Chapter II COMMUNICATION AND GLOBALIZATION

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Explain how cultural and global issues affect communication

Appreciate the impact of communication on society and the world

While the term communication has been in existence since time immemorial,
the term globalization is relatively new in our vocabularies. Also, while the
term communication is generally understood by most if not all, globalization
is not. What,

Then, is globalization?

A. WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION?

According to http://www.globalization101.org, globalization is a process of

interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments
of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment
and aided by information technology. This process has effects on the
environment, on culture, on political systems, on economic development and
prosperity, and on human physical well-being in societies around the world.

Heywood (2013) describes globalization as a slippery and elusive concept.

Despite intensifying interest in the phenomenon of globalization since the

1980s, the term is still used to refer, variously, to a process, a policy, a
marketing strategy, a predicament, or even an ideology. The problem with
globalization is that it is not so much an it as a them: it is not a singe process
but a complex of processes, sometimes overlapping and interlocking
processes but also, at times, contradictory and oppositional ones. It is
difficult therefore to reduce globalization to single theme. Perhaps the best
attempt to do this was in Kenchi Ohmae’s (1989) idea of a borderless world.
This not only refers to the tendency of traditional political borders, based on
national and state boundaries, to become permeable; it also implies that
divisions between people previously separated by time and space have
become less significant and are sometimes entirely irrelevant…

Globalization is not really new, though. The globe has been globalized even
before men coined the term globalization. For example, for thousands of
years, people-and, later, corporations-have been buying from and selling to
each other in lands at great distances, such as through the famed Silk Road
across Central Asia that connected China and Europe during the Middle Ages.
Likewise, for centuries, people and corporations have invested in enterprises
in other countries. In fact, many of the features of the current wave of
globalization are similar to those prevailing before the outbreak of the First
World War in 1914. But policy and technological developments of the past
few decades have spurred increases in cross-border trade, investment, and
migration so large that many observers believe the world has entered a
qualitatively new phase in its economic development. Since 1950, for
example, the volume of world trade has increased by 20 times, and from just
1997 to 1999 flows of foreign investment nearly doubled, from $468 billion to
$827 billion. Distinguishing this current wave of globalization from earlier
ones, author Thomas Friedman has said that today globalization is farther,
faster, cheaper, and deeper (http://www.globalization101.org).

This current wave of globalization has been driven by policies that have
opened economies domestically and internationally. In the years since the
Second World War, and especially during the past two decades, many
governments have adopted free-market economic systems, vastly increasing
their own productive potential and creating myriad new opportunities for
international trade and investment. Governments also have negotiated
dramatic reductions in barriers to commerce and have established
international agreements to promote trade in goods, services, and
investment. Taking advantage of new opportunities in foreign markets,
corporations have built foreign factories and established production and
marketing arrangements with foreign partners. A defining feature of
globalization, therefore, is an international industrial and financial business
structure (http:// www.globalization101.org).

Technology has been the other principal driver of globalization. Advances in

information technology, in particular, have dramatically transformed
economic life. Information technologies have given all sorts of individual
economic actors- consumers, investors, businesses-valuable new tools for
identifying and pursuing economic opportunities, including faster and more
informed analyses of economic trends around the world, easy transfers of
assets, and collaboration with far-flung partners
(http://www.globalization101.org).
 B. IMPACTS OF GLOBALIZATION ON COMMUNICATION

In an article entitled The Impact of Globalization on Communication Skills

Development, David Ingram said that [c]ommunication skills development
has always been an important factor of success in business, but the influence
of globalization and cross-cultural interaction in recent decades has impacted
the types of communication skills needed in dramatic ways. No longer can
entrepreneurs afford to simply communicate well within their own
homogenous cultures.

Thus, today, people need to understand the dynamics of long-distance

collaboration, the impact of culture on manners of speaking and body
language, and how to use technology to communicate with people on the
other side of the globe: 1. Virtual Interactions. Globalization has

Introduced virtual communication and collaboration as a major part of

academic and workplace dynamics. We need to understand the strengths
and limitations of different communications media, and how to use each
medium to maximum effect. For example, communicating via email to
distant team members requires a certain etiquette and nuance not
necessarily required in face-to-face https://cdn.essaywriting.expert
interactions. Holding virtual meetings requires a similar change in approach,
and people who are unaccustomed to communicating in groups in virtual
settings can find themselves lost, confused or unable to share their input.
This is why in schools, language courses try to address the challenges of
virtual interactions.

