Globalization

Worksheet 1 Globalization and You

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Worksheet 1 Globalization and You
Students study the Powerpoint file on “Globalization and You”, and then answer the questions below. Brand names 1. Do you know what 2. Have you ever 3. Where did you kind of products used these use such or services the products or products/services brand names services? If yes, ? provide? how many products or services have you used? Please give a in the boxes below. Disney Theme parks, movies,

stationery, etc.

Amazon

Book purchase, etc.

Microsoft

Software, etc.

McDonald’s

Food, drinks, toys, etc.

Going on the Internet, Yahoo searching for information, etc.

Intel

Computers, etc.

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Brand names

1.

Do you know what kind of products or services the brand names provide?

2.

Have you ever used these products or services? If yes, how many products or services have you used? Please give a in the boxes below.

3.

Where did you use such products/services ?

Sony

Stereos, T.V., computers, etc.

HSBC

Banking services, etc.

CNN

News information, etc.

Coca Cola

Drinks,

products

with

company logos, etc.

Nokia

Mobile phones, etc.

Nike

Sports

goods,

sneakers,

sports wear, etc.

Levi’s

Jeans, etc.

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Worksheet 1 Globalization and You

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Brand names

1.

Do you know what kind of products or services the brand names provide?

2.

Have you ever used these products or services? If yes, how many products or services have you used? Please give a in the boxes below.

3.

Where did you use such products/services ?

Apple

Computer, mp3, etc.

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4.

Have you come across the above items in your daily life? Free Answers

5.

What is their significance? Free Answers

6.

Do these organizations and their products affect your daily life? Free Answers

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Video
Let’s first watch the video “Hong Kong Connection” --- Globalization (27 August 2001) (Attached: Reference materials)

Group Discussion
1. State what impresses you the most and explain why. - Any answer - Objective: to obtain a preliminary idea of what students think of Globalization.

2.

What do you think Globalization/Anti-globalization is after viewing the video? - Any answer - The teacher should point out that Globalization / Anti-globalization is a very confusing and complex phenomenon. This leads to the next theme: a definition for Globalization

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What is Globalization
A study has shown that in 1984, out of 1600 magazines published in 55 countries, only 3 articles have the word ‘globalization’ in their headings or abstracts, but in 1994 the number increased 37 times to 112. In 2002 up to 400,000 such articles could be found in the Yahoo search engine. One can say that the word has been overused. Are people referring to the same thing or phenomenon when they use the word ‘globalization’?

Group Discussion
Read the following source materials, and share a relevant experience in your everyday life.

Source A In terms of trade, finance and communication, the markets and cultures of various countries have never penetrated each other so rapidly and widely. We now can smoke Marlboro, eat sushi, use Microsoft software, receive acupuncture treatment, read Cosmopolitan, buy take-away pizza, and watch CNN anywhere in the world. English has become a global language. Skiing resorts, stocks exchanges and airports all look like the same everywhere. Blue jeans, underwear and sportswear can be seen everywhere. Source: Hutton, W. (1997), The State to Come, London: Vintage, p. 55.

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Source B To most people, modern society is characterized by its worldwide connectedness. There were many places people could not reach a century, or even just a generation ago. But now, we can reach almost everywhere.
The most basic way to connect people is probably telecommunication. Now nearly one billion families can talk to each other within a few seconds. The global positioning techniques enable us to locate any person or anything on the surface of the Earth; mobile phones can be connected in even mountains or deserts. The world is also connected at other levels: the global climatic changes, the depletion of the ozone layer, pollution of our oceans, etc. These also reflect that people’s activities affect each other, and a decision made by certain people at a certain place can affect people in various places of the world. People are more in touch with each other and are more connected, but privacy has been affected. Some billionaires even have to rely on large teams of personal assistants to protect their privacy and to escape from other people’s monitoring. No one can predict how far the Net can expand. No one can master the blueprint of today’s compressed world either.

Source: Mulgan, G. (1998), Connexity: Responsibility, Freedom, Business and Power in the New Century, London: Vintage, p. 19.

Source C “Globalization” is the most uncertain and most important popular term used in late 20th century. It’s uncertainty lies in the fact that it carries many meanings and can be used in many ways. In a world extremely compressed in terms of both time and space, something that happens in a certain corner of the world can quickly affect people far away profoundly. Debates over “Globalization” are enlightening, and that’s what makes globalization important. Wiseman, J. (1998), Global Nation? Australia and the Politics of Globalisation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 1.

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Source D Below I try to sum up the views of scholars who see Globalization as Americanization, although I held a different view of Globalization: To many people who live in places other than Europe and North America, Globalization is Westernization, or even Americanization, because the United States has become the only superpower, holding a leading position in the economic, cultural and military aspects of the world. Most of the cultural phrases about Globalization are related to the United States, such as Coca Cola, McDonald’s, etc. Since most multinational corporations are based in the United States or the Northern Hemisphere, some people think that Globalization concerns only the industrialized Northern Hemisphere, and the developing Southern Hemisphere seldom or even cannot get involved in it. Some people see this as a destruction of indigenous culture, which further divides the world and worsen the problem of poverty. Some people believe that Globalization divides the world into the winners and the losers, where very few people can find the path to a wealthy life and most people live in pain and despair. In the 1990s, the income of the poorest one-fifth of the world’s population dropped from the pathetic 2.3% to 1.4%. At the same time, some multinational corporations sold to the developing countries goods that were restricted or prohibited in Europe and America. Source: Giddens, Anthony (1999), Runaway World, The BBC Reith Lectures, London: BBC Radio 4, BBC Education, Lecture 1.

I think Globalization is

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I also have similar experiences.

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The Origins of Globalization
The word ‘globalization’ was first seen in 1985 in Theodre Levitt’s article ‘The Globalization of the Market’. Some scholars pointed out that the word first appeared in English dictionaries in 1944, and its related word ‘Globalism’ first appeared in 1943. Some people hold the view that the process of Globalization actually began when more than 500 years ago Columbus discovered the American continent, or even earlier. The first expansion of European capitalism was around 16th century, after human beings travelled around the world for the first time. In the late 19th century, world trade and investment developed rapidly until the First World War and the Great Depression. The first time people felt that the world was connected was probably when the International Date Line and international time zones were established, or when international standards of telegraph were agreed upon. However, there are scholars who believe that worldwide Globalization and its theoretical studies did not appear until mid-20th century, signified by the coming of the new technology revolution, the worldwide establishment of market economy, the formation and expansion of global problems, and the emergence and intensifying of global common awareness. There is no consensus to when Globalization first began.

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Worksheet 1 – Globalization and You Reference Materials for Teachers
Globalisation – Programme Outline of Hong Kong Connection (Chinese) 27 August 2001 Globalization is a worldwide trend that cannot be reversed. What is it? Is it good? Or is it bad? Workers say: “At first we thought globalization would be good for us by giving our boss business opportunities to make money. But when a multinational group bought our company, the first thing it did was to fire us. We lost our job before getting any benefits…… People running small businesses believe that it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but they also worry that multinational corporations would dominate and threaten the existence of their businesses. But some owners of small businesses are confident, “We are swimmers. We are good at surfing in the waves…...” What does globalization look like in the eyes of people who own big enterprises? When the anti-globalization people returned to Hong Kong from Italy, they said, “Anti-globalization is not simply throwing stones or breaking window glasses. . . .” (Excerpt from website of RTHK)