Definition Globalisierung !!!!!!!!!!

Sachtext:
Auszüge aus Thomas L. Friedman, The World is
Flat
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First
Century is an international bestselling book by Thomas
Friedman that analyzes globalization, primarily in the early 21st century. The title is a metaphor for viewing the world as a level playing field in terms of commerce, where all competitors have an equal opportunity. As the first edition cover illustration indicates, the title also alludes to the perceptual shift required for countries, companies and individuals to remain competitive in a global market where historical and geographical divisions are becoming increasingly irrelevant. Friedman himself is a strong advocate of these changes, calling himself a "free-trader" and a
"compassionate flatist," and he criticizes societies that resist these changes. He emphasizes the inevitability of a rapid pace of change and the extent to which emerging abilities of individuals and developing countries are creating many pressures on businesses and individuals in the United States; he has special advice for Americans and for the developing world (but says almost nothing about Europe). Friedman's is a popular work based on much personal research, travel, conversation, and reflection. In his characteristic style, he combines in The World Is Flat conceptual analysis accessible to a broad public with personal anecdotes and opinions.

Friedman defines ten "flatteners" that he sees as leveling the global playing field:

Archie Weller, “Going Home”
Going Home deals with the complexities of the
Aboriginal identity in Australia. It is set in the 1980s and the protagonist has succeeded at university. He excels at sports, studies art and does paintings that are admired by the white community. But in achieving this acceptance he has turned his back on his home and his family. He feels white, but at the same time he is proud to be black. On his 21st birthday, nostalgia for his roots leads him to return to the camp of his birth, only to discover that his new "white" identity is invisible in the darkness of ignorance and prejudice

Tim Winton, “Neighbours”
The short story "Neighbours" written by Tim Winton is about a young couple who have moved to a new suburb where a lot of European immigrants live. First, both the young couple and their neighbours have prejudices, but after a while they find out that they can be friends and that they can help each other in their daily lives, so that everybody is happy and satisfied with their neighbourhood and their life. The story shows that immigrants can be seen as social enrichment to Australian society. Their great sense of community helps the couple to understand that intolerance, prejudice and discrimination are based on ignorance .

Thomas L. Friedman: “The World is Flat”
This report deals with the current phrase of globalization, which Th. Friedman calls “Globalization 3.0”. He differentiates three phases of globalization:
“Globalization 1.0” ( from Columbus’s discovery of America until 1800; (European) countries discovered large parts of the world and established settlements and colonies; a time during which “going global” was headed by nations seeking power and resources
“Globalization 2.0” ( from the early 19th century until 2000, the period of the Industrial Revolution and its later global spread, which was no longer dominated by nations but by companies; one “went global” through business
“Globalization 3.0” ( from 2000 on; the period after the emergence of interactive global networks that allow users to access and deploy information globally; globalization is now driven by individuals and small groups offering their services via these networks; the main shift, as Friedman sees it, is that today individuals are “going global” and making use of world markets; whilst the first two phases were dominated by white westerners, the current era will be open to (and used by) people of every color
The economic “playing field is being leveled” by the growing number of services and production processes being outsourced. Anyone with the required knowledge, know-how, hardware and an ingenious business plan can access this playing field. Besides, there are educated workers and programmers in developing countries such as India who will work for a fraction of western salaries.
Friedman describes these developments using many anecdotes and examples of businesses being outsourced:
( American accountants (‘Buchhalter’) have taken to outsourcing the basic calculations of their clients’ tax reports to India while they focus on the more complex client contacts and financial investment advice – Indian service agencies fill out the tax forms according to US state standards and process the data anonymously.
( At nights and weekends, when radiology departments are often short-staffed, some US hospitals have started to use the Internet to send patient X-rays to Indian radiologists, who will analyze them and send them back.

