Pros and Cons of Globalization

The PROS of Globalization

• Increased communication between people, organizations, and countries
• This can be done through email or social media networks such as Gmail or Facebook. 

• Corporations can work together to solve ecological problems 
• Every corporation creates their own ecological footprint. With the help of globalization, corporations can now work together to reduce their ecological footprint. This is done through communication between corporations. 

• Increase trade between countries because of the increasing demand of products
• With an increasing demand of products, the trade between countries increases. As a result, countries can increases their GDP. 

• Many products are available in many different countries
• People in different countries may now have access to products found in different countries. As a result, people will tend to spend more money and become knowledgable about products from different countries.

• Companies can be able to reduce labor costs
• Companies have a chance to be able to reduce labor costs by setting up factories in less economically developed countries where the wages are low. Since they are able to reduce labor costs, companies can increase profits. Companies are also able to reduce costs because they do not need to 'fly people around' to have a business meeting. The business meetings can be done through Skype or another form of communication. 
• An example of a company which practices offshoring is Nike. Nike has factories in Bangladesh and is able to take advantage of the low labor costs to increase their profit. 

• Increase awareness 
• People become more aware about different cultures since different cultures are being introduced to them through different products. Possibly, people tend to become more accepting and open minded about cultures not of their own. 
• People also become more aware and concerned about global issues and have a chance to help out. An example would be donations set up for the relief of Typhoon Haiyan or donate to charities around the world.

The CONS of Globalization 

• Loss of employment in developing countries 
• Since many companies are trying to reduce labor costs by outsourcing, the workers in the developed country no longer have a job. 

• May lead to loss of cultural identity 
• This is because ideas are traveling from one side of the globe to another. Western ideas have or can influence the Eastern thoughts, therefore it may be difficult for one to identify their own culture without the ideas of westerners. 

• Companies that offshore are able to exploit the local workers of less economically developed countries 
• Large firms such as Nike provide jobs for people in LEDCs, however, most of the time, the working conditions are terrible and there could be some issues with human rights because the corporations are basically exploiting the workers. 
• On the other hand, if large corporations chose not to offshore, people in LEDCs might have a lower paying job or might not even have a job. 

• Power is given to large corporations 
• Globalization causes large corporations to have more power because they have the ability to trade while small corporations have to compete with them. 

• Illegal or harmful activites 
• Globalization has made it easier to trade illegal items. For example, people can buy animals that are endangered or illegal in some countries, trading of drugs or other illegal substances, illegal downloading of music, movies, etc... Terrorists or others of the sort can communicate in different countries without being noticed or suspected. 

• Small firms can be out of business
• This is because globalization tends to focus on larger corporations. For example, a local clothing in the company might have a hard time competing against a large corporation from the United States. As a result, the local company might run out of business.