Globalization and the Modern Business Environment - Essay Example

Section/# Globalisation: A Discussion and Analysis The following discussion will seek to engage a broader understanding of the process of globalisation as it exists throughout the world today. Moreover, the analysis will specifically be concentric upon the difficulties and potential opportunities that globalisation has created for firms that operate within the current environment. Introduction: It is without question that globalisation has changed international business in a litany of different ways over the past several decades. The events of the past several years have provided even further shifts with regards to the overall level of interconnectivity and globalisation that defines the current world. For years, economists and businessmen have focused upon the way in which integrated economies create a globalized world; one that is ultimately dependent upon other economies and other nations as a means of providing the goods and services that it requires a function. This increased level of globalisation has necessarily meant that cultures and individuals that otherwise might not integrated with one another have come to the in closer contact and sharing a great many more similarities than they have any previous time within recorded human history. Further, globilsation has created a litany of different opportunities and challenges for businesses; some of which have proven to either lift the company to a renewed level of success or serve to be its downfall. As such, it is the hope of this author that through such the discussion and appreciable view of the way in which current levels of globalisation have formed international business into the entities that they are today will be useful with respect to understanding these dynamics. Finally, the paper will provide an overview for the way in which this has impacted upon the nation of Morocco over the past 30 years. Globalisation and Changes in Trade: Whereas globalisation can be understood in a litany of different mechanisms, perhaps the most effective towards understanding globalisation and the power that it has over individuals throughout the world is to engage it based upon its monetary value (Schoen et al., 2013). In seeking to engage globalisation from a monetary value standpoint, the first rational approach that can be engaged is to approach it from the standpoint of trade. Whereas globalisation is represented throughout the world and impacts upon individuals in a litany of different situations, the power that globalisation has over trade and the means through which different nations choose interact with one another is ultimately the driving force that helps to spread globalisation and increase its impact throughout the world. However, even though globalisation can be understood as a universal concept, it must also be appreciated that globalisation is state specific and ultimately a state authored process (Corstjens & Umblijs, 2012). What is meant by this is the fact that regardless of the nation that is analyzed with a particular economic system that is considered, it must be understood that globalisation exists within a given region only due to the fact that trade agreements, domestic legislation, tariffs, barriers, and a litany of other financial issues have already been determined and directed in such a way so that globalisation is able to integrate with a given economy (Cook & Underwood, 2013). As such, if it were not for regional and domestic governance and choices that these institutions were able to make, the level and extent to which a globalized economy and the impact of global trade could affect a given region would understandably be minimal (Lapido et al., 2013). As the need to find the cheapest cost alternatives, both the consumer and the producer have allowed globalisation to define the way in which they integrate with the market. Whereas before the era of globalisation, firms were more oftentimes price makers, the situation that globalisation has effected is one in which more and more international and domestic firms are price takers; subject to the whims of the market and the means by which the consumer does not exhibit a strong affinity towards one product or another (Koc et al., 2013). Globalisation and Technology: An additional issue that firms face with respect to globalisation has to do with the rate and speed at which technology is integrated into the process. For instance, many years ago, a practice or approach to the market within one sector of the world or business did not immediately set the standard for the way in which other firms throughout the globe would behave. Yet, within the globalised marketplace, firms are under continual pressure to stay current with the changes that are exhibited and match the technology of their compitors. This creates somewhat of a hardship for those multinational or domestic firms that seek to allocate the appropriate levels of investment into their companies. Nonetheless, this need to stay current and up to ate with the changes within the market is what has allowed many firms to step ahead of the competition and become examples of best practices. Ultimately, whether or not one appreciates or detests the impacts that globalisation has had, the undeniable fact of the matter is that it continues to define the way in which firms engage with the market, make profits, or ultimately fail. Within such an understanding, one can begin to understand why the richer and more powerful regions of the global economy are those that have the extant resources to devote to the process of change and continual restructuring of their economy; whereas those regions that do not languish as producers of primary goods or services to the ones that have previously been denoted. Conclusion: From the information that is thus far been put forward, it can definitively be noted that even though globalisation portends that many universal concepts must be displayed throughout the world and necessarily reduces the power and effective choice mechanisms that a given region/domestic governmental entity can effect, it nonetheless exist upon the back of regional sovereign governments. The case of Morocco can adequately be understood as a prime example for how globalisation has impacted on an otherwise backwards and detached portion of the globe. Accordingly, the degree and extent to which the Moroccan governments chose to integrate with globalisation and the degree and extent to which they provided mechanisms by which globalisation could be redefined is ultimately what allowed this nation to experience the great degree of growth and development that it has; in terms of the way in which industry, culture, and other aspects of society have evolved. Further, it is without question that Morocco itself has authored tactics of globalisation; such as media control, legislation that defines the way in which a particular region will integrate with trade, tariffs, barriers, quotas, and a litany of other economic factors all define the way in which globalisation, regardless of its scope or regardless of the region or area in which it is being applied, is a state author process that can be integrated with to a varying degree. From such a level of realization, the faceless entity of globalisation is continually rebranded, redefined, and repackaged so that it is able to meet the specific needs and desires of a particular region. Rather than reducing the overall impact of globalisation can have upon the lives and culture of individuals around the world, the preceding analysis is perhaps best directed at uncovering the fact that globalisation is not the faceless entity that absorbs and converts the economies, cultures, and practices of the entire world; rather, it is a process through which the world is able to integrate, defined, and promote their own best interests to varying degrees. Bibliography Cohen, J, Tsfati, Y, & Sheafer, T 2008, The influence of presumed media influence in politics, Public Opinion Quarterly, 72, 2, pp. 331-344, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 November 2013. 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