By: Tanraj Mand and Pravinth Goban
Globalization has caused a massive increase in production rates for a business, which means more natural resources are being used. The speed at which the companies use these natural resources has become more significant than the rate the resources grow at harming the environment. Furthermore, globalization caused an increase in the transportation of raw materials, which puts a strain on non-renewable resources such as gasoline. Also, many developing countries are much less strict with their rules on protecting the environment. Due to this, multinational companies leave their countries to take advantage of the less stringent regulations in developing countries and manufacture products there.
EXAMPLE: Amazon was accused of giving poor working conditions in its warehouses. There was a case in a UK Amazon warehouse where a six-month pregnant woman was given no special treatment and was told off by the manager for not keeping up.
Globalization has authorized multinational companies to make decisions at the government’s expense and citizens within society. These corporations are accused of social justice and having unfair working conditions such as slave labour salaries and poor living conditions. These corporations also show very little concern for the environment and the damage done to the ground. Also, many people are afraid that corporations are starting to rule the world due to the power they are gaining from globalization.
EXAMPLE: The home improvement company Lowe’s, which is headquartered in North Carolina, had laid off around 125 workers in June 2017, which jobs would be done by people in Bangalore, located in Southern India. The company did this to cut costs as they would be paying a lot less to manufacture products in Bangalore, India. Also, this takes up more and more of India’s natural resources.
All countries have their own culture. They have their values and beliefs, which are used to raise young children to what is supposed to be expected of them in that specific society. Nonetheless, due to globalization, people have thought differently about what culture they should be following and how they should behave in society. Many people who have immigrated from developing countries to Western civilization have abandoned their old culture and have taken on the western culture. Community leaders aren’t able to go after their domestic policy. They have to penalize people for crimes committed as they did before, as they are regarded as primitive by international society. People get accustomed to a culture that is very far in nature from the one they’re used to, and people act regardless of the laws. There is an increase in crimes as rape, divorce, and domestic violence continue to rise.
EXAMPLE: Cities are becoming clones of each other, and the uniqueness of cities/countries is being lost. Traditional clothing is starting to fade away as big brands create new looks. Morocco has become a very similar place to Spain, and people in large cities such as New York have lost turned faded away from their primitive culture to the western style culture.
Most people relied on casual jobs in several different industries before Globalization had started taking its course. Due to the advancement of technology, many job opportunities have been reduced. People who live in developing countries don’t have any advanced skills, and the jobs available for them are usually very underpaying as they are high in demand. Many people cannot pay their bills due to being unemployed, resulting in people resulting in criminal acts to make ends meet. The unemployment/poverty rate rises as the wealth gap between rich and poor people widen.
EXAMPLE: India’s youth unemployment rate has increased from 17% to 23 % in the last 20 years, ranging from ages 15-24, and the unemployment rate in South Africa has increased from 22% to 28% over the previous ten years.
Through globalization, the consumption of processed goods has been acquired, and chemicals are being used to shorten the period for the growth of crops to maximize businesses’ profit. Animals are being fed, which causes them to produce more milk or increase their weight for the animals sold in the meat industry. Since these animals are taking in chemicals, chronic disease rates have grown, causing the mortality rate to increase. This led to reduced lifespan in developing countries.
EXAMPLE: In middle-income countries such as China, the number of elderly people in China is expected to increase from 9.5% to 20% from 2015 to 2040, causing a potential 200% increase in deaths from cardiovascular disease.
Globalization Positive and Negative Impacts
Positive
Access to Goods and Services
Before, getting imported products overseas was deemed for the higher class and very expensive, like china teapots or London tea brew. Still, with globalization, it had given consumers access to these products with a wider variety. Globalization had allowed more goods and services to be accessible to an immense amount of people at a relatively low cost. It also gives access to technology and goods to countries with no access to them or third-world counties.
Example: Many countries cannot grow certain foods due to unsuitable weather climates and some restrictions. Like in Canada, we cannot grow mangoes, bananas or any exotic fruit naturally or enough to sustain demand. So we import these goods from other countries where these foods or goods can produce and ship. Same from Canada, as our country is number one in exporting maple syrup and maple syrup products to other countries that don’t have access to it.
Creates Jobs
As companies expand their business overseas to foreign or third-world countries, it opens up job opportunities for the area’s local population. Even though it is competition for local companies and may lead them to go out of business, it still creates more jobs than lost. It also helps boost the economy of the market of the country through tariffs and goods production.
EXAMPLE: McDonald’s new job training and apprenticeship programs are looking forward to globally tackling youth unemployment rates. They are hoping to put 64 million youths between the age of 16-24 that are statistically reported unemployed in America. The initiative is also looking towards removing employment barriers for the 2 million younger workers globally by 2025.
Access to New Markets
Before globalization, a business would only have access to the domestic market and sell their products and services to customers in their country. But with globalization, you can expand your customer base and having a diverse revenue stream through access to new and foreign markets. It allows companies to create innovative businesses overseas and expand their access to different needs and help the world economy.
Example: Macdonalds first entered china’s market in 1990 and today are trying to expand their branch by 2000 more restaurants in the county by the end of 2022. With Macdonald’s access to china’s market, they have over billions of new customers, and in 2018, they got 24.8 billion yuan in revenue alone.
Free Trade
Consumers can buy products from anywhere globally at reduced prices without a border, but still have restrictions and tariffs. With free trade, countries can import and export goods without tariff barriers or non-tariff bounders. In the end, it would lead to lower prices for consumers, increased export and import, more excellent choice of goods and benefits the economy. Doing so would also allow increased competition, cut the product’s cost, increase efficiency, and present domestic monopolies from high charing prices.
Example: The CUSMA trade agreement is a free trade deal between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. With this agreement, businesses are encouraged to more foreign trade, inter-national and inter-country exchanges, which support all three countries’ economies.
The Spread of Technology and Innovation
It took over 1,000 years for the technological advancement and innovation of paper to spread to China and Europe. Still, now with the spread of technology with globalization, countries across the world can remain connected. With this, more knowledge, innovation and technological advancements can travel quickly across the globe and help the economy at the same time.
Example: Scientific advancements for the Coivd-19 cure in China can reach the USA in a matter of days.
Negative
Multinational Companies Power Gain
Causes Environmental Damage
Abandonment of Culture
Increased Lifestyle Diseases
Unemployment in Developing Countries
