Abstract
The phenomenon of globalization has reached a tremendous scale over the past several decades due to the application of innovative data management tools for sharing ideas and experiences. As a result, the modern economy hinges on globalization processes and the opportunities that they provide. Specifically, globalization has affected the rates of employment in a range of countries, as well as the opportunities for international trade.
As seen in the examples of China and Africa, the cooperation facilitated by globalization opens new opportunities, yet also implies dealing with new threats. Specifically, the issue of rivalry between the leading countries and the ones that are starting to gain traction in the global economic community deserves to be mentioned. As China expanded its influence in Africa, the U.S. developed quite a substantial suspicion concerning China’s plans in the specified environment.
Given the opportunities emerging recently in Africa, the importance of cooperating with its states has increased, making the relationships between China and the U.S. rather tense. Nevertheless, the main trends observed in regard to international trade, one may concede that the general impact of globalization is positive. Despite the fact that the changes that globalization provides can be used not only for the benefit of employment and international trade but also for the detriment thereof, the present focus on the use of information and knowledge sharing is likely to make globalization extraordinarily useful for improving employment rates and international trade.
Introduction
With the development of extra opportunities for communication across the world, the process of globalization has gone into a particularly fast phase, reaching a colossal speed. Along with an increase in velocity, the concept of globalization has also gained sufficient influence for affecting nearly every aspect of people’s lives in every state. The issues of employment and international trade have expanded particularly widely with the advent of the last phase of globalization (Rafat 812).
However, though a greater range of opportunities has emerged in labor markets and the global economy, not all of the current changes achieved due to globalization can be defined as unequivocally positive. Nevertheless, the general effect produced by globalization can be characterized as good, with an increase in the number and extent of employment opportunities for minority groups and a rise in international trade.
The goal of this report is to study both positive and negative effects that the increase in the pace and extent of globalization has had on both employment issues and international trade. Despite the advantages of globalization being evident at first glance, there are some problems hiding beneath the surface level of the phenomenon. By considering the hidden disadvantages, as well as the benefits that may not be obvious at first sight, one will establish the strategies for improving the current situation and simultaneously utilizing the opportunities that globalization has provided.
Before considering the subject of this report, one may need several definitions that will allow paving the road to a deeper understanding of the issue. Specifically, the phenomenon of globalization is traditionally interpreted as the “worldwide movement toward economic, financial, trade, and communications integration” and can be applied not only to the economic environment but also to any domain of people’s lives (Foghani 3). Therefore, the notion of globalization exists at the intersection of multiple disciplines, allowing for cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Effects of Globalization on Employment
As the process that expands the extent of communication and collaboration between agents from different countries, globalization affects employment mostly positively. For instance, additional job opportunities have appeared for people due to the options for remote work (Foghani 5). Thus, candidates from different states may appeal for a specific position and be accepted. The specified option is truly irreplaceable for residents of third-world countries, where job opportunities are scarce, and poverty rates are extraordinarily high (Foghani 7). Therefore, the technological aspect of globalization has expanded employment opportunities substantially.
Similarly, companies are now capable of expanding further into the states where they need to reinforce or introduce their presence, thus creating job opportunities for local citizens. Consequently, employment chances have increased substantially. The positive trends described above can be seen as a part of the transition from the industrial society to the information-based one. Over the past decade, information has become the most important asset that a company could hold.
Offering options for improving the supply chain, attracting a massive number of new customers, and expanding into the global market with the help of cross-cultural collaboration, information as an asset has been used by organizations extensively (Dogan 624). The development of globalization trends, in turn, has helped in disseminating critical information and making data readily available to all those interested in expanding the influence of their business (Dogan 624). The resulting effects of globalization on the extent of education, training, and employment opportunities for people all over the world has been astonishing (Dogan 625). Therefore, the importance of globalization as the vehicle for transitioning toward information society should not be underestimated by any means.
Moreover, the number of jobs that companies require to sustain their supply chains and keep the production processes running has increased significantly with the rise in globalization levels. Due to the need to gain traction in new markets and identify new trends, companies need to create new jobs that will help to control the specified issues. In addition, other jobs linked to the challenges that organizations face in a culturally and geographically new environment have been created along with the positions of IT experts and other staff members that have expert technological knowledge (Foghani 6). As a result, the extent of employment has risen in the global market.
However, the observed trend does not imply that the problem of unemployment both at the global and local levels has been resolved entirely. Instead, some of its aspects have been addressed by designing new job positions. Nevertheless, even with the described changes to the labor market landscape, there is the necessity to train candidates and encourage the development of IT and ICT skills that are not yet introduced as an indispensably important part of the curriculum in corresponding academic establishments. Therefore, the current demand for labor force in the globalized context may not align with the existing supply, hence the lingering problem of unemployment as a global concern (Foghani 5).
In addition, the process of globalization and the increasing range of employment opportunities are still correlated to other factors as well. For instance, the extent of technological development within a particular society defines the access to the chances that globalization provides (Foghani 6). Namely, the presence of IT and ICT tools as the indispensable methods of communication between an employee and employer in the environment of the digital market reduces the opportunities for getting a job for people living in remote areas where the said products are rare or unattainable (Dogan 620).
