The world we live in today is a world of competition, especially in the business sector. However, many issues such as globalization have emerged. Globalization in business terms involves the overall movement of people, goods, capital, as well as, ideas around the world. This is due to the increasing economic integration, which leads to an increase in trade and market investments.
As such, the high technology has also increased the speed at which things take place globally, hence, leading to a great deal of competition in many institutions of different countries. Due to this high competition, firms in some countries may find themselves being out thrown from the business world. This mostly happens to those firms that have decided to venture into common business opportunities (Ulrich10).
Globalization and the competition present today are completely throwing out all cases of monopolistic ventures. This is because many people have come up with new ideas for performing the same type of business but in a more efficient manner. When we look at some of the businesses in the world that are on the forefront in the world of successful business, we find businesses such as the banking institutes, medical providing institutions, academic institutions, clothing retailers and fast-food restaurants. The issue of globalization and high competition is continually affecting these businesses. Considering the internet as an emerging trend of technology, we are meant to believe that the internet has widely affected many businesses such as those mentioned above (Ulrich 22).
For instance, in the banking sector, the internet has emerged as a key competitive measure for the future of financial services. According to Cronin, only American banks were offering banking services on the internet by the 1990s. Today, almost all countries are performing services that were only done by banks, with the help of the internet.
Moving financial services to the internet has created a new competitive landscape and instead of operating within clear service boundaries, well-established banking institutions are finding themselves competing for customers (Cronin 3). Many services of banks including, money transfer, loan application, bill payments among others are now being conducted through the internet.
In the next five years, competition in the banking institutions will be so high that, only the banking institutions that will have faster and efficient internet banking services will survive. Thus, in the forthcoming years, it will be advisable for banks to integrate all their services on the internet such that every type of transaction will be a click away for easy access (Cronin 4). With computers everywhere, the services of banks are also being brought nearer to the customers. It is undoubtedly that in the next five years, almost everyone will be accessing banking services within their area of residence, a condition that will greatly improve many banks (Cronin 5).
Demographic issues such as population size, race, gender, employment status, as well as the location of people continue to influence the banking sector of business. The continual increase in the population size with a high number of employed people in the last century has led to an improvement in the banking institutions because many people underemployment means more use of money transfers in banks. Almost all banks have become gender-sensitive, something that allows every single individual with the required capability to use services offered by banking institutions.
The decreasing population size in the 21st century is one factor that will pose a great challenge in the banking sector. Many people have adopted different ways of family planning with the number of members in a family not exceeding five. This will pose a great challenge to many banks all over considering that, the competition will be high and yet the targeted customers’ size will below. To curb this problem, banks will have to adopt other ways out of their business plan to encourage large families (Zoli 85).
Medical providers such as hospitals are among the most essential institutions in the world. Globalization and high technology have brought about the fact that medical services can be provided through the internet. One can know the kind of drugs required for a particular disease through computers and the internet. This has become frequent since almost all institutions and many individuals are subscribers of the internet. In some cases, the information provided by some dealers on the internet about diseases and drugs is wrong. Such institutions perform such actions to keep up with the competition that is present in the medical sector.
This is devastating since it has led to improper medication leading to deaths. If this continues in the next coming five years or so, a great deal of the population will be wiped out; a condition that will lead to the closure of many hospitals, since the population will have decreased. To avoid this from happening, medical institutions such as hospitals should take the initiative to educate the public on the importance of visiting hospitals and consulting doctors in person concerning their health. Information provided on the web should also meet the required standards as laid down by the medical association (Connell 45).
Fast-food restaurants have become very common in the whole world. Through computers and the internet, one can know where to locate a fast food restaurant and the different kinds of foods offered. Due to the competition that is present today, many of these restaurants end up giving exaggerated information through the internet about the foods and quickness of the services they offer. When customers visit those restaurants and are not satisfied, they tend to avoid the restaurants. Such restaurants will eventually close down in the next few coming years.
