Impacts of Globalization

Impacts of Globalization

International Economics: Global and Ethic Markets

Change is something not all people can take lightly. Some are afraid of it, others embrace it. Some are ignorant to its causes, while some fight against the causes. Globalization is one word symbolizing so many things to different people. Basically, globalization is a term involving an intricate cycle of economic, social, technological, cultural and political changes seen as growing interdependence, assimilation and relationships grow between people and companies in different areas.

In today’s world it is relatively simple to witness impacts of globalization just by looking around. Yet it is not simple to find goods that are manufactured in the US actually being sold in the US. Outsourcing to other countries has been the major cause of job loss for US workers and yet we have export totals that are higher than all other nations’. Because the US exports so many goods, foreign countries then see probable growth and invest in US companies. There are also numerous amounts of other positive impacts of globalization. The sales growth has been impacted by a larger demand in global marketplace as well as lowered prices for buyers as a result of bigger competition. And because there is no such thing as a free lunch there are potential negative domestic results like job losses and decreased production, profits, and wages due to growing competition from cheaper labor and production abroad. Globalization can affect everything from states such as Minnesota, to global issues like environment, gender, and human rights.

There are positives and negatives involving globalization in Minnesota companies. According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development as well as Minnesota Technology, Inc., foreign market demands have increased sales and productivity of exports for many Minnesota manufacturers and set the annual export total around $18 billion. In 2003 that total was valued at $10.5 billion. The state’s exports of agricultural commodities and related food products were valued at $2.2 billion in 20021 and annual state exports of services are estimated at about $6 billion. In 2001, foreign-owned companies invested $13.2 billion in gross plant, property and equipment in Minnesota across 796 affiliates employing 108,400 Minnesotans (MN DEED). But the profit of non-exporting manufacturers is being slighted as they experience difficulty with intense rivalry from foreign firms. How might consumers be affected? Well consumers are presented with wider selections and lower costs of imported goods and yet are often ignorant to the fact that local manufacturers lose sales and are forced to cut their workforce to balance this inequality (MN DEED).

Not only do businesses in the Twin Cities face challenges with globalization but Greater Minnesota is then hit even harder because of the unavailability of skilled labor and funding cuts for programs necessary to manufacturing companies. Also, foreign competition is increasingly extending beyond manufactured goods. The increase in outsourcing to other countries for service-industry jobs such as call centers, billing and credit card processing as well as white-collar professional services in such areas as information-technology support, architectural services and engineering has been the major cause of job loss for workers in Minnesota and other parts of the US (MN DEED).

Globalization is a concern today as it is attributed to massive social problems in developing nations. The deterioration of the environment i.e. the destruction of the rain forests, oceans, rivers, and lakes is directly related to overwriting and non-regulation of local environmental laws by corporations in developing countries (Brueggemann). Also within the global society, economic inequality, especially poverty and exploitation of underdeveloped nations, are major social problems due to developed policies between international economic institutions of the International Monetary Fund and the Word Bank, international corporations, and national governments (Brueggemann). These policies can be so harmful to economies that they contribute to horrors such as world hunger, disease, and human trafficking to name a few. Government intervention by regulation, taxation, and redistributing wealth then distorts natural laws of supply and demand. Some economies may suffer disadvantaged at first, but society is better off when the free market is allowed to control itself (Brueggemann).

Gender is essential to modern globalization in manufacturing because it has been discuss at a variety of joint degrees to see if assembly-line workers are to influence global factory regimes and improve the quality of their jobs (Zontian). This knowledge is made a power by workers in that they are able to build effective