The globalization of human resources
'Transnational' companies are relatively free to switch resources and production from one
country to another. Typically this is done in order to maximise the benefit
(to the corporation) of greater skills availability and lower employee
costs.
Further notes:
The International Labour Organization has concluded that globalization intensified in the latter
years of the 20th Century especially in terms of trade, investment, financial liberalization and
technological change but also states that:
"The benefits of globalization have been very unevenly distributed both between and within
nations. At the same time a host of social problems have emerged or intensified, creating increased
hardship, insecurity, and anxiety for many across the world, fuelling a strong backlash. As a
result, the present form of globalization is facing a crisis of legitimacy resulting from the
eerosion of popular support."
Some of the main factors which have been identified as being at the root of the problems and
widespread public disquiet are:
* Reduction in job security because work (and therefore jobs) can be moved from one country
to another.
* Undercutting of one country's wages by another, leading to erosion of wage rates.
* Exceeding generally accepted working hours and exposure to health and safety risks to
cut costs.
- Paper submitted by the International Labour Office to the Second Session of
the Preparatory Committee for the Special Session of the General Assembly on the Implementation of the Outcome of the World Summit for Social
Development and Further Initiatives, April 2000
provides critical
articles on the activities of transnational corporations
Similarly,
Trading blocs
International trade has grown to colossal proportions in recent decades.
The bulk of this trade is concentrated in (and between) three major trading
blocks: the European Union, the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA)
and the 'tiger economies' - newly industrialized states of East Asia.
Not everyone approves of trading blocks. See
The developing world
Developing countries are gradually being brought into the global industrial
economy. (...) Private capital is being moved around the world in search
of profit from flexible and open economies. Complex factors attract this
capital: it is not simply a case of the cheapest employees.
These pages on BestBooks.biz introduce
which analyses work and employment relations in seven countries in different stages
of development: Australia;
Indonesia; Japan; New Zealand; the People's Republic of China (PRC); South Korea; and Taiwan.
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