Globalization is defined as the increasing mobility of goods, capital, services and people across borders. It emerged in the late 20th century as economies became more interconnected. Key international institutions that promote globalization include the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. While globalization has led to economic growth in many nations, it has also raised social justice issues and caused exploitation of immigrant workers and social workers in some countries. Civil society plays an important role in addressing these issues through community organizing and promoting democratic participation.

1. RUNNING HEAD: GLOBALIZATION
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GLOBALIZATION.
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NAME:
TITLE:
INSTITUTION:
DATE:
1. Describe how globalization and its dimensions and what
values are most associated with its manifestation across the
globe. Include what international institutions are most
associated with globalization.
Globalization is one major factor that affects the world today on
both sides; either positively or negatively. It has been a
worldwide phenomenon ever since the 1990s to date.
Globalization can be defined as the mobility of production
processes from post-industrial countries to the developing
countries. On other perspectives, globalization could be define
as the spread and rising power of trans-national corporations
globally, or the liberalization of international finance systems,
or reduction in transportation and communication costs. The
concept of globalization emerged in the late 20th century when
different economies of the world were spanning differently and
facing different challenges. It was during this period that the
South-east Asian nations were growing rapidly into big
economies while their African counterparts were growing at a
rather poor rate. The middle-eastern nations as well, with all the

2. resources were also facing some challenges and did not actually
grow as much as they were expected. Globalization for the first
time now came into action (Steger, 2013).
Globalization was projected to help stabilize the falling
economies by following the policy whereby decisions were
reached to globally and applied to different nations around the
world individually. Matter of fact, this was one of the most
reliable options to ensure that all the nations around the globe
were able to grow economically and possibly control the famine
epidemics, wars and other issues hindering them.
One of the implemented values was that of international social
work, educational developments and labor mobility. Social work
is still effective even in the current world. Labor mobility is one
of the most effective aftermath of social work.
Another value that was implemented was the development of
local practice in the cross-border and international arenas. This
majorly affected the ethnic and racial identities of certain
nations, thanks to migration, one of the major implications of
globalization.
This move was aimed at helping the economies of the world,
especially the poorer ones to achieve the required levels, thus
eradicating poverty. In fact, poverty had become a major
concern, and each time an epidemic would strike, for example a
poorly thriving African nation, it would be a burden to the
international community to come and help them out. Apart from
poverty, there were many other challenges, the common one
being the issue of increased debts. Several nations had
borrowed too much money to facilitate the improvement of their
education systems, transport and communication links as well as
to develop health facilities amongst many other social amenities
and basic services to their respective citizens.
One of the organizations mostly involved in pushing the
economies of the world towards embracing globalization was
the International Monetary Funds, which was the mastermind
behind some major implementations such as the social work.
The IMF has in the recent past suggested ways in which the

3. economies of the world can be able to stabilize their income for
the better of the citizens. One of the policies implemented is
that of deciding on key issues globally and implementing them
locally.
The IMF has played a major role in pushing the governments of
the world to put more emphasis on education, importance of
social networks and communities, local circuits of cooperation
and systems of connectedness, by providing grants and loans to
several nations. All these were put in place in order to ensure
economic growth and promoting the improvement of life.
However, as much as the World Bank has also played a major
role in being a reliable source of funds, it has also regulated the
borrowing of loans to some nations which actually ended up
overburdening themselves with loans in a bid to improve their
economic performances, a good example being Sri Lanka.
Describe how globalization has had an effect on the welfare
state of nation-states?
Statistically speaking, globalization has made a huge
implication in the international community ever since it was
introduced into the world, the international community has
experienced a major breakthrough economically. One of the key
masterminds of globalization, the World Bank has as well
played a major role in ensuring economic success amongst
nations, by doing what they do best, provision of monetary
funds.
One of the nations that have been a major beneficiary of
globalization is the United States of America. The USA is a vast
nation with a very big population but still, it is the biggest
economy in the world. In the latest release of GDPs across
different nations around the globe, the US maintains its position
as the biggest economy of the world. One of the key
contributors is its large workforce that is supplied by its vast
population as well as the immigration of educated individuals
into the United States of America. With all that work force, it is
most likely that a nation’s economy will definitely grow,

