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Essay / Globalization: discussion of views, advantages and disadvantages in relation to global businesses
Globalization is a dynamic topic originally developed by Harvard Business School professor Theodore Levitt in the 1960s. The term globalization, in simple terms, refers to "the effect of business expansion over time." 'global scale' (Wetherly & Otter, 2011, The Business Environment) and the impact of international trade and services. While globalization has certainly allowed developing countries to access our markets and grow, many argue that it has made “the rich richer while making the non-rich poorer.” With increasing globalization, many industries are transforming, with the impact of foreign competition leading to changes in employment opportunities as well as relocations of production sites. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get the original essay The recent wave of corporate globalization has given rise to various attempts to develop international guidelines to control the ethics of 'a business and ensure that human and workers' rights violations are eradicated. The idea of globalization has three competing views; the neoclassical vision, the Marxist vision and the structuralist vision. In this essay, I will discuss these views, examining the advantages and disadvantages of global business and describing the effect of this process on the global market. The first perspective on globalization that I will discuss is the neoliberal view. This ideology focuses on the benefits of globalization for an economy and supports the argument that market liberalization enables the expansion of international markets as well as the growth of both developing and developed countries. (211, Wetherly and Otter, 2011, The Business Environment). This perspective was particularly popular in the 19th century, when industrialization first made it possible to produce a range of products across the world. However, at that time it was accepted that more industrialized countries would focus on manufactured goods while less industrialized countries would handle raw resources due to low labor and material costs. This is the “international division of labor” (http://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/sociology-and-social-reform/sociology-general-terms-and-concepts-48 ), an idea in line with the neoliberal vision, creating an “increasing differentiation of economic activity”, thus emphasizing the benefits of globalization. However, this idea has been criticized due to the inequalities it can create and "after 1945, both developed and developing countries chose to intervene in markets and engage in trade protection policies." The idea of neoliberalism saw a resurgence in 1989 when John Williamson, an English economist, put forward the idea of the Washington Consensus. The Washington Consensus is a set of 10 economic policies designed to reduce government spending with ideas such as removing government control over industries, as well as redirecting tax breaks for the wealthy, reducing tariff barriers, and privatization state-owned enterprises. These economic ideas, however, have their drawbacks. For example, privatization of state-owned enterprises can lead to neglect of the poor and widening the gap between rich and poor. Some also claim that the idea of redirecting public spending towards the public sector is oftenneglected, with emphasis on market-oriented policies. The second perspective on globalization is the Marxist/radical view that globalization is a bad thing. The embodiment of this view is Karl Marx, whose theories are still useful in today's globalized economy. Marx's views reinforce the idea that "globalization is the result of the worldwide expansion of capitalism" and will ultimately lead to a revolution against the owners of capital due to the exploitation of less developed countries. These ideas were then later developed by radical writers such as Robert McChesney, who argued that globalization is "capitalism constituted on a transnational basis, not only in the trade of goods and services but, more importantly, in capital flows and trading in currencies and financial instruments”. (McChesney, 1998) Many people have even linked globalization to the construction of imperialism, "the practice of one nation extending its influence, taking control of other countries, whether through colonization or through recourse to military force. Although these theories have strived to create a system of true equality and benefit society, they still have drawbacks. The Marxist approach requires people to live within a community and allows private property. This limits the public's control over where they live and their businesses, decreasing the incentive to work, while limiting opportunities for new business owners because their business would be owned by the government. The final perspective on globalization is the structuralist approach, namely that globalization has the potential to enable industrialization in less developed countries without limiting the success of current global companies that can rely on these countries for their manufacturing activities. This approach was originally developed by Amartya Sen, Nobel Prize winner in economics in 1998, and emphasizes the need for “late industrialization”. For these countries to “penetrate the market”, they need structures that help and assist them. Farmers in these countries may not have access to the information needed to expand and start trading in the open market. Structures such as higher education must therefore be put in place to ensure that these farmers have a fair chance. One of the most visible examples of globalization is large cities like New York and Tokyo, all of which share many similarities due to globalization. These cities, in particular, have become information centers despite a period of deindustrialization due to globalization. “Manufacturing automation reduces industrial presence” (Reitz, Globalization and Society, 2003) as factories are offshored and replaced by knowledge-based activities such as marketing and design. This can be seen recently in Birmingham. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a personalized essay. Globalization is happening right now and so perhaps the argument should focus less on whether it is beneficial or not, but let's look more at the effect that globalization can have on the global environment and possible ethical exploitations of large multinationals. In recent times, pressures have increased for global businesses to act in a socially responsible manner. Several international institutions have established various guidelines, such as the United Nations Charter or the World Trade Organization,..