Globalisation

Definition

For a concept that has attracted so much attention, it is surprising that there is no internationally agreed definition. A quick search on the internet will provide you with many different, but equally valid definitions. They include:

A set of processes leading to the integration of economic, cultural, political, and social systems across geographical boundaries. www.hsewebdepot.org

The process of developing, manufacturing, and marketing products that are intended for worldwide distribution. This term combines two aspects of the work: internationalisation (enabling the product to be used without language or culture barriers) and localisation (translating and enabling the product for a specific locale). www.cit.gu.edu.au

A relatively new word that is commonly used to describe the ongoing, multidimensional process of worldwide change. It describes the idea that the world is becoming a single global market. It describes the idea that time and space have been shrunk as a result of modern telecommunications technologies which allow almost instantaneous communication between people almost anywhere on the planet.... www.takebackwisconsin.com

More cynical writers refer to the process of globalisation as the “coca-colonisation of the world”. This definition refers to the fact that opponents of this process see globalisation as the gradual domination by companies from the United States of America of all global markets.

We will define globalisation in a simple way. Globalisation refers to the increasing integration of international economies, largely due to the impact of changing technology.

In other words, a person from one country is now far more likely to use products from another country than they were one hundred years ago. The volume (and value!) of international trade is increasing every year. At your local supermarket you will find dates from Iran, apricots from Turkey and biscuits from the Netherlands. We drive cars from South East Asia and Europe. This website is being created on a computer from Taiwan which was built with a processor from Japan, and software which was developed in the United States, and then made available though a distribution company in Singapore. Since this site opened in 2004, it has been accessed by people in over 140 countries. Now that is globalisaton!

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