4. putting into consideration other factors such as technology.
Another result of globalization to the USA was the expansion of
its trade relations with other nations around the world. For
instance, the US’s major trade partners are giant economies
such as Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom amongst many
other trade partners. In effect to that, the USA is one of the
biggest trading partners that any nation would want to partner
with. This is signified by its prosperous economy.
Other nations where globalization has borne fruits significantly
are Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. These
nations focused their investments on the universal aspect, and
sure enough, they are economically stronger.
To begin with, the respective governments invested more in
universal education. This impacted positively on their growth.
By making education universal, a nation is able to tap into the
knowledge of the students who learn in those respective nation.
As a result, the nation is able to provide its own workforce that
is of high standards. It is also evident that technology in these
nations is actually among the best. With advanced technology, it
is actually easier to tap into the full potential of a nation in
exploiting all the available channels to economic growth.
It is also worth noting that Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea
and Singapore also directed national and foreign investment
into manufacturing production. In this way, they were able to
produce high standard manufactured goods and services. These
goods and services are in turn either consumed locally by the
citizens or rather exported, thus earning the respective
governments revenue. These nation today have sophisticated
transport and communication networks that are highly reliable
for the citizens and the international community as well.
Likewise, these nations are also performing well economically
(George Ritzer, 2014).
Larger states like Thailand and Malaysia are good examples of
nations that also reflect the benefits of globalization to their
economies. For instance, these two nations have used land
reforms to redistribute land to farmers. It is worth noting that

5. land is a very valuable resource that could be manipulated from
different angles, for the benefit of a certain nation. It is from
the land that certain minerals and agricultural products that are
valuable are obtained. These minerals may include valuable
metals like gold and diamond, and oil. When exported, they
have huge value that in turn earn the respective nations income.
In this case, these nations redistributed land to its farmers.
Agricultural products based on farm produce are a necessity for
many industries such as the textile industry which relies on
cotton, the food and beverage industry which relies on livestock
as well as farm produce, among many other uses. For Malaysia
and Thailand, these benefits have been received. In addition to
that the rural farmers from these two nations have in the past
few years raised above the poverty index levels and are now
able to sustain themselves through farming. Interestingly, it has
become unnecessary to have to migrate to the larger urban areas
in search of employment since they are able to sustain their
families.
This explains why most Asian nations have become stable
economies over the last few years. The Asian nations especially
those from the South-east Asia grew rapidly after the colonial
period was over.
5. Describe the social justice issues that have been raised as a
result of globalization and requirements such as adjustment
programs.
As much as globalization is associated with economic prosperity
of different nations around the world, it is also linked with
some domestic economic and social justice issues. In the
process of economic growth, groups of people are oppressed and
putting into consideration the fact that they are actually a
minority, they end up not being heard. As a nation enjoys
economic spanning, some of its “unlucky” citizens suffer in
silence. This is actually very inhuman and should be looked into
just as economic growth is focused on. After all, the fruits of
economic growth should be enjoyed by the entire population

6. indiscriminately.
The most affected group of people are the social workers. Social
workers have in the past gone through exploitation from certain
governments. Despite their efforts to get heard, in most case
they have always been oppressed even more and deprived of
their human rights. It is the responsibility of the world’s
economies today to look into this issue and ensure that none of
the loyal citizens end up suffering other than enjoying the fruits
of their labor.
Immigration and dislocation of poor people is one exploitable
example of an injustice that has been experience as an effect to
globalization. A good example is that of immigrants from Latin
Americans. For quite a long period of time, Latin Americans
from the south have been working for the United States of
America as immigrants, contributing largely to its economy.
However in return, they are less appreciated.
It is important to note that it is not only the immigrants in the
US who contribute to its thriving economy, but also those who
dwell in Central America. In both cases, their wages are always
maintained to be low, yet they too have families to take care of
and challenges to face. All their efforts are paid back by such
inhumane exploitation as well as separation from their families.
On the latter, some families have to let some of their family
members, especially the sole bread winners to go get employed
in the US and in turn send back something after a period of time
to keep them going. This injustice points back at globalization
(James Ciment, 2015).
As a result it is necessary to take the required steps in order to
give these subjects a voice.
To begin with, social workers are encouraged to be part of
movements that are aimed at addressing the debt crisis,
sweatshops and free trade institutions detrimental to those poor
people of the global south. These organizations are known. One
of the major organization is Jubilee USA Network. This
organization has been of great help in mobilizing the masses,
especially the social workers and keeping them aware of

7. exploitation.
These social workers are also encouraged to act by writing
letters to the legislators. This is one of the political actions that
are effective. In this way, they are able to speak out and get
heard by the rest of the society. Justice will be easily delivered
when one‘s grievances are well presented.
Another way of promoting self-awareness among these social
workers is by promoting programs that are educational and life-
changing to them. Matter of fact, these social workers will only
get to acquire professional skills through an education.
Education also empowers them in that they will be able to view
the world as a place full of opportunities to exploit, and not
them to be exploited. It is also worth to hold discussions with
them to enlighten them that what they are going through is
totally against the human rights and should be stopped. It is
through such forums that these people will get to see the value
they possess since they too contribute to the thriving economy
of the nation they serve.
10. Describe Civil Society and its relevance to social work
practice in age of globalization.
For any nation to prosper, the citizens must take part by
inputting their efforts to grow their own economy. The citizens
form a part of a society that in this case are major contributors
to national growth. This is in this point that citizenship comes
in most appropriately in the aspect of civilization. This brings
us to the aspect of civil society and its relevance to social work
in the age of globalization.
Focusing on civil society first, it reflects back on the
community. It is worth noting that the community plays a major
role in society and hence should be appreciated. The community
is a very powerful symbol of togetherness even in the modern
society today. It is in the modern world that some socially
unacceptable aspects are widely practiced and the notion of
“community” stands against it all. Some of these include
individualism. Individualism is actually a major challenge to
community since the modern world has its constraints that do