To avoid this, the information relayed through the internet should be true and all food services should be up to the appropriate standards. This will also be helpful for many of these restaurants to endure and survive through the ever-increasing competition considering that the general population is expected to decrease (Ritzer 169). The same case also occurs in the clothing world of business. Many retail dealers in the clothing sector will tend to give exaggerated information about their fashions and the quality of their clothing materials through the internet. Some of these retail shops will end up being closed as well in the coming five years.
To avoid closure and to attract more customers, clothing retail shops should adopt new clothing styles in line with each upcoming fashion style. With all this, many of them will survive the competition. Since the changing demographics show that, the height of racism is on the decrease, all people of different races are adopting clothing fashions. Thus, advertising one’s clothing styles all over the world will lead to high business performance (Magnus 490).
Education is one of the greatest keys to a successful life. Through the internet, and the continual ownership of computers at different homes, many people are undertaking their studies at their homes. This is done in the higher levels of learning such as colleges and universities. In the next five years, many students at the college level will adopt learning at home through computers and the internet. This will lead to many educational colleges and universities being reduced to institutions of e-learning only, leading to a reduction in skills that had to be taught practically to students.
Instructing the internet will not produce good and enough skills to students, since only a few will be able to purchase the practical apparatus and instruments required courses. It would be beneficial if, some sections of all courses offered in colleges and universities are eliminated from the internet and information is given that one should visit the particular college for further teaching. This will ensure the continual survival of many colleges and universities despite the increasing competition. With a decreasing population, colleges and universities should include courses that teach people about the importance of large populations (Zajda 49).
The population trends through 2050 are bound to change greatly, thus affecting many countries economically. When we consider the United States and the United Kingdom, we find that the population size is not very high, although many people are migrating especially from the developing countries to the United States and the United Kingdom. This has gradually increased the population of the United States over the last few years. With the promising conditions of better lives, many more people will continue to migrate.
A large population means a ready market for the nation’s economic services. Thus, the economy of these states will continue to stabilize. By 2050, many of the developing countries are expected to have made great steps towards development. Most of them will not be relying on foreign funds for services regarding their economies. Thus, for the United States and the United Kingdom’s economic status to remain or improve, higher technological ways of handling businesses should be adopted. The people there should also be encouraged to increase their population sizes (Magnus 120-128).
In China and Japan, the population size is very large. This has led to the ready workforce for many tasks geared towards economic stability. The large populations also provide a ready market for different commodities in these countries. Studies have shown that, even though in 2050, the populations of these countries will still be high, and technology will continue to improve. This will be beneficial economically since there will be enough labor, market and more inventions.
In South Africa, the rate of HIV victims has increased in the recent past and the near future, it is expected to rise higher due to the high level of prostitution in the country. If awareness is not created to the public on the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS, a great deal of the population will be wiped out, thus decreasing the economic capabilities of the country. Generally, for any country to survive and keep up with the level of competition in the business world today, high technology is very essential. The population size should also be large enough with a high percentage of well-educated people (Magnus 236-242).
Works Cited
Connell, John. Migration and the Globalisation of Health Care: The Health Worker Exodus? Cheltenham: E. Elgar, 2010. Print.
Cronin, Mary J. Banking and Finance on the Internet. New York; Toronto: J. Wiley, 1998. Print.
Magnus, George. Uprising: Will Emerging Markets Shape or Shake the World Economy? Chichester, West Sussex, U.K: Wiley, 2011. Internet resource.
Ritzer, George. Globalization: The Essentials. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. Print.
Ulrich, Beck. What Is Globalization? Cambridge Polity Press, 2000. Print.
Zajda, Joseph. Globalization, Ideology, and Education Policy Reforms. Dordrecht: Springer, 2010. Print.
Zoli, Edda. Cost and Effectiveness of Banking Sector Restructuring in Transition Economies. Washington, DC: IMF, 2001. Print.