Project Direction - 1 (Globalization)

As an MBA student, I'm very interested in the area of Globalization and its effects on the business and economics. This is an area that was not taught in business schools as recently as a decade ago, and has only lately become a required course in many MBA curricula, including San Jose State University (the class is "Global Business Environment"). I consider myself well-read in the area having followed the news for the past few years on how the businesses in the USA and especially Asia have been impacted by the global free market.

This is related to the field of Organizational Communication because Organizations are no more limited by geographical barriers. I've used audio and video conferencing with my colleagues in Germany and other parts of the world. I've interacted with teams in other companies located on the other side of the globe - I dial into the meeting at 6am California time they attend the same meeting at 10pm local time!

A Critique of Globalization

I only partially agree with the textbook's section on the criticism of Globalization. I respect the view that globalization has mostly ignored the social and political concerns, and concentrates on the economic aspect to cater to the profit-mongering multinational companies. My uncle who lives in India still complains about the local McDonald's and Pizza Huts and feels that they are trying to "take over" the traditional and rich cuisine of India. He sincerely believes that there is a conspiracy to "convert" Indians to American cuisine. My uncle's feeling may seem funny, but that sentiment is likely shared by a large number of people in India.

I do not fully agree with the textbook's criticism of globalization, because I believe that social and political issues can be addressed only in the context of economic issues. The global free market has lifted many millions of people from poverty, and will continue to do so for some decades in the future, and hand in hand with economic development comes education with its socio-political ramifications. Presently, economic issues are taking center-stage, but there will certainly be a time for political and social discussions and development.

Globalization, Communication and the Internet

I enjoyed reading the book "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman, which is about the business world becoming increasingly globalized. In this book, Friedman makes the bold assertion that the economic world of today is now "flat" in the sense that the business playing field has been leveled, and that all countries can now compete with one another in the global market-place on almost equal footing.

One of the major reasons for this leveling is due to the invention of the internet. Companies in the USA can now easily transfer work - especially software-based work - to other parts of the world via the medium of the internet, and people across the globe can communicate and work as though they are across each others' desks. This medium of communication was unavailable a few decades ago, and has since revolutionized communication and job functionality. Whether it is by emails or web-based software applications or online shared folders, there are innumerable ways that the internet has changed the way we communicate in the workplace.

According to Friedman, in the future, it is not going to matter whether someone is born in America or China or Australia, but whether that person is able to deliver value-added goods to any part of the world. The internet is one of the chief inventions that is responsible for this change.