Term Paper on "Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas L. Friedman"

Term Paper 4 pages (1267 words) Sources: 1 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Lexus and the Olive Tree

Globalization is an opportunity for some and a threat to others, and a good deal of attention has been paid to the meaning of globalization and to its ramifications. Thomas L. Freidman is a booster for globalization and sees the changes taking place as necessary. He expresses his views in his book the Lexus and the Olive Tree. Friedman's basic idea is that globalization emerged became the new international economic system as the old system died with the end of the Soviet Union and the breaking down of the barriers of the Cold War. The change has not been smooth, however, and has required new solutions to economic problems around the world, solutions that take into account the global nature of the economy today.

Globalization is a particular way for business to look at the markets of the world and then to respond to international pressures. Companies are therefore reshaping their entire business structure to respond to global demands. Manufacturing can be done at different places around the world; and distribution is also shaped to different requirements. Products can be repackaged and even reformulated for different world regions; with marketing then devised to appeal to people in different parts of the world. This program also requires the development of an understanding of and a system for international human resource management, including specific policies geared to understanding hiring practices in the different countries in which a multinational corporation does business.

Globalization is most valuable in th way it crates new opportunities for a business in one part of the world to enter markets far away and succeed. One of the prime engines for the new global market today is the Internet, which itself crosses borders freely and provides anew means for marketing and distribution of some products and services. Globalization may create problems for some groups in the world, but in the main, it creates more opportunities that entrepreneurs can take advantage of ad achieve new levels of growth.

2. Friedman defines globalization in terms of the integration of capital and technology across national borders, and he finds that this is accomplished in a way that creates a single global market. There is also a political component the process may also be creating a true global village. In spite of the seeming even-handedness of such a process, in practice, globalization brings together actors of different relative size and power, with certain actors dominating and perhaps exploiting others. That is at least the charge made by critics of globalization. Friedman states that the system of globalization is constructed around three balances: 1) between nation-states, with the United States the sole superpower and all other states subordinate in some degree; 2) between nation-states and global markets; and 3) between individuals and nation-states, said to be the newest balance of the three:

Because globalization has brought down many of the walls that limited the movement and reach of people, and because it has simultaneously wired the world into networks, it gives more power to individuals to influence both markets and nation-states that at any time in history (12).

This is perhaps the most uncertain of Friedman's claims about the structure of the new system, given that most individuals feel powerless rather than empowered in this new global system, which has also been a reason for the protests. As Friedman explains it, though, individual companies and wealthy individuals able to tap into some aspect of the global market can achieve this level of influence. Again, then, it is the new level of opportunity that is one of the major advantages of globalization, and this may also lead to a stronger bond for peace among nations as they become engaged more directly in trade with one another, even with countries so far… READ MORE

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