8. not encourage the sharing of resources. This has majorly
promoted individualism.
However, taking a keener look at the situation at hand, it is
possible to get through the challenges facing the community.
Matter of fact, unity is strength. Today, people languish in
poverty while others are in their comfort zones. The gap
between the rich and the poor will never reduce unless this
aspect of civil society that is community is put into
consideration. In that concept, community is actually the best
tool of promoting good in the society. People will only be made
aware by acting together as a community. Take for example the
issue of injustices impose on immigrants. If they are left by
themselves to get over their challenges, they definitely will
never make out of it in good condition. They deserve the
support of the entire community to help them get through it all.
Matter of fact that is why it is encouraged to make them aware
through advising them as well as providing an education for
them (Scott Nicholas Romaniuk, 2016).
Social capital has also been associated closely with civil
society. With social capital comes democracy, which is the
voice of the society. It is through democracy that people get to
express what they feel would be favorable to them as they work
towards a prosperous economy. Take for instance, an employer
who listens to his/ her employees will definitely get the best
results from them, since they basically enjoy working under
their master or mistress. However, also try to imagine the
situation where an employer would never like to listen to his/
her employees. This only results in more and more complains
from them and eventually, when diplomacy fails, force
definitely applies. It is therefore very important to consider the
fact that we as the community have the freedom to express what
we feel is good for the majority and to point out what is not.
Finally, social work and civil society are also closely related to
the concept of citizenship. The concept of citizenship is also
another factor behind prosperity of any economy. “Civil social
work is defined by a concern for the rights and needs of

9. citizens”. Under citizenship, ten core principles are applied.
Amongst the ten principles is the promotion of civil society
(Fred Powell).
Under the promotion of civil society, individualization is
discouraged and working in unity as a community towards
achieving a particular goal is highly encouraged. In order to
promote civil society, every citizen should bring their heads
together and work towards achieving what is required of them
by their nations, and most importantly, they should always look
out for each other even in times of need.
9. Describe the lack of a relationship between individual
capacities and wealth with human well-being as measured by
the self-assessed, subjective well-being scale in the context of
globalization.
Globalization tends to make the world to be one community
where we all look out for each other. In this context, all citizens
must come together as one as they work towards achieving an
acceptable society that is independent.
A real life example is that of the Latin Americans who migrated
from their respective countries into the USA in search of a good
life. We have seen preciously that it is the responsibility of the
entire community to come out and lend a helping hand. If these
people are left on their own to rather struggle and die
struggling, it would not have solved a thing. This can be done
through self-empowerment of those individuals as much as they
think that getting a livelihood is actually of more importance.
Put this into consideration, if they go unattended, the burden
will roll back to the community again, and we will have
ourselves to blame.
One of the latest occurrences was that of African immigrants
who crossed the Mediterranean Sea in search of a better life in
the European countries. Going back to the basics, African
nations are partly to blame for this as they are actually not
looking out on their own people. Even so, the very

10. respective European nations that opt to letting them die are also
held accountable.
That incidence takes us back to the reasons why both Asian
nations and the African nations were colonized and gained
independence at nearly the same time, but the African
counterparts still lag behind in terms of development. Take for
instance Malaysia, it gained independence from the colonialists
as well as many other African nations. However, the situation
today is that the same African nations are actually seeking loans
and help from Malaysia, an economic giant. As we saw earlier,
the government of Malaysia focused its investment majorly on
developing from it’s within. Malaysia actually implemented
land reforms that ensured that more land is allocated to its
citizens. As a result, most of the citizens in rural Malaysia can
rely on their farms to earn a living.
Unlikely, the post-colonial leaders of the African nations
instead made the public resources personal thus impoverishing
their nations. This clearly brings out the topic of discussion that
there is actually no relationship between individual capacities
and wealth with human well-being. If only these African leaders
would let the resources be shared equally amongst their
population indiscriminately, then definitely, Africa would be
standing at a better position as it is in the current world.
Another example is how the economy of China has become one
of the greatest emerging from Asia.
China is a very populated nation but even so, it has maintained
a top performance in the economic sector. The most fascinating
fact about China is that most of its resources that is health
facilities, land and even education were distributed equally
amongst its population. The workforce of China is largely from
within, therefore, it depends not on the international community
to run development errands. China has maintained that position
and that explains why it is competing with giant world
economies such as the United States of America, the United
Kingdom, Canada, Germany, amongst others.
Clearly, from the illustrations above, we can conclude that there

