Communication and
Globalization
ARIS PET ANGELI A. SUAREZ
THE GLOBALIZATION PHENOMENON
'Globalization' and 'global' are terms we often
encounter today. These terms are associated with
realities outside the territories of nation-states. All
countries are engaged in globalization. Very few (if
any) societies are unaffected by this phenomenon.
Because of this, we need to understand exactly what
it is, and more importantly, how it impacts
communication.
HOW GLOBALIZATION WORKS
➢In simple terms, globalization is the process by which people and
goods move easily across borders. Principally, it's an economic
concept the integration of markets, trade and investments with few
barriers to slow the flow of products and services between nations.
There is also a cultural element, as ideas and traditions are traded
and assimilated.
➢Globalization has brought many benefits to many people. But not
to everyone.
STORM IN A COFFEE CUP
❖To help explain the economic side of globalization, let's take a look at the
well-known coffee chain Starbucks.
❖The first Starbucks outlet opened its doors in 1971 in the city of Seattle.
Today it has 15,000 stores in 50 countries. These days you can find a
Starbucks anywhere, whether Australia, Cambodia, Chile or Dubai. It's what
you might call a truly globalized company.
❖And for many suppliers and jobseekers, not to mention coffee-drinkers,
this was a good thing. The company was purchasing 247 million kilograms
of unroasted coffee from 29 countries. Through its stores and purchases, it
provided jobs and income for hundreds of thousands of people over the
world.
❖But then disaster struck. In 2012, Starbucks made headlines after a
Reuters investigation showed that the chain hadn't paid much tax to the
UK government, despite having almost a thousand coffee shops in the
country and earning millions of pounds in profit there.
❖As a multinational company, Starbucks was able to use complex
accounting rules that enabled it to have profit earned in one country
taxed in another. Because the latter country had a lower tax rate,
Starbucks benefited. Ultimately, the British public missed out, as the
government was raising less tax to spend on improving their well-being.
HOW DID GLOBALIZATION HAPPEN?
•We might think of globalization as a relatively new phenomenon,
but it's been around for centuries.
•One example is the Silk Road, when trade spread rapidly between
China and Europe via an overland route. Merchants carried goods for
trade back and forth, trading silk as well as gems and spices and, of
course, coffee. (In fact, the habit of drinking coffee in a social setting
originates from a Turkish custom, an example of how globalization
can spread culture across borders.)
WHAT DRIVES IT?
▪Globalization has speeded up enormously over the last half-century, thanks to
great leaps in technology.
▪The internet has revolutionized connectivity and communication, and helped
people share their ideas much more widely, just as the invention of the printing
press did in the 15th century. The advent of email made communication faster
than ever.
▪The invention of enormous container ships helped too. In fact, improvements in
transport generally — faster ships, trains and airplanes — have allowed us to
move around the globe much more easily.
WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT?
➢Globalization has led to many millions of people being lifted out of
poverty.
➢For example, when a company like Starbucks buys coffee from
farmers in Rwanda, it is providing a livelihood and a benefit to the
community as a whole. A multinational company's presence
overseas contributes to those local economies because the company
will invest in local resources, products and services. Socially
responsible corporations may even invest in medical and educational
facilities.
➢Globalization has not only allowed nations to trade with each other,
but also to cooperate with each other as never before. Take the Paris
Agreement on Climate Change, for instance, where 195 countries all
agreed to work towards reducing their carbon emissions for the
greater global good.
WHAT’S BAD ABOUT IT?
❖While some areas have flourished, others have floundered as jobs
and commerce move elsewhere. Steel companies in the UK, for
example, once thrived, providing work for hundreds of thousands of
people. But when China began producing cheaper steel, steel plants
in the UK closed down and thousands of jobs were lost.
❖Every step forward in technology brings with it new dangers.
Computers have vastly improved our lives, but cyber criminals steal
millions of pounds a year. Global wealth has skyrocketed, but so has
global warming.
❖While many have been lifted out of poverty, not everybody has benefited.
Many argue that globalization operates mostly in the interests of the richest
countries, with most of the world's collective profits flowing back to them and
into the pockets of those who already own the most.
❖Although globalization is helping to create more wealth in developing
countries, it is not helping to close the gap between the world's poorest and
richest nations. Leading charity Oxfam says that when corporations such as
Starbucks can legally avoid paying tax, the global inequality crisis worsens.
❖Basically, done wisely (in the words of the International Monetary Fund)
globalization could lead to "unparalleled peace and prosperity." Done poorly, "to
disaster."
THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON
COMMUNICATION
As more people cross borders because of globalization, more
language contact happens, making communication more
challenging. Your teacher will ask you to view a video or listen to an
audio-recording titled The Effects of Globalization on Global
Communication by Nikolay Danev.