Friedman goes on to outline ten main “flatteners” – events and developments that have created the basis for this new global playing field:
1. 9th of Nov. 1989 -> The fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Cold War, the emergence of the computer system “Windows”: leveled the view of the world because the isolated communist states were now accessible; new computer software allowed users to interact.
2. 9th of Aug. 1995 -> The emergence of the “Netscape” browser: this development triggered a massive investment in fiber-optic cables that would connect the entire world.
3. Work Flow -> The establishment of standards for software programs made it possible not only to Software communicate better, but also to improve their cooperation by using connectable software – Friedman calls this the “genesis moment” of the flattening of the world.
4. Uploading -> The possibility not only to download information but also to upload one’s own innovations and software enabled people to collaborate on the development of cost-free programs; it also opened the news market to individuals -> sites like Wikipedia have revolutionized the way knowledge and information are created and shared.
5. Outsourcing -> Multinationals, small companies and today even individuals distribute certain production or commercial services to people in low-cost areas.
6. Offshoring -> Companies not only outsource parts of their workload but move entire production sites overseas in order to save costs.
7. Supply-Chaining -> The logistics of corporation which do not produce anything but supply the logistic chain for producers to sell their products; essentially this movement of goods from A to B changes the way companies and countries cooperate.
8. Insourcing -> Producing companies do not handle the selling, repairing and delivering processes themselves, but distribute supply-chain procedures to delivering companies which not only deliver products but also take orders, and sell, repair and deliver these products; this creates the need for additional standards and levels the differences between firms.
9. Informing -> The Internet enables every individual to obtain information on any topic.
10. The Steroids -> Wireless technologies, all-in-one tools like the new generations of mobile phones enable people to access these new sources of information and participate in networks from almost any point in the world; access itself has become mobile.
Collaboration & standardization are the key concepts making the world “flat” -> the differences between countries and continents become less and less important. Example: A cheeseburger bought at McDonald’s in India will taste exactly the same as one bought in Berlin, simply because the company has standardized not only the way it is made but also the ingredients it uses.
Competition will become increasingly global, and knowledge and information differences will disappear, making the individual no longer a national but a global citizen.

Al Gore: “An Inconvenient Truth” (Film, 2006)
This documentary depicts the ecological campaign launched by former US Vice-President and presidential candidate Al Gore. In numerous presentations around the world, he is explaining not only the climate change actually taking place, but its causes and moral implications (‘Verwicklung’). The film documents these presentaions and the biography of the speaker, who has fought on these issues throughout his political career. Al Gore’s aim is to educate and move people to take action on climate change. The main causes and effects are summarized below:
Causes of global warming ( 1. Fossil fuel emissions, so called greenhouse gases, form a layer (‘Schicht’) in the atmosphere which traps the sun’s heat and thereby causes the temperature on the ground to rise -> “global warming”. 2. The quantity of greenhouse gases produced worldwide is rising because of more cars, planes and industry/ forests are burnt/ growth in the number of cattle is increasing the emission of methane. 3. The polar ice caps are melting, diminishing their efficiency as a cooling device and mirror to reflect sunbeams -> speeding up the heating process.
Effects and consequences ( 1. Rising global temperatures are causing more water to evaporate (‘verdunsten’), changing historical patterns of rainfall and drought -> irregular weather phenomena. 2. Oceanic warming is causing hurricanes to become more frequent and violent. 3. Changes in temperature also cause natural habitats to change -> plants and animals have to adapt or die out. 4. If the polar ice caps were to melt completely a large part of the landmass would be flooded, leaving millions homeless.
Each individual can participate in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by using better insulation in houses, saving electricity, recycling waste, using public transportation, flying only when absolutely necessary, etc.

International Efforts to Stop Climate Change – the Kyoto Protocol: - aimed to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by an annual 5.2% by 2012 - national limits were agreed - 2008: China had become the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases - the USA signed but did not ratify it - 2007: leaders of the developed countries reached the decision to cut global CO2 emissions by at least 50% - “Thinking global and acting local.”

The Individual and Society
Roles and Roles Conflicts: - one does not just have one single identity -> has to fulfill a number of different roles in different situations & contexts - a social role: pattern of behavior, rights, obligations -> performed in interaction with other persons (child – parent; teacher – student) - the society has expectations (‘Erwartungen’) ( inappropriate behaviour -> punishment appropriate behaviour -> reward (‘Belohnung’; ‘Anerkennung’) - conflict: contrasting roles which the individual should take on at the same time

Gender Identity: - a society has certain stereotypical ideas about the behaviour, the appearance, the skills, etc of a “real” woman and a “real” man - with the Feminist Movement in the 1960s, the validity of conventional gender roles was called into question - the media still present conservative images

Outsiders and Countercultures: - if an individual fails to conform to the rules of his/ her society, he/ she can become a social outsider - counterculture: a larger group rejecting the conventional norms ( “hippies”, “punks”, “hip hop” scene

Individual and Society:
Roles and Role Conflicts: - Not just one identity but a number of different roles - The role depends on the social environment with it’s expectations - Inappropriate behavior ( punishment - Appropriate behavior ( reward from society - A role can be achieved by or ascribed to an individual
Gender Identity: - Certain stereotypical ideas of men & women - The media still presents largely conservative images - Nature vs. nurture: behavior because of biological reasons vs. caused of differences in socialization
Outsiders and Countercultures: - Outsiders: fail to conform to the rules of the society - Counterculture: larger group rejects the conventional norms of society - Often younger generations - Eventually commercialized & assimilated by mainstream culture ( loosing their original rebellious impetus - The individual in the ghetto: ▪ Vicious circle of poverty & crime ▪ No refuge ▪ Lack of prospects ( people turn criminal ▪ General suspicion & stigmatization ( self-contempt & hatred of their own race