Globalisation, Globalization And Glocalisation

Globalisation has become a fashionable term used for numerous years amongst humanities and social sciences. Usage of this term has been driven by an academic fascination with the world as an increasingly interconnected place, in which localized forms of culture have become increasingly subject to homogenizing global influences (Maguire, J)

Brune, Nancy, and Geoffrey Garrett. "THE GLOBALIZATION RORSCHACH TEST: International Economic Integration, Inequality, and the Role of Government." Annual Review of Political Science 8.1 (2005): 399-423. Web.

McDonald’s is not some ordinary fast food restaurant with its trademark logo advertised almost everywhere in the U.S., many people all over the world know about these famous golden arches. The McDonald’s franchising started in 1955 and in less than fifty years, McDonald’s was introduced all over the world in countries such as, China, Japan, Great Britain, Sweden, France etc. McDonald’s global expansion has intermingled with cultural traditions because these countries are becoming more westernized. Since East Asia is becoming more westernized it also means that there is a cultural difference because of the influences from outside the country. The cultures are being changed because of how ideas are expressed by people and not by their

So with the introduction of a foreign symbol into a host country like a new McDonald’s restaurant, the impact is not so dramatic and the host country does not fully take in the American culture but shapes it in a way to suit their lifestyle and tastes. For example, the food and names of the food at McDonald’s in Tokyo is slightly different to those in America. In India, it serves lamb burgers and in Germany beer is available. This shows that the American formula was not as international as had been hoped, and local cultural practices had to be acknowledged.

The segment of the general environment that ranks the highest between the global and socio-cultural considerations is the socio-cultural. The reason being that McDonald’s represents a very strong aspect of the American culture and a major part of the American culture is the food industry. The food industry, in terms of American food consists of a good old- fashioned hamburger, French Fries, and soda and McDonald’s mastered this concept of American food to perfection. On the other hand the global segment especially in

Globalisation is the process by which the world is becoming progressively interconnected as a result of significantly increased trade and cultural exchange. It has also increased the production of goods and services. The biggest companies (such as McDonald’s, Starbuck’s, Costa

Source I’s perspective is the view that through globalization; many cultures are destroyed and that this diminishes society. This source outlines a

Over the course of history, domestic politics have been shaped by international forces. Forces like war and trade; empire and colonies; migration and the spread of ideas. Globalization and Neoliberalism plays an important role in impacting politics in all states. “Globalization is a system in which human beings are no longer part of isolated communities that are linked through narrow channels of diplomatic relations of trade”(O’Neil,2017, pg.346). Globalization creates a division between international relations and domestic politics. When globalization makes a distinction, then the aspects of domestic politics are controlled by global forces. Globalization changes the  institutions of economics, politics, and society. The institutions are measure by space and time of social norms, culture, boundaries. The boundaries create a local identity and control (particularly-“state, religion, or set of cultural values holds sway over the land and here but not there.”)(O’Neil, 2015, pg.348).  Furthermore, political isolation becomes impossible to happen.

Globalization refers to the “tendency of investment funds and businesses to move beyond domestic and national markets to other markets around the globe, thereby increasing the interconnectedness of different markets. Globalization has had the effect of markedly increasing not only international trade, but also cultural exchange”³. Globalization is closely related to foreign investment in the sense that foreign investment is a contributing aspect of globalization. It has also been noted that globalization can especially impact developing countries as it “helps developing nations "catch up" to industrialized nations much faster through increased employment and technological advances” . McDonald’s is a prominent example of a company that has embraced the opportunity to globalize and achieve success doing so. McDonald’s is the largest fast food restaurant chain in the world consisting of more than 35,000 outlets spread across 118 countries. Although the company was founded in the United States, they have not limited themselves to North America; they now spread worldwide into every continent. Similar to their global growth increase, the company has also seen their revenue tremendously increase as they continue to share their product with more and more people around the world. “McDonald’s key to success is its business mantra of “think global, act local”. This has allowed the company to achieve financial success in every region it opens its fast food restaurants”4. McDonald’s has clearly found the right strategy in terms of growing their product internationally as they’re seen to be one of the most successful companies doing so, their numbers support their success as they receive around 65% of their revenue from international

Globalisation is often referred to when discussing things such as trade, travel or large international companies. No matter where people live in the world, globalisation can easily affect them on different scales whether it be local, national or global.

Brinkerhoff, Weitz, and Ortega (2014) define globalization of culture as “the process through which cultural elements (including musical styles, fashion trends, and cultural values) spread around the globe (p. 49). Furthermore, the cultural impact globalization has imparted on American society is clearly evident in the enormous number of choices available, which includes choices concerning food, fashion, and the arts of film, dance, and music (The Impact of Globalization on the Consumer, 2014). For instance, when I dine out and have the choice of a type of cuisine to eat, just in the small city I live, there are at least three of each type of Asian (Thai, Mongolian, Japanese, and Chinese), Mexican, and Italian restaurants.

As Conley discusses, globalization is a multidimensional set of social practices interact to create and alter worldwide social exchanges and interdependencies (555). Like McDonaldization, globalization works to change the way society interacts with other cultures. It allows us to have the same foods in different location and to have foreign cuisine without actually having to travel. This allows individuals to experience different cultures without actually having to take a trip that they may not be able to afford. Through globalization and McDonaldization, the world has become more diverse in some areas and introduced people to topics and cultures that they once did not understand. Is McDonaldization an independent phenomena or a continuation of another phenomena or societal change? Does it have synonyms or is it unique? What would society look like without culture sharing and learning? Is society unique because of culture, or culture

Globalization is taking place across the world where people can either become globalization or stay local in the state or country. People are very controversial about globalization helping local economies and local businesses. Some people believe globalization is helping local businesses into the markets and then there are some that believe that multinational corporations hurting the local small businesses. What is globalization? “the development of an increasingly integrated global economy marked especially by free trade, free flow of capital, and the tapping of cheaper foreign labor markets” (). Globalization has started long before we were born.

Lastly, religions play an important role too by gathering people scattered across the globe under an identical cosmology, thus creating imagined communities (Anderson, 1983). Globalization, by connecting people through the media, also creates such a community: inhabitants of the world share the idea of a global community and an international identity. This is why we could define globalization as the compression of time and space (Harvey, 1983). Communications as well as people can travel at an ever increasing speed, thereby giving the impression that every corner of the world is at hand. The main thesis about globalization argues that it leads to a phenomenon of homogenization. My hypothesis however is that some cultures are so different and so deeply rooted in their environment that they can't simply be erased. They will be modified, influenced but not standardized under one unique model. This will lead to hybrid products, thereby proving the hypothesis of glocalization, introduced by

In this essay I will give a detailed explanation of what sociologists mean by the term ‘globalisation’ and how they have tried to explain it.