Globalization: A Whole New World

Before reading chapter one in Global Issues, Local Arguments, I can honestly say I wasn’t very knowledgeable on the matter of globalization. I wasn’t sure but the word globalization in my eyes was very much technology based; a world where technology was advancing by the minute. As a matter of fact, I went online and actually read a couple definitions of globalization before I began reading the chapter. The first of the definitions I came across was in the Webster’s dictionary that defined globalization as “the act or process of globalizing: the state of being globalized”. With that definition alone, my confusion of the matter deepened. So I began to read the first chapter with an expectation to put in plain English to me what exactly globalization is. I must add that Heinrichs did a good job of just that; stating his ideas in the most plain and effective way possible. As I began reading in the textbook, I realized globalization is very much, as I thought before, based on advancement. Not just advancement in technology but even as far as markets, economy, communication, and etc. The deeper I read, the more I realized. As positive as “advancement” sounds, there are always the good and bad to any idea. I even realized that my family was directly impacted negatively by globalization. About a year ago, my single mother of two children was laid off. She was working for one of the largest accounting firms in the world who did business for big names such as Coca Cola and Disney World. As secure as her job seemed, my mother’s “secure” job along with her whole department was relocated to a remote city in India where labor was much less expensive. As positive as the advancement was for the firm and the Indian economy, it was a negative outcome for my mother. From this point I’m excited to further explore the matter…