Global Business Perspectives

Someone posted on a yahoo forum that I belong to today about how we need to buy local and that by supporting global initiatives we are undermining the economy and small business owners.  I have to say…I am quite irked about globalization being the catch all for angst with capitalism and corporate America.  Globalization is here to stay…we are more connected than ever before due to technology and free trade agreements.  The U.S. has welcomed free trade from the beginning.  Americans enjoy access to more items than any other country in the world.  We demand low prices and "good deals".  We even brag about them at the water cooler.  Almost everything we buy is from a global location.

1.  Toys for our kids – I think all the baby dolls I had as a child were made in Taiwan.

2.  Shoes – almost all my dress shoes that are leather are made in Brazil.

3.  My computer was made in Malaysia.

4. My car is a domestic brand but was built in Mexico.

5.  Coffee that we drink is from South America.

6.  The vegetables that I enjoyed for dinner are certainly out of season here in Michigan and came from Colombia.

7.  The sheets I sleep on are made from Pima cotton – made in Peru.

7.  Even my dog’s breed came from Scotland.

We are afforded so many options here in the U.S. because of the free trade agreements that we enjoy.  Most of the time these agreements do NOT benefit the other country like they benefit the U.S.  Please note that I have posted before on Peru’s farmers and their concerns over their livelihoods with competing against the U.S. subsidized farmers.  We certainly get the good end of the stick in these deals.  But we want more…always more. 

Wall Street demands better margins and people access to more products – this is one of the very principles that this country is founded on…capitalism.  With capitalism comes the drive to find better ways and cheaper ways to do the same thing.  This has also allowed for competition which helps us have some of the best innovation in the world.  By allowing other countries to get involved in the competition it pushes us to be even better – to be more innovative and to be the best.  This is what I want – this is what we need. 

Globalization offers so many opportunities for knowledge exchange and an interconnectedness that is preventing more wars.  It also provides money to countries who have some of the poorest people in the world.  They are able to feed, cloth and educate more humans than ever before.  I am an humanitarian – I believe that all humans have the right to these  very basic needs. 

Americans are very lucky to live in such a rich society – but do we really have to be spoiled brats about it.  Can we not share the wealth?  It is our responsibility to stay on the cutting edge of technology and innovation.  It is up to each one of us to keep our skills up to date to stay competitive in our society.  It is not globalization’s fault for the loss of jobs – our economy is changing.  Just like we changed from an agrarian society to an industrial society…we are changing again.  We CANNOT do business as usual and think that the world around us will not evolve – we will be left behind.  We need to be leaders but with that comes some tough decisions.  It is not always easy to be a good leader.  There comes change and sacrifice.  It is up to us to have the plan in place to match what is happening around us. 

Globalization is not the enemy… our complacency is!