Essay on ‘To Globalize or Localize, that is the question’
Opponents of globalization often point to its negative effects on local communities. To avoid a clash between global economic interests and local political interests, businesses must know how to be responsive to the needs of the communities in which they operate even as they globalize. (Kanter, 2003) Kanter’s examination of thirty seven companies operating in more than fifteen countries showed that, in the older, industrial economy, place mattered to companies because it gives them control over the means of production: capital, labor, and materials, and access to transportation centers that minimized the cost of moving products from one location to another.
Today, a place has value if it can provide companies with at least one of the modern resources required for success: concepts, competence, and connections. Places can establish linkage to world-class companies by investing and specializing in capabilities that connect their local populations to the global economy in one of three ways: thinkers, makers, or traders. (Bing, 1998) Boston, Miami, Spartanburg and Greenville are distinctive models of emerging international cities because of their emphasis on one core capability. (Kanter, 2003) The first major business in a region often provides the leadership and platform for the community’s development and growth in the global arena.
One of the strong arguments for globalisation concerns cultural homogenisation; suggesting that national cultures that were very different are becoming less so as a consequence of such developments as increased international travel and global media and communication systems. This has resulted in the national markets that they represent, and hence the customers within those markets, being amenable to buying similar products and similar services in most parts of the world. The term ‘global village’ (Segal-Horn, 2002) is often used to discuss this phenomenon in which the world’s population shares commonly recognised cultural symbols.
At its most simplistic,…
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Tags: cultural capital, cultural symbols, global marketplace, globalisation, homogenisation, localness
