Impact of Globalization, Essay Example

The effects of globalization are far reaching in the modern world. It facilitates worldwide flow of people, money, goods and services, culture, and information. Globalization leads to much mutual awareness and interdependence. The two non- Western cultures impacted by globalization are the economic culture of the Chinese and the Indian culture of how they view women.

There are various non-Western cultures that have been influenced by globalization. One example of such cultures is the Chinese culture. Globalization has had a great impact on the economy of China. Chinese economic culture gradually changed upon joining the World Trade Organization. Initially, their culture relied on the economy that was self-sufficient and they shunned globalization. They opposed significant global institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Globalization impacted on their economy and they started participating in foreign investment and trade. Currently, China is a party to global financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank (Taylor, 2014).

The second non-Western culture influenced by globalization is India. Globalization has helped Indians to alter how they viewed women. Before globalization, Indian women were denied equal opportunity as men. They were treated like second class citizens, who did not deserve to enjoy the same rights as men. The traditional Indian culture valued men more than women. Men were given authority to engage in any meaningful activities unlike women. Globalization, then sets it and impacted India. Both male and female Indians can now see the other cultures’ varying outlook on women in the society. Globalization has changed how male Indians treat their female counterparts. Globalization has facilitated affirmative action and gender parity in the country. Women are given more opportunities to excel thanks to globalization (Smith, 2000).

In China, their economic culture was influenced by their desire to open more trade links with the rest of the world. The economic gain they witnessed upon joining the World Trade Organization encouraged them to open up to international trade. In India, the influence was caused by the fact that Indian men realized they were not treating their women right after globalization enabled them to interact and study other cultures. They realized that they needed to give Indian women equal opportunities just like other women from other cultures.

The influence of globalization on the economy of China was direct. The Chinese responded positively upon witness the economic gains they made due to globalization. It was a positive influence because the impact of globalization greatly improved their economy (Watters, 2011). In the case of India, It was an indirect influence because globalization gave them an opportunity to witness how other cultures treated women before they decided to treat their women with dignity. It was a positive influence because Indian women and the girl child generally are given equal opportunities due to the impact of globalization.

In the case of China, at first they did not welcome the idea of trading with other countries overseas. They were conservative in the way they run their economy. They started responding positively to globalization after joining World Trade Organization and witnessing economic gains. In the case of India, their response to globalization was not immediate. They had to learn from other cultures before deciding to change how they treated women.

References

Smith, P. (2000). India: Globalization and Change (Hodder Arnold Publication). London, UK:   Routledge.

Taylor, R. (2014). The Globalization of Chinese Business. Oxford, UK: Chandos Publishing

Watters, E. (2011). The Globalization of the American Psyche. New York, NY: Free Press