INTERNATION BUSINESS MARKET : GLOBALISATION

Internation Business Market : Globalisation

Internation Business Market : Globalisation

Part 1:

Elements of Globalization

From the beginning, the term "globalization" meant quite different things to different people (Kitching, Gavin 2001, 72-87). The 1998 winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, Amartya Sen, defined it as the "intensification of the process of interaction involving trade, migration and dissemination of knowledge that has shaped the progress of the world over millennia" (Gerber,,2002) It is widely accepted that the key characteristics of globalization have been the international trade, movement of people, and the emergence of massive cross-border capital flows. This resulted in increased competition in global markets. It is also widely acknowledged that this has come about through the combined effect of two underlying factors: policy decisions to reduce national barriers to international economic transactions and the impact of new technology, especially in the sphere of information and communications. These developments created the conditions for the explosion of globalization. Here are the key elements of globalization: (Kitching, Gavin 2001, 72-87)

Elements of Globalization

Globalization can be considered a process: a lengthy and often times convoluted process in which movement in one direction or the other is estimated by porous boundaries, shifting alliances, and seemingly contradictory patterns. The major elements of globalization - the impact of trade agreements; the fetters on cross- border capital movements; the effects of migration patterns; the accessibility and transparency of information; and the spread of technology - ebb and flow from the vicissitudes of political, cultural, and economic conditions. (Kitching, Gavin 2001, 72-87)

Below is an explanation of the characteristic elements attached to Globalization: (Kitching, Gavin 2001, 72-87)

Electronic Resources/Finding Aids

Trade Agreements - Bilateral, regional or multilateral economic arrangements designed to reduce or eliminate trade barriers.

Capital Flow - Measurement of an increase or decrease in a nation's domestic or foreign assets.

Migration Patterns - Impact of labor market fluidity on production costs through the loss (emigration) or gain (immigration) of potential workers, especially those with particular skills.

Information Transfer - Communication trends that help mitigate the asymmetric functioning of markets and economies.

Spread of Technology - Rapid dispersion of the means and methods of producing goods and services.

Predating the term globalization by centuries, 'cosmopolitan', which derives from the Greek word kosmopolitês ('citizen of the world'), had as its core the belief that all human beings belong to a single community. Although the term has had a checkered history (and for the most part is out of fashion), that piece of cosmopolitanism which advocated the benefits of shared markets serves to inform the movement toward globalization today. Still, like its predecessor term, the cloudy concepts behind Globalization have empowered its fierce critics to decry the perceived naive or unsavory motives of its advocates. Listed below are sources designed to provide both an introduction to the elements used to describe globalization and a pathway for further research. (Kitching, Gavin 2001, 72-87)

The first important component of the latest process of globalization is the growth of international trade relative to global Gross Domestic ...