2. Cultural Awareness in Speech. The need for cultural awareness is a major

impact of globalization on the required skillset of effective communicators,
resulting in the evolution of communication skills development programs. In
the workplace and schools, for example, we need the ability to catch subtle
nuances of people’s manner of speech when communicating across cultures.
Even when two people are speaking the same language, cultural differences
can affect vocabulary, colloquial expressions, voice tone and taboo topics.

In Japanese business culture, for example, it can be considered rude to ask

personal questions in an initial business meeting. In the U.S., on the other
hand, asking personal questions and sharing personal information can
display warmth and openness. American and Japanese businesspeople who
understand this about each other can communicate in ways that resonate
more effectively with each other.

3. Cultural Awareness in Body Language. Awareness of cultural differences in

body language can be just as important as the nuances of speech. This is
why in schools, students are taught to understand acceptable speaking
distances, conflict styles, eye contact and posture in different cultures,
accepting that the physical expressions of their own culture are not
universally accepted, Students are also taught how to address these
differences to prepare them for face-to-face meetings with foreign suppliers,
customers or team members when they become professionals.

4. Time Differences. The advent of global collaboration introduces another

new dynamic to communication skills the need to communicate and share
information with people across several time zones. When people collaborate
with others on the other side of the globe, their counterparts are usually at
home asleep while they themselves are at work. This is why schools teach
students to address the nuances of overcoming this challenge by teaching
them to understand the information needs of their colleagues, according to
the communication styles of different countries or cultures. Being able to
effectively share information between shifts can make or break the
productivity of a geographically dispersed team, making this an important
issue for many companies. This skill is particularly needed in call centers
catering clients from countries of different time
https://www.japanhoppers.com

C. IMPACTS OF GLOBALIZATION ON GLOBAL COMMUNICATION

According to Danev (2017), [t]he process of globalization has widely
increased the availability of information for people across the world. By the
use of Internet and advanced mobile services, people are able to discuss
business plans and proposals on an international level as well as exchange
private data securely. Global communication services have also contributed
to the enlightenment and development of the political process in a number
of states.

Danev (2017) also enumerates the three major impacts of globalization on

global communication and identifies the major problem, as follows:

1. Availability of Information. The availability of information is a major

effect of the process of globalization. The World Health Organization, in
its works focused on the cultural dimensions of globalization, has
expressed the view that with the spread of businesses delivering
Internet, satellite TV and mobile services, the costs of such information
technologies drop. The decreased price makes it easier for people
across the world to make use of

The World Wide Web and the resources available.

2. Business Conduct. Globalization has influenced global communication

by implementing new techniques for business conduct among workers
at international corporations. Long- distance travels are no longer
necessary for business people

Should they require a meeting http://www.globalbusinesscoalition.org with a

partner overseas. Internet technology makes it possible to exchange
business information and conduct video conferences. Additionally, enhanced
communication allows businesses to promote their products more efficiently
in the international market. This significantly changed the business world.

In his works on the matter, U.S. economist John Thompson concludes that
the advanced means of communication have enabled international
organizations to take faster and more adequate decisions in accordance with
the changes in economic, political or social setting in a particular region. For
example, as described by Boonlert Supadhiloke, a professor of
communication in Bangkok University, Thai-based international technology

Corporations use advanced communications to respond to the growing

demand for Thai-made products. 3. Social Awareness. The availability of
information, which is a direct effect of the development of global
communication systems, has led to increased social awareness of people
across the world. Information technology and networks enable them to share
opinions, views, work on projects and

Research different areas. These are among the main reasons why the
process

Of globalization is creating a sense of a global society. For example, through

the use of communication, many students from the developing countries
enroll in university degrees in the developed world.

Education is only a single sector of the social awareness. Other effects, like
social determination, have also occurred the political unrest in Tunisia in the
beginning of 2011 had been inspired by opinions and political considerations
shared over the social networks available on the web.

3. The Problem. Despite its quick spread and continuous development,

global

Communication has not reached the majority of people on all continents. The
World Health Organization indicates that at least 70 percent of all people in
Africa will never make a single phone call or use Internet. This points out the
need of a more extensive application of communication technologies as part
of the process of globalization.

SKILL BUILDER 3
Form groups of six to ten members. Present in class a ten-minute role-play
depicting one of the following situations that will be assigned to your group.

1. A virtual meeting of executives of a multi-national corporation

2. An on-line language course for non-English speakers
3. A conference involving nationals of different countries
4. An inbound or outbound call center servicing foreign clients
5. A group of learners learning to use the Internet for the first time (e.g.
elders)

Critique the other groups’ presentation.