On the first decade of the 21st
century, some scholars argued
that it is a process. For some, it is
a condition while others describe
it as an ideology.
McGrew (1990), says it is a
process in which individuals
and organizations in one
part of the world are
affected by the activities,
affairs, and convictions on
another part of the globe.
He also described it as something
that is comprised of multiple
sameness and
interconnectedness that go
beyond the nation-states.
For Arjun Appadurai,
different kinds of
globalization occur on
multiple and
intersecting dimensions
of integration that he
calls “scapes.”
Ethnoscape - global movement of
people.
Mediascape - the flow of culture
Technoscape - refers to the
circulation of mechanical goods
and software
Financescape- denotes the global
circulation of money
Ideascape- realm where political
ideas move around
Manfred Steger (2005), uses the term
globality to mean globalization as a
condition. For him, globality denotes
“future social condition characterized
by thick economic, political, and
cultural interconnections and global
flows that make currently existing
political borders and economic
barriers irrelevant.”
Manfred Steger (2014b),
uses the term globalism to
mean globalization as an
ideology.
Globalization as an ideology
Five (5) core claims of globalism:
1) It is about liberalization and
global integration of markets;
2) It is inevitable and irreversible
3) Nobody is in-charge of it;
4) It benefits everyone;
5) It furthers the spread of
democracy in the world.
Globalization is defined
differently depending on
someone else’s expertise,
experience, and perspective.
For Political Scientist, it serves
as a challenge to nation-states.
For Economist, it means increase of
free trade, speed of trade, global
economic organization, and regional
trade blocks.
For Sociologists, they may see
globalization as the mixing of
cultures, ideas, and lifestyles, which
impacts how people relate to each
other.
There is also the intense
establishments of economic organization
such as the International Monetary Fund
(IMF), World Bank (WB), World Trade
Organization (WTO), International lAbor
Organization (ILO), European Free Trade
Act (EFTA), Mercusor, ASEAN Free Trade
Area (AFTA), and Trans-Pacific University.
More so, globalization is referred to
as cultural imperialism. It is the
conviction that there is a “better”
culture. Some cultures see other
cultures as superior to theirs,
forming inferior or nondominant
cultures.
One objective working definition is
that of Steger’s (2013):
“Globalization is the expansion and
intensification of social relations
and consciousness across world-
time and across world-space.”
From this definition, four attributes
of globalization can be drawn.
1) It has various connectivity such
that it can be economic, political, or
cultural. These forms enabled by
various factors, pressures, or media,
affect degrees of interconnections.
2) Globalization allows for the expansion and
stretching of social relations.
3) Globalization intensifies and accelerates
social exchanges and activities.
4) Globalization occurs worldwide. Every person
is a global citizen because they think about the
issues of the world.
The reality and omnipresence of
globalization makes us see
ourselves as part of what we refer
to as “global age” (Albrow, 1996).
Some view globalization as a positive
phenomenon. Swedish journalist
Thomas Larsson (2001) saw
globalization as “the process of
world shrinkage, of distances getting
shorter, things moving closer.
On the other hand, some see it occuring
through and with regression, colonialism,
and destabilization. In mid-1990s, Martin
Khor, former president of Third World
Network (TWN) in Malaysia, once
regarded globalization as colonization.
Robert Cox says, “ the characteristics of
the globalization trend include the
internationalizing of production, the new
international division of labor, new
migratory movements, the new
competitive environment that
accelerates these processes, and the
internationalizing of the state… making
states into agencies of the globalizing
world”
The phenomenon of Globalization is a
fact of life. According to Stoner et.
Al. (2006, pp. 78-81), the
phenomenon of globalization
consists of three interrelated
factors– proximity, location, and
attitude.
PROXIMITY
Organizations now operate in
much closer proximity than ever
before to a greater number and
range of customers,
competitors, suppliers, and
government regulators.
LOCATION
The location and integration of an
organization’s operations across several
international boundaries is part of
globalization. This new organizational
scheme is termed transnational
management to describe this growing
practice of spreading an organization’s
operations across many nations.
Attitude
Globalization refers to a new, open attitude
about practicing management internationally.
This attitude combines a curiosity about the
world outside one’s national borders with a
willingness to develop the capabilities for
participating in the global economy. Ohmae
(1990) makes this point clear in the simple
statement, “nothing is ‘overseas’ anymore”