Globalization's impact on global markets and production networks

Market Society and the Public Sphere

My journal text comes to illustrate the utmost significance of globalization viewed as the force molding and shaping the current world. It describes the multidimensional aspect of globalization that influences and encompasses all facets of life through an integrated network. Currently, globalization is the buzzword in media articles, daily talks of media people and talks of politicians. There is no aspect of life that is not influenced or affected by globalization (Tober, 2006, 33). However, many people find it difficult to reflect on this phenomenon. This is because the term is applied in so many aspects leading to its ambiguity in defining it according to my text.

Numerous volumes of work have written about globalization in numerous fields such as political, science, business, economics, sociology and many more. This has made the term globalization lack a precise cogent theory and definition. This is seen as a paradox because the concept has become fashionable and being uttered by everybody. However, as I reflect on my text, I will use different perspectives to shed light on the issue. The approaches that I have employed are relevant to my text (Ruggiero, 2006, 12-20).

Global markets

An increase in global sales and turnover leads to the creation of new economies and more opportunities for improved profitability. In fact, a series of researchers have indicated that the development of high technology requires enormous costs that can only be provided by the global market. Without the global market, this venture cannot be commercially viable. In addition, different industries can advance their corporate earnings by coordinating global marketing approaches that focusing their selling efforts on areas of outstanding profit. Further, long-term earnings can be earned if firms cover their initial losses of entering a new market with extra income from stable outlets (Porter, 2003, 70-86).

Markets have been widely globalized leading to dispersed consumers across all corners of the earth. These consumers are buying similar goods at the same price and time. Markets are no longer defining their products by their territorial units. Michael Porter argues that, currently market segments are based on country differences and consumer differences that go beyond country borders. An integrated international sales network enables instant transaction of business across the world (Hass, 2003, 51-70). This has been made possible by the current advancements in technology that enables businesses to reach consumers via telephone or computer.

For example, Microsoft's Bill Gates predicts a future where cyberspace will be a shopper's heaven. The internet will be providing all the available goods in the global market, and delivering goods to consumers' doorstep. The above circumstances indicate that commercial survival will depend on global marketing. A reflection on the above conviction declares that going global is a necessity and not a luxury (Naisbits, 2005, 21-26).

Global commodities

Globalization has been fueled by forces of capitalism stemming from surplus accumulation presented by inter-global territorial spaces. Globalization presents an infrastructure for profitable businesses large-scale business operation. Firms involved in telecommunications, digital technology, trans-border finance and electronic media are rising to great positions in global security exchange. Further, these sectors are the oldest in the service industry and are the major areas of production in the world. Therefore, globalization offers opportunities to extend Marxist's commoditization term to an array of emerging articles (Kapstein, 2004, 120-144).

In fact, with the sprawling inter-global networks, there is a remarkable shift in the capitalist's gravity, which has moved to intangibles from merchandise. In the world market, surplus income is derived from manufacturing, mining, agriculture and many others. Indeed, in the globalized economy, profit is also pursued through the production of data, electronic financial transactions, and flows of sounds and images to a large level. For example, currently, only 10% of foreign exchange transactions are directly linked to business trading real goods (Sklair, 2005, 88-110).

Global business organization

Globalization is the driving force behind the creation of strategic alliances between organizations. This involves different cooperation agreements between business enterprises. Inter-firm corporations are involved in joint research efforts, sub-contracting arrangements, co-production operations, joint distribution, and marketing and many collaborative activities. Thousands of cooperate treaties have been produced via diplomatic and business relations among firms (Naisbits, 2005, 49-60). This has been observed especially in the information technology, automotive, travel, telecommunications and pharmaceutical sectors.

Because of acquisitions, mergers and strategic alliances, globalization has facilitated the increase in concentration of power and ownership to many production areas. For instance, several fields have evolved mega-mergers thus becoming corporate giants, which have made radical changes in the industry's competition. Vey few companies dominate the global production of music recordings, film, electrical equipments, aircrafts, credit cards, debt instruments, telecommunications, insurance, credit cards, and semiconductors. In this regard, the largest global firms are controlling 70% of foreign investment and a third of worldwide corporate assets Kapstein, (2004, 99-112).

Global money and finance

Globalization has loosened the link between territory and money. Money has abandoned safes and wallets to be moved and stored in borderless distances of cyber space banking. Such electronic flow of currency enables easy circulation of money outside and inside the home country. For example, in 1990's less U.S. Dollar were held inside while most of the U.S. Dollars were held outside the U.S. Millions of bank passes and credit cards are valid and are being used in the global market. Currently, electronic purses have been introduced: these purses can carry digital cash in different denominations at the same time. This development in technology has shifted money further into a borderless world (Ruggiero, 2006, 44-67).

Conclusion

The above developments indicate that the face of capitalism has been altered by globalization. The features of production, business institutions, markets, commoditization, finance, and money have made remarkable shifts. Through trans-border relations, it is now possible to extend the processes of surplus accumulation into the fabric of global affairs. The above discussion describes how globalization has become the buzzword in the current world market.