Globalisation

12.1 What is globalisation?

Globalisation - The increasing links between dfferent ountries throughout the world and greater interdependance that results from this.

Interdependence - The relationship between two or more countries useally in terms of trade.

12.2 How has globalisation changed manufacturing and services worldwide?

Improvements in technology

• Better comminication - Faster, cheaper and bigger
• TV - Advertising, experiencing a countries culture
• Internet

Improvements in transport

• Faster, cheaper, more reliable, can travel further - Makes shipping goods easier and cheaper

Call Centres in India

Call Centres - Offices where groups of people work responding to telephone enquires from customers.

• Increadibly low prices for customer support - Lower costs/higher profits - 40-50% savings
• English speaking and tech-savy profesionals - No need to train/well educated
• Time zone advantage - Lower costs as nights in UK are day in India
• Supportive Indian goverment policies - Free export of capital goods
• State of the art infrastructure and technology - Call centres are ready to go (sub contrated) 

Motorsport Valley

• 40,000 people employed here
• 2,200 businesses related to design, research and devopment located here
• Sales exceed £9 billion
• 9 of the top F1 teams are based here (as well as Silverstone for easy testing)
• Near top Universities OxBridge

Advantages and disadvantages of TNC's

TNC - A corporation that has facilities and other assets in at least one counrty other than its home country

Leakage - Where profits made by the company are taken out of the host country to the country of orgin.

Multiplier effect - Where intital investment and jobs lead to a knock on effect, creating further jobs and providing money to generate services.

Walmart

• Over 8000 stores and employes over 2 million people
• 3 new stores opened in Argentina creating 450 jobs
• Walmart in Argentina donates over $77,000 to help local projects and feed local poor people
• Employees in Bangladesh claimed they worked over 80 hours per week
• Stores casue smaller shops to close
• Factory workers in China earn less then $1 per hour compared to $6 in the US.

12.4 How and why is manufacturing in different countres changing?

Deindustrialsation - A process of decline in which certain types of manufacturing industy which continues over a long period of time

Reasons for growth or decline

Government polices -

• Labour subsidies
• Purpose built factory sites
• Tax free periods of up to 10 years

Health and saftey regulations

• Fewer or not as well enforced regulttions - so less is spent

Prohibition of strikes

• Allows for maxium productivity and for the factory to alwasy be working.
• Might be frowned apon or lose your job if you do strike

Tax incentives

• Businesses pay low or no tax so decreased costs

Long working hours

• UK average hours per year is 1652 compared to 2390 in South Korea

China

Cheap labour - Miniumum wage varies acrross China but in bejing is about £70 per month.

Long working hours - Maximum 40 hours a week with 36 hours overtime a month. however this isnt always inforced so in some chinese factories workers have done over 80 hours overtime per month.

Laxer heath and safety laws - They are similar to other countries however they arent as heavily enforced. over the past decade over 100 workers have been treated for mercury posioning even though there are strict law on working with toxic materials.

Prohibition of strikes - Workers can only join the All-China Federation of Trade Unions which must get them back to work as quickly as possible.

Tax free zones and tax incentives - China has many zones where foreign businesses often dont have to pay tax for the first two years. 7.5% for the next three years and then 15% from then on, which is have of what it is in the rest of China.

Social Impacts -

• People may have to be moved in order to built the very large power plants.
• Waste from neuclear power plants is radioactive. if it leaks out it could cause harm and maybe even death.
• Will create jobs in building, ruuning and maintaining.

Environmental Impacts -

• Burning fossil fuels Releases CO2 and other pollutants into the atmosphere which increases the effects of global warming/acid rain.
• Causes deforestation which destorys habitats.
• Oil spills can occur which can harm animals.

Economic Impacts -

• Countries with lots of sources of energy, e.g, oil, will become richer, as other countries will need to buy from them.

Renewable Energy Sources

• Wind - Wind turns blades on wind turnbines to generate electricity.
• Biomass - Plant material is burnt to create energy.
• Solar Power - Energy from the sun is used to heat water, cook food and generaate electricity.
• HEP - Water is trapped behind a dam and forced through tunnels, which in turns generates electiricty by turning turbines.

UK Wind Power

• 6680 wind turbines
• 17 terawatt hours per year - Onshore
• 15 terawatt hours per year - Offshore
• 11% of UK's power

Positives - Creates jobs and is green energy, no pollution.

Negatives -  Only last for 25 years, noisy, expensive as each turbine can cost up to 2 million.

National

• Investments into renewable sources of energy
• UK government to reduce Co2 emissions by 60% by 2050
• Tough MOT tests
• Promotion and investment in public transport

International

• Protect and conserve forests worldwide
• Carbon credits - Quotas are set and unsed credits can be sold.
• Kyoto Protocal - Reduce 1990 average by 5.2%
• Afforestation program - Plant as many trees as possible

Environmental Impact -

• Destruction of habitats
• Over cultivation
• Pollution from food miles

Political Imapct - Polictical issues can occur with countries needing water to grow food etc. e.g. Indus Water Treaty. India and Pakistan own three of the six tributries each so no country is left without water.

Social Impact - Many farmers switch from subsistance faring to cash crops in order to  make more money. The posotives of this is that they have more money, an increased standard of living and thus these have a positve mutiplier effect. However som negatives are that it can increase desirtification due to lower soil qulity and higher food miles because they have to import there food.

Economic Impact - Due to lower soil quality farmers need to invest in fertilisers. These can cost huge amounts of money and can lead to farmers being in debt. However, if the farmer is able to afford them it can lead to a higher wealth gap between subsistance and cash crop farmers.