According to Dogan, “In this context, there are a variety of ways in which globalization affects labor: the most important ones are through increased trade, foreign direct investment (FDI) and international technology transfer” (p. 621). Therefore, while the globalization process has contributed vastly to the exchange of information and experience needed for employment, additional assistance is needed to create the
Nevertheless, the general trend in increasing the employment rates and providing extra opportunities for employment need to be recognized. For instance, considering the recent trend in collaboration between China and African states, one needs to note the increase in employment chances for African citizens, which is a huge change given the levels of poverty and unemployment observed in some African states. Although the observed trend may imply that the quality of work provided by African candidates may be slightly lower than the one of rivaling states, professional training and education of staff members will help alleviate the specified disparity in the quality of work.
Therefore, with the advent of globalization, the chances for curbing unemployment rates and addressing some of the most common economic concerns in places such as North Africa can become an achievable objective.
Effects of Globalization on International Trade
The increase in the rate of globalization has defined the relationships in the global setting as geared toward diversity and focused on the multiculturalism aspect of international relationships. Consequently, the instances involving misunderstandings caused by differences in cultures have been successfully overcome, with most states collaborating successfully on the global scale. For example, the relationships between China and western countries, including the U.S. and European states, have been quite positive. Despite the culture gap, there have been very few conflicts that may have hindered the further promotion of cooperation.
Similarly, globalization has had a tremendous impact on the quality and scale of international trade, which can clearly be seen when studying the example of China and its African partners. Before the advent of globalization, the collaboration between Chinese and African organizations would have been almost impossible or, at the very least, financially insensible due to the long supply chain and the expenses taken to perform logistics-related processes. The introduction of the tools that globalization has supplied has, in turn, made the China-Africa partnership and trade possible.
However, from the diplomatic perspective, the introduction of globalization-driven tools into the promotion of the partnership between China and Africa may have been a rather questionable idea. A single look at the current atmosphere within the global political arena has shown that the Chinese-American rivalry for African collaboration may have introduced significant tension into the relationships between the U.S. and China.
Indeed, the importance of cooperating with African countries due to the resources and quality that they can offer has been the main driver behind the increase in competition among numerous countries in collaborating with African ones (Dogan 631). While American companies seem to have been particularly geared toward studying the benefits of collaboration with African organizations, Chinese firms seem to have become an important rival in gaining influence and power in the African market (Foghani 4). Therefore, the increase in the rivalry levels between China and the U.S. can be seen as other effects of globalization on international trade.
As emphasized above, the outcomes of the rivalry in question are not necessarily entirely negative. Quite the contrary, U.S. organizations could use some competitive force in the global market in order to improve the quality of their services, the efficacy of their supply chains, and some of the communication strategies used in the global market. However, at the same time, it is important to maintain the atmosphere of collaboration in the global economic setting, which the current situation disrupts. Additionally, it is highly questionable that China will be able to withstand the economic opposition of the U.S.
However, as the situation described above has shown, the collaboration between China and African states has also contributed to the latter receiving a greater amount of international aid. The tremendous importance of international aid for African states that are on the verge of mass poverty needs to be mentioned to see the entirety of the positive effect that the specified change has brought to the specified part of the African continent. There is no secret that the lack of natural resources and the crippling poverty make a substantial part of African states practically exempt from international trade. Therefore, the introduction of international support that globalization provides is a critical outcome of the globalization process that needs to be marked when studying its outcomes.
Additionally, the opportunities for sharing knowledge and experience that globalization provides can become the catalyst for international tare as well. Namely, using the promotion of global education to manage some of the cross-cultural issues causing conflicts should become an important trend (Rafat 817). Thus, organizations will be able to collaborate internationally without the threat of misconstruing important messages. As a result, the efficacy of trade will increase since target audiences will receive the key messages introduced by companies. As a result, both relationships with customers and employees will improve tremendously, leading to increased sales and a better reputation.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The increase in the pace of globalization has sent ripples across the entirety of the global economic setting. As a result, the issues such as employment and international trade have been affected significantly. It is also highly advised to consider the nature of tensions in the global economic market since the current Chinese policy toward collaboration with African states may affect the relationships between China and the U.S. Although the exact solution to the identified problem seems to be quite obscure at present, the tools for promoting peaceful management of key economic and political issues with the help of diplomacy should become the main vector in the development of relationships in the global setting.
Finally, it is necessary to keep in mind that the concept of globalization in its purest form is neutral in its nature. As a phenomenon, globalization is neither entirely positive, nor completely negative but, instead, represents a combination of the two effects. Along with evidently positive outcomes, there are several adverse ones that will affect the opportunities for employment and ruin the premises for international trade. Therefore, these are the intentions with which the notion of globalization is used that define the efficacy of the latter in the global context. Consequently, it is recommended that globalization and the impact that it produces should be analyzed from a multitude of perspectives before making the decision concerning the choice of a specific strategy in the global political and economic environment.
Works Cited
Dogan, Buhari. “The Effects of Globalization on Employment: Bounds Test Approach in Turkey Sample.” Asian Economic and Financial Review, vol. 6, no. 10, 2016, pp. 620-633.
Foghani, Sara, et al. “Promoting Clusters and Networks for Small and Medium Enterprises to Economic Development in the Globalization Era.” SAGE Open, vol. 7, no. 1, 2017, pp. 1-9.
Rafat, Monireh. “The Effects of Trade Integration, Globalization and Foreign Direct Investments on Employment in Iranian Manufacturing Sector.” Iranian Economic Review, vol. 22, no. 3, 2018, pp. 811-831.