Shrinking World by Phillip Ho free essay sample

Technology advanced and the world transformed, from stretches of lands separated by water to the global community. Passer-byers on a street in a major city may see globalisation everyday, anything from billboards advertising coca-cola to an import car, has â€Å"Globalisation! † written all over it. Globalisation can help us explain how the world is changing. It is a process which has changed society and the way people live. Throughout history there are individuals who have been unemployed and hence stressed out. Workers can blame poor effort in application letters, oblivious to the fact that the world is in recession. They are unable to explain failure, if only they possessed a â€Å"sociological imagination†, a term coined by American Sociologist, C. Wright Mills. Others find a job with ease in the midst of an economic boom. They congratulate themselves, without the knowledge that some astronomical figure also got the job. Changes in society explaining events within an individuals life is, the sociological imagination. These examples describe external forces shaping the lives of the individual. A major external force affecting individuals through modern society is globalisation. Globalisation is a key concept used by a sociological imagination to explain modern trends of biography. It is used to distinguish between social issues and private matters. The study of globalisation reveals many truths, the world is getting smaller, closer and individuals are being influenced and affected by various players of globalisation. Information is spread across the globe so fast that the world seems smaller and a trend of society to be influenced by other cultures is imminent and consequently the world forms a global culture. The individual has been empowered by an increase in freely known knowledge. Globalisation has increased the flow of information between nations across the internet. The internet is connected to individuals in industrialised society by those who seek information. Comparisons of prices and specifications for consumer products produced local and foreign are performed. International stock markets can be accessed almost anywhere. Telecommunications are worldwide and satellites broadcast international television everywhere. Word travels fast and within minutes of breaking news it becomes known by all. An entire archive of research papers are available to everyone online, so when it comes time for the office worker to write his next fancy conference speech or university student to write his next essay, he or she will always have an inconceivably large database of information within fingertips reach. Individuals now have an increased ability to plan, organise and schedule their daily routines which make them more in control of their lives. One would think this control gives the individual freedom to choose identity. However, think globalisation and it becomes apparent that conformity to the global culture is more important than freedom. Conformity means everyone buys the same types of clothing, eats the same food and performs the same past-times. This means individuals across the globe are becoming more similar and are consuming similar products. International trade for these products such as jeans and soft drinks are therefore going to be intensely competed for, considering the impact of global advertising and tendencies to go with mainstream preference it becomes harder for new corporations to enter the market. The global culture spreads news of celebrity fashion, music and other consumables quickly. Individuals are likely to follow these consumption patterns because they want to fit into the global culture. This is especially true for those at the age of adolescence. Marxist perspective of conflict holds true in the societal trend of bigger corporations because there is less of them. Markets have become global, global competition have reduced numbers of corporations and therefore the elite minority population dwindles. The surviving few minority dominate the majority in terms of material possession. The individuals in the minority elite group possess power. This culture exists because it is efficient and with such efficiency, frustration is inevitable when something goes wrong and individuals are forced to have patience. Societal institutions expect the world to go faster and people within these institutions grow characteristics associated with this culture. Communication systems have made contact between institutions more efficient and more readily available. The individual in the global society is so used to efficiency that the value of patience was never learnt. An average household may contact government bodies, global corporations and financial intermediaries through telephone hot lines and internet services within minutes. The behaviour of individuals are conditioned to accept efficiency and reject interruptions. Functionalists believe that institutions cooperate to achieve efficiency. For example, public transport is on time for the office workers of a bank institution to be efficient and corporate institutions rely on the bank and so forth. As you can see any interruption along the process and every other body or organisation will be affected. With the entire global society at risk no one can afford to be patient. Individuals in the workforce need to adhere to deadlines which may mean nights without sleep, tiredness and stress. A conversation with someone beyond walking distance is held immediately. Upon returning home or work office, lifting up the phone or turning on the computer is all it takes for an opportunity to engage in work or casual chat between associates, friends, and family. An individual, especially those of introversion may suffer from lack of alone time. Individuals in this new environment can be noted for having less time to just relax and work-life balance has become an issue. This is in contrast to the days of snail mail where global conversations were held on paper and over long periods of time. Individuals may feel trapped because communications are so advanced now that you cannot get away from society. Holidays tours are thus a demand of industrialised societies. Demand in society for faster and higher quality services thrive. There is continual development in internet connection technologies because there is demand for even faster connection speeds. Camera shops have responded to these demands and all of them offer one hour photo service. Express mail has emerged which guarantees next-day delivery. Amongst all of these initiative responses to demand, not one, has reached a satisfactory level of efficiency because society thinks it can go even faster. The cost of of this belief are ultimately placed on individual workers who will accept the cost with expectancy of reward. Motivation is awarded through financial subsidies for over-time shifts. The individual may experience anxiety, frustration and depression because they must work harder and longer hours and job dissatisfaction can occur. Competition within industries have been lifted to the global scale, with an incomprehensive dilemma surrounding the impacts of globalisation and causing problems of job dissatisfaction for the individual. Whilst on the one