Globalization
by Megan Ly
What is globalization?
Globalization is the spread of things like products, people, and communications between countries. Other things that can be spread are things like culture, resources, and technologies. Globalization can help countries build there economies and help provide needed jobs. But there are also bad sides to globalization such as, making it possible for companies to lower wages and outsourcing of jobs for other countries. These are only some of the pros and cons of globalization.
The Impact of Geography
Geography has a major impact on people. Specifically, it has an impact on where, how, and why people live where they do. You can see examples of how geography effects where and why people live where they do if you look back to certain ancient civilizations. Lots of ancient civilizations have common reasons for picking why they decided to settle down where they were. For example, many early civilizations were found near to be close to the ocean shore or close to a body of water. By living near a body of water they would always have a source of food(fish,clams,snails, etc.) and drinking water. Also, living near bodies of water affected how they lived. A lot of early civilizations started out as fishermen and foragers. This was because fishing for food was safer than hunting and plants were abundant. Although we are no longer forage for our food, geography still has a major impact on the way we live today.
Following the making of Starbucks coffee
Most people in the U.S will probably see a Starbucks coffee shop at least once in their life. Starbucks is one of the most popular coffee companies in the U.S and has spread worldwide.But how many people have questioned where that coffee their drinking actually comes from? Where did they get the coffee beans to make the coffee? Where was it processed? How was it processed?
If you look at the picture above, you will be able to see just how many places Starbucks coffee has been before it ends up in your cup.The aqua and maroon colored dots show where the coffee plantations are. These plantations are where coffee plants are grown and their beans are eventually harvested. After these beans are harvested, they are sold to the processing plants. This is where machines and workers turn the beans into the coffee you know. After they are done processing the coffee beans, the coffee is then sold and distributed around the world.
Problems of Globalization
Although globalization can be a good thing, it can also cause problems. These problems can often in organized under one of the four categories of globalization. The categories are environment, technology, culture, and economics. Here are some of the problems created by the product above.
Environment
Starbucks could potentially create a major problems for third world countries like Ethiopia and Costa Rica. Both of these countries have coffee plantations where coffee beans are grown and harvested for Starbucks. Coffee plantations are a major source of jobs and income for countries like these. If their coffee plantations were to be affected by natural disasters that might occur like hurricanes and wild fires, then an extremely large amount of citizens in a population of 25 million would loose their jobs and only source of income.
Economics
A problem that can occur is that outsourcing of jobs. Many countries have jobs under the company of Starbucks. But if the company decides to move jobs overseas to other countries, many workers will loose their jobs and the source of income that they had. Then these workers could also run into financial problems.
Technology
It takes a large amount of different types of machines to process coffee beans in order to turn them into to coffee. It also takes a lot of money to keep these machines running. Certain countries that have these processing plants may find it problematic to have enough resources and people to keep these machines running. It could also be problematic if a machine breaks down. Then a factory would not be able to process their coffee beans.
Culture
A problem could occur in certain cultures that do not fully believe in gender equality. Women who end up working in the coffee plantations or processing plants could be taken advantage of financially. These women could intentionally be paid less and forced to work more than their male counter parts.
A Solution
In order to make sure that all machines are in working order, the processing plants can do constant inspections. The companies could teach certain employees on how to check every machine to make sure that it is functioning properly and in stable condition. By teaching the employees, the company would not have to pay an outside source to do inspections and they can make sure that none of their machines will break down on them.
How globalization effects me (six word story)
My parents moved to Derry,NH.
How globalization effects me
Globalization effects me because it effected where my parents decided to live. My parents both immigrated here separately when they were in their twenties. When my parents were married they settled down in Lowell, Massachusetts and had my three older siblings. But once it came time for my older sisters to start school, they decided that they should move. One of the reasons that they decided to move to Derry is because they saw that it had a good school system. A second reason they decided to move to Derry is because they saw that it had a safe environment for kids. Another reason they moved to Derry was because it was closer to my father's job at the time. After a few years of living in Derry, they had me. This is only one of the example of how globalization has effected me.