Globalization broadly refers to the process through which people and countries integrate economically, culturally and politically into a large community. Initially started during the slave era, globalization has over time brought people and nations together through advancements in technology that erases barriers of time and distance as well as improved flows of information that promotes greater awareness.
In this context, globalization refers to the expansion of economic actions across national borders, yielding systems of production, trade, and consumption that link geographically dispersed regions into a common, highly interwoven system (Vallas, Finlay and Wharton 316).
Contemporary globalization has facilitated the swift transmission of capital and jobs abroad to take advantage of low-priced labor. Nowadays, nations enjoy cheap products manufactured overseas through importation.
Globalization has also resulted in mass relocation of workers from across countries who hope to find better-paying employment in wealthier nations. New immigrants have become a source of cheap labor to employers in the wealthier nations.
Arguments used to explain contemporary globalization
Recent technological advancements have considerably aided the pace of contemporary globalization. Technological innovation has reduced economic distances in terms of both time and cost. Emergence of jet planes, satellite communication, internet and fiber-optic cables have improved transport and communication. Advances in communication have enabled companies to break up the production process into definite steps.
They are able to produce goods in various locations that enable them minimize costs. As a result, modern products are assembled from components outsourced from different countries. The revolution in information technology has facilitated global trade in a range of services that vary from call center operations to advanced medical, engineering, legal and financial services. Globalization has led to outsourcing of many services and in the process expose jobs held by the U.S. labor force and other countries to international competition.
International specialization and division of labor significantly explain contemporary globalization. The breakdown of production processes into smaller parts and subsequent placement in the hands of supervisors has led to the organization and specialization of labor. Henry Ford’s organization of work and workers came to explain twentieth century industrialist capital society (Vallas, Finlay and Wharton 85).
They observe that production processes at the Ford Corporation utilized principles of scientific management established by Frederick Taylor. Taylor’s motion and time studies aimed at the analysis of tasks and elimination of unnecessary motions with a view to reduce time wastage and increase efficiency. The authors note that the invention of assembly lines, enabled breakdown of tasks into single, repetitive motions that allowed the interchange of labor involved in the assembly of different parts.
Division of labor through assembly lines increased efficiency and facilitated mass production thus explain contemporary globalization. The authors, however, note that emphasis on increased efficiency and speed has led to misery of workers due to low bargaining power. According to Waldinger and Lichter (229), the willingness and readiness of immigrants to take on any available job has contributed to this problem.
Governments realize that resources from other countries are vital in their economies. Leadership in the implementation of policies and ratification of international agreements consequently facilitated globalization. Modern governments have waived restrictions on trade and flow of capital making it easy for corporations to operate globally.
Institutions such as the World Trade Organization have supported the inclusion of workers into the global system through the development of rules and business friendly regulations. Other agreements such as NAFTA have provided room for economic integration and explain globalization.
Impact of globalization on the American worker
Contemporary globalization propagated by multinational corporations has direct impacts on workers. Many services ranging from medicine, finance and computer programming are now done cheaply by workers from other countries thus increasing competition on white collar jobs. Businesses that do not lay off workers now break their promise on health insurance and pension to remain competitive in the global market.
The result is that American workers have become insecure with regard to job tenure and ability to offer quality medical services and education for their families. In cases where corporations move to other nations in the hunt for lower labor wages, workers within the US lose their jobs.
As witnessed in the garment industries, American workers resulted to strikes counter the tendency of corporations’ minimization of wages. Emphasis on efficiency and mass production, while ignoring the health and social welfare of workers, has forced them to poverty, isolation and misery (Vallas, Finlay and Wharton 85).
Globalization has forced American workers to create networks and unions to militate against income inequality and corporate domination. The market has favored the highly skilled workers at the disadvantage of low skilled workers. As a result, the uneven process of globalization has contributed to new social morality where some segments of the society feel cheated and displaced by globalization.
The episode resulted in the emergence of social divisions between those favored and those endangered by globalization. Workers view themselves as losers and employers as gainers. The consequence has been social detachment between the two parties even when they share ethnic backgrounds (Waldinger and Lichter 16).
Through globalization, many immigrant workers are able to relocate to America exposing local workers to extreme employment competition. Corporations exacerbated the problem through preference of foreign workers over American workers. Some employers preferred immigrant workers over US workers due to their friendliness, eagerness and optimistic subservience (Waldinger and Lichter 220).
American workers are forced to improve their skills through training and acquisition of foreign languages. Employers have also paid higher wages to bilingual Americans hence giving them a competitive edge in the job market. The authors find that employers praised Asians and Latinos for their willingness to work persistently for long hours.
Conclusion
Globalization has resulted in the interconnection of the world and made it a global village where individuals and corporations can transact with virtually anyone across the globe. Advancement in technology has continually facilitated the process through improvement in transport, communication and production infrastructure. Leadership and integration policies by nations such as a waiver of trade barriers, coupled by intervention of trade agencies such as WTO and NAFTA have also aided globalization.
Globalization has impacted the worker through loss of job security as corporations waived benefits so as to compete favorably in the global arena. In most occasions, there has been competition from immigrant workers with the willingness to take on any jobs further reducing the bargaining power of the American workers. Workers have felt insecure on their ability to meet the requirements families as incomes come down.
Works Cited
Vallas, Steven P., William Finlay, and Amy Wharton. The Sociology of Work: Structures and Inequalities. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
Waldinger, Roger, and Michael I. Lichter. How the Other Half Works: Immigration and the Social Organization of Labor. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003. Print.