[SOUND] Globalization may seem like a recent but it has actually been around for really long time. The questions is, what exactly this globalization mean and more importantly how does it affect us in a meaningful way? At the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain what globalization means, explain the impact of globalization on the workplace, and explain how globalization affects you. Globalization is neither an easy term to explain nor define. In fact, academics themselves are divided over how it should be defined. First, an economist would define it differently from a geographer who define it differently from a cultured theorist who would probably define it differently from a media studies scholar. Globalization reminds me of a old fable, The Elephant and the Blind Man. Some of you might be familiar with this fable, it was said that in a small village, six blind men were asked to determine what an elephant looked like by feeling different parts of it. The one who felt the tail of the elephant answered that the elephant is like a rope. The one who felt the trunk said that it feels like a tree branch. The one who felt the leg said it feels like a pillar, and so forth. All of them thought they were right, and they ended up arguing with each other. In truth, all of them were passionately right, but as a result none of them were right as well. For none of them has a fool understanding of reality. The situation with globalization is somewhat similar. Globalization is a highly complex process whose definition is also highly contested upon different disciplines. It is an unequal process for it effects people of various class and culture differently. One reason why globalization is hard to define is because it is a continuously evolving process that encapsulates various broad aspects of society such as the economy, culture and politics. In the early 90s, it was initially conceptualized as a drive towards western centric icons meaning McDonald's opening up globally across different countries in a process termed as McDonaldization. This was followed up by other primarily American brands such as Starbucks or KFC. It was as if the world was converging on a single global identity with primarily Western brands proliferating around the globe leading to Marshall McLuhan, a leading communications and media theorist, describing the phenomenon as a global village of sorts. The term global village will probably help us understand globalization a bit better. Though simplistic, the world does seem to become like a global village as cities become more and more cosmopolitan, i.e., it consists of people from different cultures from around the world. And we see cities become increasingly identical in the marketplace, as if the world becomes similar in nature, as well. Some theories call this the homogeneous effect. Think about it, you can buy Starbucks or McDonald's in any major city in the world. In any city that you go to see the same few luxury brands, Gucci, Prada, etc. In that sense, cities have become homogeneous or very similar to one another. One important feature of globalization is that the process is especially aided by our new technologies, particularly media technologies that seemingly connect us and make the growth smaller. Since now, with new technologies, one could conquer distance and time. Think of communication technologies like Skype, or video call or even email, we can now communicate with one another despite having a large distance between us. Think of how the technology advances in the aeroplane industry. Even the idea of budget airlines transform us such that we are now able to travel across not just countries but continents easily, compared to before, when travel was only restricted to the rich. First, the globe has become more interconnected because of globalization and we seem to be moving to become global citizens no longer bounded by traditional boundaries. So imagine globalization in the sense of the world becoming smaller and smaller, and more, and more interconnected. This is a fairly simplistic description of globalization, but it was suffice for this cause. Globalization affects all of us in complex ways. So the more important question to ask is, how it impact us particularly at the professional workplace? Firstly, globalization transform the workplace. With the advances of technology, there's a shift to a more flexible work and sharing practices. There is faster flow of information, so there's an exprectation to keep up with new trends. New technology is constantly implemented, so there's a need for a constant upgrade of skill sets. For example, Coursera is a good example of how it is an innovation that disrupts and transform the education industry. First, it's a good thing that you're watching this video. As a result, the workforce becomes more mobile, meaning we are able to move across barriers and are increasingly more fluid and able to work on the goal. This means that we are no longer restricted by geographical constraints or have to work from a single location. Accessible meaning thanks to the Internet it becomes increasingly easier to find talent from various parts of the world. And diverse meaning it comprises of multiple cultures. You will find a lot more diverse cultures at the work place, people from different parts of the world as a by product of globalization. Also, as I've mentioned before, globalization results in a more complex work place because there are plural identities and blurred cultural boundaries. People who grew up with the Internet are likely to not conform to traditional cultural definitions or stereotypes, then this is something we'll discuss in more detail in the later part of this course. The good thing about globalization is that with the advances of new technology, we are afforded new opportunities. We are no longer limited to jobs in our own countries for we are able to travel and work abroad if we wish to. As we are now more mobile and overseas job opportunities are more accessible particularly with a simple Google search compared to before. With the new advancement of new media technologies, information is also more easily accessible. This means that we are able to gain new knowledge, learn new things, and upgrade our skills more easily. As I've said, Coursera is again an example of this. Since we are more interconnected, we're also exposed to much more diverse cultures and we can meet new people from different cultures whether in school, or at work, or when we travel. Think about how the Internet has changed the way you access information and learn about things. Think about how you can use the discussion forum in this course to chat with people from different parts of the world. This exposure gives us larger and a more global worldview since when we interact with people from different cultures, we always learn new things. Yet with such opportunities, globalization also paradoxically presents complex problems. So for instance, the increase in the opportunity of jobs also suggest that there's more competition in the job market since you are no longer competing with only people from your own country, but also people from around the world for the same jobs. People from overseas also have the opportunity to take not only the jobs that you desire but the jobs that you currently have already. This photo reinforces the need to learn communication skills in persuasion and credibility so that you can persuade anyone that you are a valuable person in the workplace in a credible manner. In a globalized workplace, there's an increase in communication needed. This is not only due to the increase cultural diversity but also due to the nature of new media technologies and a mobile workplace. You may need to cooperate and communicate with a person in China for work even when you're based in the US. As a result, with increased communication, there's also increased likelihood of miscommunication due to misunderstanding. A culturally diverse workforce complicates this further, particularly with increased interaction between professionals from multiple contexts. All of this might result in more conflict at the workplace even though there's a need for more cooperation. This presents a challenging problem. For there are various new situations that you will need to handle at a professional globalized workplace compare to before. And these also lead to increased uncertainty and as a result increased anxiety. All of these are serious issues that are not easy to deal with. So the question is, how can we deal with them? It is not possible to acquire intercultural competency just through watching a video lecture. What I aim to do instead in the last part of this course is to help build more on awareness of how different cultures impact the way we perceive credibility or persuasion. By exposing new to these different mental frameworks of culture, the next step is for you to observe, explain and learn how perceptions differ and as a result, contribute to misunderstanding and miscommunication. Most importantly, it requires you to engage indirect with different cultures to practice and improve your communications skills all with an open mind.