11. should be a difference between individual capacities and wealth
with human well-being in order to achieve economic stability.
11. Describe how the adage “think globally, act locally” and
emerging technological developments are relevant to social
work practice in the San Joaquin Valley of California.
This adage was brought into consideration by the world
economies during the period when there were so many terrible
events happening in the world back then. This was the period in
the late twentieth century. During this period, there were
outbreaks of killer diseases such as HIV/AIDS amongst other
flus that killed many in the sub-Saharan Africa. At the same
time, famine was becoming a real issue and there was need of
relief food.
At this point the International Monetary Fund intervened and
sparked a movement towards embracing globalization.
In that effect, the world was to be unified as on community and
was to always respond as one when it came to making the world
a better place in a number of ways. Matter of fact, it was only
through this unity that the world would be able to connect with
the poorest of nations and come to a consensus on how to come
out of poverty.
This also happened at a time when technology was quickly
advancing and the world was becoming just a global village.
Thus, it would be necessary to bring the world together as one
major economic block and in turn opt to promote international
relations through trade in order to achieve the desired economic
levels of optimization.
Technology has so far played a key role in ensuring that
globalization is effective. To begin with, technology has
ensured that the transport and communication models currently
available in the world are very reliable, thus promoting trade.
For instance, the transport network, has seen dramatic
sophistication in the recent past, ranging from air transport to
water transport as well as the rail. In that context, trade is

12. efficiently carried out as goods are easily transported from one
region to another efficiently. The air transport has come as a
major breakthrough for trade activities especially for perishable
goods. Also, turning to water transport, nations are able to trade
in bulk goods across long distances in the mutual relationship of
globalization. Statistically speaking, trade that is conducted in
the current world is totally different from what used to be trade
back then.
Communication technology has also been greatly improvised in
the recent past. This has greatly influenced the spread of
globalization in terms of trade.
For instance one nation can simply place advertisement on a
specific kind of good quickly and efficiently. The same happens
to the ordering of goods via communication networks.
Improvement in technology has also made the interrelation
between different nations to be established. For instance, it is
possible to communicate directly on agreement of terms within
a very short period of time depending on the priorities set by
the respective leaders. This comes in handy when two nations
are either coming to terms or are planning to increase
cooperation amongst them. In that case, meetings can be
organized prior to the desired dates.
Improvement in technology in the era of globalization has
enabled the world to be able to obtain the very necessary and
valuable minerals such as oil, which acts as a major propeller of
most industrial activities in the world today. Take for instance,
oil lies deep in the earth crust and the only way to tap it is by
use of modern technology.
The United States of America, China, Japan amongst other
industrialized nations have been doing their best in
manufacturing state of art equipment for such tasks and thus
enabling the world to get natural resources that could in turn aid
in driving the economy of the world to greater heights. Matter
of fact, it is through science that oil discoveries and the
discovery of natural resources such as water is made.
Technology also comes in handy in the current state of

13. globalization as the world unites in fighting terror activities.
Terrorism is a major threat to global development and thus the
nations of the world come together and break down the
responsibility of fighting terror to each of the nations. In the
recent past, fight against terror was majorly perceived as a war
for the United States of America only. However, today, more
and more nations are falling victims to terrorism.
Therefore, industrialized nations are able to manufacture
helpful weapons that help in combatting terrorism. Most
fascinating is that the US military actually take part in
providing support for the nations being faced by terror- related
attacks. A good example is the Boko-Haram in Nigeria and Al-
Shabaab in Kenya. The latter, has witnessed a lot of support
from the US government through providence of military
equipment to combat terrorism (Nidhi Maheshwari).
In conclusion, technology is an added advantage to the aspect of
globalization
References
Fred Powell, M. G. (n.d.). Reclaiming Civil Society: the future
of social global work? Routledge.
George Ritzer, P. D. (2014). Globalization: A Basic Text. John
Wiley & Sons.
James Ciment, J. R. (2015). American Immigration: An
Encyclopedia of Political, Social, and Cultural Change.
Routledge.
Nidhi Maheshwari, V. V. (n.d.). Military Psychology: Concepts,
Trends and Interventions. SAGE Publications India.
Scott Nicholas Romaniuk, M. M. (2016). Democracy and Civil
Society in a Global Era. Routledge.
Steger, M. (2013). Globalization: A Very Short Introduction.
OUP Oxford.