the huge potential for growth. The resulting advancements lead to results like the spread of motorized farm machinery in Southeast Asia, for instance, where there had previously only been manual labor.
NGOs also compile and spread knowledge. They shared these materials worldwide to help hospitals deal with the illness. For developing countries, especially, being able to skip the long technological development processes of industrialized countries brings rapid progress. The rapid adoption of mobile technology has spurred entrepreneurism in countries like Kenya. Where it is dangerous or difficult to travel, small business owners simply use their mobile phones to reach clients and contractors.
They can also use their phones to track the prices of crops and find out which markets will bring in more money. There are a huge range of opportunities available to companies looking to expand, from access to a global talent pool to an increased volume of information that can be used to position a business.
As it gets easier to enter new markets, there are also more product niches to take advantage of—and new customers to attract. However, to truly go global takes a lot of preparation. Two of the most important steps in this process are to localize and internationalize your product. While both localization and internationalization fall under the banner of globalization, there are some differences between the two.
Internationalization is a corporate strategy that involves making products and services as adaptable as possible, so they can easily enter different national markets.
This often requires the assistance of subject matter experts. Internationalization is sometimes shortened to "i18n", where 18 represents the number of characters in the word. Products intended for use by speakers of multiple languages typically undergo an internationalization process. For example, IKEA internationalizes the assembly instructions for its furniture by using only diagrams and illustrations, without including any text that would need to be translated.
Products with instructions that do require translation are still often written with the goal of being as culturally-neutral as possible. This, of course, is easier said than done. In the case of software products and electronics, internationalization involves a number of different concerns:. According to most definitions, companies must first internationalize before they can localize a product. In the next section, we'll discuss the difference between internationalization and localization.
Localization is the process of adapting a product to a specific target market. This usually happens after internationalization has taken place. As mentioned, McDonald's operates over 30, restaurants in countries. Its worldwide expansion is an example of globalization. By design, the corporation creates a menu adaptable to various local tastes and customs. This policy is an example of internationalization.
Many of the McDonald's restaurants in Israel serve kosher food and drink and close during the Sabbath and Jewish holidays. McDonald's has also opened a meat-free restaurant in India, a country in which much of the population does not eat beef or pork. In both cases, McDonald's has maintained its global brand identity but tailored its products and services for local markets.
These cases exemplify localization. In short, translation refers to the conversion of written text from one language to another, while localization is the process of making a product or message resonate with a specific target culture—as if it were created there in the first place.
For most products, localization includes—but is not limited to—translation. There are many localization challenges. It requires consideration of multiple cultural factors that transcend the words a company uses to describe or explain its product. When creating its film Inside Out , for example, Pixar modified its animation to accommodate multiple versions of a scene where a character points to and reads a sign.
0コメント