ANALYSE THE IMPACT OF GLOBALISATION IN EITHER A COUNTRY OR A REGION OF YOUR CHOICE.
...fell to 4.6% from 4.8% in the previous quarter” and that “the unemployment rate and level are the lowest since comparable records began in 1984” This would therefore question the assumption that outsourcing (and in turn globalisation) has raised unemployment in the UK. However there is still the impact on British manufacturing. It is argued that Britain has not learnt from its mistakes and that we “were ruined in the twenties and thirties by the exploitation of cheap labour in undercutting competition, not only on world markets but by import of their goods to our own market,” and a CBI survey in February 2004 indicated this exact point “that 30,000 jobs could be lost in the manufacturing sector by mid 2004.” In order to counteract the drop in employment in the manufacturing sector the British government is keen to intervene in order to keep as much industrial production in Britain as possible. For example, the car manufacturers Nissan have a manufacturing plant in Sunderland in the North-East of England. At the moment, due to the strength of the pound, production of the new Micra is likely to be moved to France as current production in Sunderland means that for “every Micra model that the workers make the company incurs a loss of about £2,000.” This move to France could result in many jobs being threatened and a further drop in levels of manufacturing in Britain. Despite the company stating that “new investment at Sunderland can't be countenanced until the UK commits itself to what it calls a ‘stable exchange rate mechanism’” the Sunderland plant is “likely to win a £40m Government grant to help kick-start production of the new Micra.” Due to the pressure’s of globalisation Nissan would be able to produce the Micra cheaper elsewhere therefore the government are likely to intervene in order to keep production in Britain. On the other hand, as a consequence of globalisation, Britain also has un-codified responsibilities to developing nations and a new scheme called Regeneration UK has recently been launched with “aims to enable British companies to get involved in regeneration and construction projects in countries undergoing positive economic change.” It represents “a £22 billion of investment helping exploit UK firms’ expertise…expertise which is the basis of the initiative to promote our capabilities overseas.” As you can see, as well as ensuring the stability of production within the UK and maintaining the strength of the economy within Britain, it could be argued that globalisation has forced individual nations to become regionally aware and not simply focus on national aims. Despite the clear fall in production since the 1980’s, British production has been slowly on the rise since mid 2002 (see figure 1) this, along with government grants enabling business production to stay in the UK is an indication that it is not all doom and gloom for British production. Figure 1 (extracted from www.statistics.gov.uk) Index of Production Manufacturing: 1.0% three monthly fall Index of Manufacturing, 2001=100 In the previous section I spoken about the challenges for British production and the effects caused by globalisation, however the other area in which British business has been affected buy globalisation is in international trade. As a result of globalisation, it is now feasible and desirable for companies to trade multi-laterally, i.e. with more than one country. This is due to the development of regionalism and in the case of Britain the development and integration into the EU (European Union). The EU has twenty five member states including Britain and “where trade matters are concerned, the EU acts as one single actor, where the European Commission negotiates trade agreements and represents the European interests on behalf of the Union's 25 Member States.” The British interests are negotiated by a representative in the ‘Article 133 committee’ which is “composed of representatives from the 25 Member States and the European Commission. Its main function is to coordinate EU trade policy.” The EU however still has to act under the control of the WTO (World Trade Organisation), which is an “international organization that sets global rules of trade between nations.” With Britain signing up to the European Commission, we then have to abide by the trading rules set by the WTO. However does this membership of the EU benefit British citizens and Britain as a whole? According to ‘Britain in Europe’ “billions of pounds are made from exports to the EU countries and millions of jobs across the UK are dependent on those exports.” For example, in economically struggling areas such as the North East of England, they claim that “In 2001 77.8% of goods exports from the North East went to EU countries, bringing £5.1 billion a year into its economy. 142,000 jobs in the North East depend on exports to the EU.” They also claim that certain regions have “qualified for special EU funds. In total they will receive £3.3 billion from 2000 to 2006 - covering over 5.5 million people.” As well as trading benefits apparent to EU membership, it has also allowed for business collaboration to occur as “firms now seek opportunities to cooperate, rather than identify situations where they can achieve majority control.” This can only benefit Britain due to the increasing costs and risks associated with innovation. However there is another side to the argument which is forwarded by many, that globalisation has simply taken away British power and can only have negative effects on the British public. This is the view of the Green Party who claims that they are ‘protecting’ Britain from globalisation. They state that “the European Union is dominated by vested economic interests with remote and unaccountable institutions" and that “all the Westminster parties have given up more and more control of the economy to the main beneficiaries of globalisation.” They emphasise that in the long term, the consequences of globalisation will not benefit British citizens due to the governments “capitulation to the big businesses agenda of lower trade barriers, lower taxes, and curbing environmental and labour standards.” It is debatable from the arguments that I have put forward whether or not globalisation has had a positive or negative effect on British trade and industry, however what is abundantly clear is that the effects it has had are massive and will continue to be a the fore front of political discourse for many years to come. In the previous sections I have discussed globalisation and its effects on Britain in the context of trade and production. Despite these being very relevant in the aftermath of globalisation, there are other aspects in the overall picture which must be taken into consideration, and I feel that culture and the changing British culture has been massively aided by globalisation. Clearly the main issue in relation to culture is the growing multiculturalism in Britain, and problems in relation to immigration. This issue of i...