Lesson 2: Communication and Globalization by
Ernesto P. Ramos, Jr.
A. Globalization
 global integration of economies and
societies,a affects many aspects of young
peoples’ lives.
 Youth have an ambiguous relationship with
the globalizing world, both economically and
culturally.
 Four effects of globalization on the lives of
young people are discussed below in more
detail; the distribution of employment
opportunities, migration, youth culture
and consumerism, and global citizenship
and activism.
 Globalization can be a powerful force for
poverty reduction.
 about 2 billion people live in countries that
do not benefit from globalization, mainly in
parts of sub-Saharan Africa, Western Asia,
and the former Soviet Union.
 Globalization has substantially changed the
job market, to which young people, as
newcomers, are “most vulnerable”.
 New technologies have replaced manual
labour, mainly affecting low skilled jobs in
the service sector.
 Trade liberalization forces companies to
become more flexible and competitive.
 Migration, both within and between
countries, is another aspect of globalization.
 Young people have always been a
significant group among migrants.
 Globalization has numerous consequences
for youth cultures. The increase in media
streams has resulted in global
consumerism.
 Many youth in developing countries, as well
as marginalized youth in the industrialized
world, are unable to fulfil their raised
expectations of material wellbeing.
 Young people around the world show
concern about the negative consequences
of globalization, such as unequal distribution
of wealth and environmental degradation.
 The anti-globalization movement has
expanded all over the world and comprises
a heterogeneous group of non-
governmental organizations, student
groups, political organizations and civil
rights activists.
 In order to address some of the concerns
related to migration of youth, young people
need to have viable alternatives to remain in
their countries.
WHAT GLOBALIZATION IS
(according to UNESCO)
 as a multidimensional process
characterized by:
o The acceptance of a set of economic rules
for the entire world designed to maximize
profits and productivity by universalizing
markets and production, and to obtain the
support of the state with a view to making
the national economy more productive and
competitive;
o Technological innovation and organizational
change centered on flexibilization and
adaptability;
o The expansion of a specific form of social
organization based on information as the
main source of productivity and power;
o The reduction of the welfare state,
privatization of social services, flexibilization
of labor relations and weaker trade unions;
o De facto transfer to trans-national
organizations of the control of national
economic policy instruments, such as
monetary policy, interest rates and fiscal
policy;
o The dissemination of common cultural
values, but also the re-emergence of
nationalism, cultural conflict and social
movements.”
 Globalization has been the buzzword in
many academic, business, and political
circles for decades. The concept has both
been viewed positively and negatively.
 Most countries are “interconnected and form
part of a single, interdependent global
economy.” (Connor, 2014). And the best
way to adapt to it is to anticipate and
prepare for its foreseeable and
unforeseeable consequences.
Effects of Globalization on Communication:
 Communication is the lifeblood of any
organization and globalization poses new
challenges to communication in any
organization
 increase in intercultural communication
 Communication in the 21st century is
increasingly transnational and intercultural.
 effective global communication proves to be
a challenge to many people since cultural
diversity increases the possibility of
miscommunication.
 poor communication leads to poor job
performance and a decrease in employee
productivity.
 Consequence of globalization is the rise of
World Englishes where each country boasts
of its own variety of English.
 Englishes are different in relation to word
use, pronunciation, accent, and grammar.
 Intercultural communication do not only
include problems in slang or idiomatic
 expressions; but also grammatical and
pronunciation variations and other verbal as
well as non-verbal facets of language.
What is globalization anyway?
BY ALEX GRAY
 Globalization – a phenomenon that has
defined the world's economy in recent
decades – is under pressure.
 Globalization is the process by which
people and goods move easily across
borders.
 It is also an economic concept - the
integration of markets, trade and
investments with few barriers to slow the
flow of products and services between
nations.
 Globalization has brought many benefits to
many people. But not to everyone.
1. Storm in a coffee cup
 To help explain the economic side of
globalization, let's take a look at the well-
known coffee chain Starbucks. The first
Starbucks outlet opened its doors in
1971 in the city of Seattle. Today it has
15,000 stores in 50 countries. These
days you can find a Starbucks anywhere,
whether Australia, Cambodia, Chile or
Dubai. It's what you might call a truly
globalized company. And for many
suppliers and jobseekers, not to mention
coffee-drinkers, this was a good thing.
The company was purchasing 247
million kilograms of unroasted coffee
from 29 countries. Through its stores
and purchases, it provided jobs and
income for hundreds of thousands of
people all over the world. But then
disaster struck. In 2012, Starbucks made
headlines after a Reuters investigation
showed that the chain hadn't paid much
tax to the UK government, despite
having almost a thousand coffee shops
in the country and earning millions of
pounds in profit there. As a multinational
company, Starbucks was able to use
complex accounting rules that enabled it
to have profit earned in one country
taxed in another. Because the latter
country had a lower tax rate, Starbucks
benefited. Ultimately, the British public
missed out, as the government was
raising less tax to spend on improving
their well-being.
How did globalization happen?
 We might think of globalization as a
relatively new phenomenon, but it’s been
around for centuries.
1. example is the Silk Road, when trade spread
rapidly between China and Europe via an
overland route. Merchants carried goods for
trade back and forth, trading silk as well as
gems and spices and, of course, coffee. (In
fact, the habit of drinking coffee in a social
setting originates from a Turkish custom, an
example of how globalization can spread
culture across borders.)
What drives it?
 Globalization has speeded up enormously
over the last half-century, thanks to great
leaps in technology.
 The internet has revolutionized connectivity
and communication.
 The advent of email made communication
faster than ever.
 Improvements in transport generally – faster
ships, trains and airplanes – have allowed
us to move around the globe much more
easily.
What's good about it?
 Globalization has led to many millions of
people being lifted out of poverty.
For example, when a company like
Starbucks buys coffee from farmers in
Rwanda, it is providing a livelihood and a
benefit to the community as a whole. A
multinational company's presence overseas
contributes to those local economies
because the company will invest in local
resources, products and services. Socially
responsible corporations may even invest in
medical and educational facilities.
 Globalization has not only allowed nations
to trade with each other, but also to
cooperate with each other as never before.
What's bad about it?
 Every step forward in technology brings
with its new dangers.
 Computers have vastly improved our lives,
but cyber criminals steal millions of pounds
a year.
 Global wealth has skyrocketed, but so has
global warming.
 While many have been lifted out of poverty,
not everybody has benefited.
 Many argue that globalization operates
mostly in the interests of the richest
countries, with most of the world's collective
profits flowing back to them and into the
pockets of those who already own the most.
 Although globalization is helping to create
more wealth in developing countries, it is
not helping to close the gap between the
world’s poorest and richest nations.
 Leading charity Oxfam says that when
corporations such as Starbucks can legally
avoid paying tax, the global inequality crisis
worsens.
 (in the words of the International Monetary
Fund) globalization could lead to
"unparalleled peace and prosperity". Done
poorly, "to disaster".