Dimensions of Globalisation (AQA A Level Geography)

Flows of Globalisation

• Globalisation is the process whereby the world has become more economically, politically and socially interconnected

  • Economic connections refer to the exchange of goods and services across borders and the creation of global supply chains

  • Political connections refer to countries working together in international organisations such as the United Nations or the European Union

  • Social connections refer to the exchange of cultures and ideas e.g. people sharing their thoughts and experiences via social media, the increase of multicultural societies

  • Cultural connections result from the ability to travel further afield and more easily, greater knowledge and understanding of other cultures

• The term 'global village' was used by McLuhan to describe the breakdown of differences between nations

  • He argued that other scales of economic, social cultural processes were becoming less important than the global scale

• The global societies mean that almost all nations and peoples are influenced and affected by other nations

• Globalisation is caused by the movement or flow of people, information, money, goods and services between countries

  • The map below shows how countries are connected through global trade of a valuable resource such as oil

Examples of Flows of Globalisation

• KOF Index (The Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research) produces an annual Index of Globalisation 

  • Measures the social, economic and political aspects of globalisation

  • Uses a wide range of data such as participation in UN Peace-keeping missions to TV ownership

  • Countries are scored out of 100 and the higher the number, the more globalised the country is

Global Marketing

• Marketing is the promotion and sale of goods and services

• Many companies advertise and sell their product all over the world using one global marketing strategy 

  • An example of this is Coca Cola which sells soft drinks in over 200 countries with a brand identity that is recognised globally

• Having one global strategy reduces costs and develops global awareness 

• This enables companies to boost sales and achieve economies of scale due to global awareness of, and trust in the brand

• When customers around the world recognise a particular brand or logo, this contributes to the acceleration of globalisation

Production & Globalisation

• In the past, most manufacturing was concentrated in industrialised countries such as USA, UK and Germany

• More recently, TNCs have moved production to Emerging Market Economy (EME) countries such as China to take advantage of cheaper costs of land and labour

• This process is known as global shift

• The largest markets for manufactured goods remain in Highly Developed Economy (HDE) countries, so most products are exported for sale to Europe and North America

• As EME countries continue to develop, it is likely that patterns of production and consumption will shift again