The forces behind globalization

Answer 1

Business firms want to globalize in order to expand their markets, increase sales, and increase profits. Free trade agreements facilitate those activities and promote economic globalization. Such agreements vary in scope. Some are bilateral such as the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement and the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement. Others are multilateral and regional such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Mercosur (including Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay as full members and Chile as an associate member), and the 18-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Group (APEC). The European Union (EU) goes further by creating a supranational government. And the World Trade Organization (WTO) includes more than 120 nations from around the world. These agreements and organizations are facilitating economic integration on a regional and worldwide basis. Trade agreements facilitate the activities of major companies. For example, Ford Motor Company is working to create a "world car" that can be sold and used throughout the "global village." Trade agreements facilitate distribution systems, Franchising, joint ventures, and other cross-border collaborations between and among businesses. Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola are sold in hundreds of countries throughout the world. Franchises for McDonald's Hamburgers, Pizza Hut, Subway, Burger King, and others carry U.S. trade names as well as U.S.-style fast foods (and fast eating styles) throughout the world. One of the major forces facilitating such globalization is the expansion of communication systems. During the final decades of the 20th century, the Internet globalized communications. One document can be distributed throughout the world in seconds. Using computer software, that document can be converted quickly to various languages for use almost anywhere in world. Telecommunications systems allow radio and television transmissions to be broadcast throughout the world within seconds. For example, the Cable News Network (CNN), based in the United States, produces 24-hour news broadcasts that can be seen around the world by traveling businesspeople and others. CNN's 24-hour coverage of the Persian Gulf War in 1991 established the network as one that serves global audiences. It is not viewed as "foreign" when it broadcasts to and from countries other than the United States