hand, globalisation has made it easier to find work, by offering work from overseas so workers are no longer confined to local jobs. On the other hand, globalisation has offered the possibility of outsourcing jobs. The impact on the skilled population of workers involves a decrease in job security. This threatens the source of income for the average skilled worker, a reduction in organisational commitment may follow as attitudes and reactions toward the organisation become negative. Routine work such as telemarketing can be offshored to places like India. Even non-routine work such as aircraft maintenance can be re-structured to routine and offshored overseas. Businesses are offshoring more work in order to cut labour costs and focus on core operations, in response to global competition. Developing nations are suddenly finding themselves with higher employment and an increase in urban infrastructure. The individuals in these societies find themselves being able to afford consumer goods, their living standards increase and so too does their life expectancy. The society becomes wealthier but statistics claim that wealth does not necessarily mean happiness. Just because they live a wealthier life in terms of material does not ensure that these individuals are happy. These individuals will begin to experience urban culture and the feelings of isolation and depression which is attributed to office jobs from urban culture. These individuals feel even more depressed upon knowing big businesses may be exploiting their efforts. Marxist view claims globalisation causes conflict between workers and big business. Functionalists perspective sees globalisation as the joining of the worlds institutions as one so we may survive by helping each other. For example, globalisation made it possible to draw financial support from all over the world to the areas affected by earthquake in Sichuan, China. Globalisation has good consequences but those that stand out are its negatives. Big business have gained an opportunity to exploit workers. Businesses would pay workers from developing nations less than half the average wage of a worker under democratic law. The workers would usually be doing equal if not more than their protected counterparts. Feelings of disgust are expressed by individuals in such work environments such as sweatshops, brought to public limelight following the Nike sweatshop controversy. Globalisation has failed in achieving equality and has failed its democratic system by lowering job security in educated professional workers. If job security falls, job satisfaction also falls and this is linked to poor health both mentally and physically. Published studies such as the HERMES (Health and Employment Review: a Meta-Analysis Study) reviews research evidence between work dissatisfaction and well-being. HERMES list of mental health outcomes includes depression, anxiety, burnout and a reduced self-esteem. Physical health conditions include headaches and dizziness, cardiovascular disease and musculoskeletal disorders. Globalisation has unified the vast majority of nations in our world to sustain a life with higher living standards and more variety and to maintain life with growing world populations by lifting productivity.. Open global trade has opened a consciousness into cultures outside of ones own. For example, the Indian curry shop a street away offers its western diners a taste of India. The foreign investment of an overseas venture like Chinese take-away shops give local residents a taste of foods from another culture. The combined knowledge of food recipes and of freer trade is a luxury to those who live in the twenty first century because individuals experience a diet filled with more variety. Pizzas from Italy, dim sim from china, coca cola from America and much more. It would be boring and unpleasant if we maintained an inflexible diet experienced by past generations when only certain foods were available. The trade of resources between nations have sustained a high level of growth in living standards and technologies. For example, the parts for an entire airbus commercial aircraft are manufactured throughout European countries and assembled in France. Without trade, one country on its own would does not have sufficient resources to produce every component with efficiency and be cost-effective. Trade between nations has enabled productivity to reach the level to maintain a larger population as the population growth continues. The acceptance of foreign foods and cooperation on large international projects has helped the individual to accept those different to themselves. Leaders in global society come from all over the world with different cultural backgrounds. Iconic public spokesman such as Oparah Winfrey, Jackie Chan and Dalai Lama is proof that our world is indeed unifying and western culture no longer dominates the global media. The Olympics is a symbol of unity across the world especially so when a different country is allowed to host it each time. The improvements in global relations creates less war and more peace. Living standards are improved because there is consumer confidence in the economy and thus productivity. Globalisation is the reason why we see the made-in-usa Faber Castle pencils in our made-in-china pencil case. We have more of a variety of products because economies of scales may be achieved through specialisation of global trade because of competitive advantages of production that countries naturally possess. The world is more productive and peaceful through globalisation and the individual may live life without fear for safety and security because these needs are already met. World peace has not been achieved but civilisation may celebrate and feel comfortable that there is more peace and less violence because humans of different pigments are growing acceptance of one another. The individual needs for safety and security are being satisfied adequately. For example, a black man in America is much more socially accepted today than half a century ago. Barrack Obamas nomination for presidency. The deregulation of Chinas trade. The growing rate of cross-cultural marriages. This is evidence of the worlds growing acceptance of a superior generation which accepts a multicultural, globalised society. The players and external forces in the process of globalisation have influenced individual. The individual is now more aware of news and information because of telecommunications. The individual is more connected with the world around them and may experience the hype of conformity to mainstream societal consumption trends. Work-life balance has become a problem because individuals can be contacted by work all the time. Social problems of outsourcing mean individual workers experience reduced job security. Exploitation has become a problem in developing countries. The problems of globalisation are balanced by its benefits. Globalisation lifts productivity and sustains a growing global population. Living standards have improved and the individual enjoys a longer life expectancy. There is more peace than violence as cultures grow acceptance of one another. The world is becoming a smaller and more close-knit community. If true wealth is happiness, then the world is becoming, a much wealthier place.