Globalization: A Changing World

Globalization is the interconnection of national economies across the world on issues such as trade, labour, banking and the movement of people, goods and services. Basically this means that each government around the world is allowing their people to do business beyond their own borders. The world is rapidly shifting from self-contained and isolated economies to a more interdependent global economy. In a globally interdependent economy, a Filipino might use a phone designed in the United States that was assembled in China by Apple from components made in Japan and Germany. A phone used by a Filipino is only one of the many examples of globalization.

Globalization is evident in my daily living. From making my breakfast using kitchenware and appliances mostly made in Japan to the air conditioner I use when I sleep at night. In times when the house is too boring, I use my phone to play music through my earphones that were designed in South Korea and assembled in China. Globalization has also affected my choices of books authored by Indians and Americans. My preference for food has also changed due to globalization. Part of the necessities and a little section of who I am is all because of globalization.

Foreign trade, for me, is the most common form of globalization and the highest in profile. The practise of importing and exporting products with other nations is known as Globalized trade. In a typical setting, companies do this in order to access a product that is not found domestically. This will open new markets for their products and find low-cost business environments through comparative advantage. In other words, global trade is bringing something in that you may not typically find at home. Although this is a decreasing category of trade since the advancement of technology has made it possible to manufacture products almost anywhere around the globe. History has been shaped by trade for access, such as the Chinese sailing across the sea to trade porcelain with Filipinos for spices. Today's equivalent might be exchanging foreign money with domestic money.

As the saying goes, “The only constant is change.” Our world as we know it is rapidly changing through globalization. We may not know it but the change is faster than we think. Before people used horses as their transportation but now people can't go by without riding a bus or a car. The global economy is changing due to its changing demands. This is fueled by the growing number of competitors or hypercompetition. These changes have brought advantages and disadvantages. In trade, it has limited barriers across other nations. This encourages most economists and major governments to embrace free trade as an organizing principle of global economics. While globalization allows for a more efficient movement of goods and services, this tends to advantage large companies at the expense of small ones. In our city, I have seen businesses forced to file for bankruptcy due to the influx of competition within their area of business. Nevertheless, due to these new entrants, it has developed the city's economy.

Many have opposed globalization as it vanished the pride of national economy. Many are against it due to the detriment of the middle class because as globalization has turned every economy into a global market many companies now outsource jobs from the developed countries in contrast to developing ones. I may not know every argument introduced by critics and every advantage shown by supporters but I do know that globalization is a reality and it has given the world an opportunity to be more interconnected and a change that we will never forget.

International Business and trade John Paul R. Abul (BAOM2 Ext)