Good News: Its a Small World by Keith H. Hammonds Fast CompanyMay 2000 Timm Ringhofer

Who can doubt that globalization is upon us? This is the initial question asked in the article by Keith H. Hammonds. What is globalization? Globalization is the idea that we are able to buy, see, and investigate almost anything from any part of the world.

Last Decembers Battle of Seattle served as evidence that a minority of people do not like the idea of globalization. Most people will buy items which they believe are the best buy and really are not concerned with where it came from or who was compromised to make that item. Sometimes this type of purchasing hurts workers in our own country who would like to keep their jobs or have better paying jobs. The Battle of Seattle was a group of peoples means to say that they want some control of the global market.

However, two British men, John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, wrote a book to give globalization some good public relations. These men live in America, had the book published by a German-owned company, typed the script on an IBM laptop made in Mexico, printed the paper on trees from Canada, and used ink from who knows where. This is a great example of globalization.

Micklethwait and Wooldridge point out that globalization leads to a more efficient use of resources, but they also admit that it is often brutal and a chaotic process. There are three engines which drive globalization. The first is technology, which allow small businesses to compete with the larger businesses. The Internet has allowed these small businesses to offer deals and let the customer find them. The second engine is capital. Money has always been able to be transferred around the globe, but now it can be done in large quantities and very quickly. The third engine is management. Businesses all over the world can share ideas and information on how to best run their business.

Globalization is growing, and I believe that it is going to keep growing for a long time. Changing from doing business the old fashioned way is what makes many things better and less expensive to purchase. Some things should be left alone, but the businesses will always change to what the consumer wants!

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2000