This document discusses current trends in globalization, using examples from the author's workplace. The manager installed a digital weather station in experimental crop fields to automate data collection and increase efficiency. This represents trends toward the "internet of things" and "lean and green" approaches. While increasing productivity, some workers fear their jobs could be replaced by machines. Overall, the examples illustrate how new technologies are driving changes in globalization and business practices.

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Assignment 1: Defining Globalisation
Definingglobalisationisnotan easytasksince the conceptof globalisation contains so many aspects
and any form of definition can’t be value-free. The following essay describes my personal
interpretation of globalisation: Globalisation refers to the phenomenon of increasing economic
interconnectednessand information exchange of people, businesses and governments around the
globe. The process of globalisation is taking place at an increasingly faster rate. The process is
propelledby the significantdecrease intransportcostsandspeedfor global trade, the technological
advancementstocommunicate withsomeone atthe otherside of the globe within seconds and the
possibility to easily access an unlimited amount of information through the internet. Since
globalisation is taking place at an increasingly faster rate, it can be described as a revolution.
Globalisation touches upon the free movement of goods, people, capital and information. In this
increasinglyborderlessworld,eventsin,take forexampleTurkey, are enteringourlivingroomwithin
seconds.Throughmediachannelswe receive the newsaboutTurkeywithinsecondsandthrough the
interconnectedness of markets, any significant change in Turkey will affect the stock prices of the
AmsterdamExchange Index withinminutes.Eventstaking place thousands of kilometres away from
our homes can cause a political debate in our home country. In this sense, the distance separating
each individual country does not seem to matter anymore; our vast globe is changing in a global
village where news,economicchangesandevengossipspreadlikefire.Globalisationisnot beneficial
to all and istherefore oftenseenasa challenge oreventhreat.Since ithasthe powertopenetrate all
aspectsof life,peopleare warryof how globalisationcan affect their daily jobs, or how their culture
is affected. The opportunities it has created are often forgotten when a global threat emerges. For
businesses,globalisationoffersopportunitiesand challenges. They need to be prepared and closely
monitor their borderless business environment. For governments, globalisation means that they
need to know how to cope with foreign investments and how they can protect their citizens from
market failures.
Wordcount:347
Source:
Friedman,T.(2007). The world is Flat 3.0. RetrievedAugust23,2016 from Mit VideoWebsite:
http://video.mit.edu/watch/the-world-is-flat-30-9321/
Date: August,30, 2016
Name: JeremyvanLierop
ID: 13022318
Class: ES3-3b
Assignment: TrendsinGlobalisation
Supervisor: Mr. Kuijpers

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Assignment 2: Forces Driving Globalisation 1000
Say forexample,I have seenagap inthe market and I decide to import and sell watermelon slicers.
Then, by the comfort of my home, I can open the Alibaba website and for less than 1000 euro of
transport costs, within 30 days, a 20 GP container filled with 160.000 watermelon slicers will arrive
from the port of Shenzhen, China at the port of Rotterdam. The total costs for the watermelon
slicers,includingimportduties and transport costs will be around 100.000 euro. For less than 1 euro
a piece,160.000 watermelonslicersarrive fromChinaat
my doorstep. And that all takes place within 30 days.
This is globalization at work. Due to the revolution of
the internet, I can check prices and place orders at the
other side of the world. Due to the revolution in
transport, the shipping price is only 0,6 eurocent per
watermelon slicer and due to low trade tariffs and
economiesof scale,watermelonslicerscanbe bought at
an remarkable lowprice.Inthisessaywe will take alook
at the forceswhohave made thisall possible;the forces
driving globalisation. A special thanks goes to the
humble shipping container. In “The humble hero”, The
Economist illustrates how shipping containers are one
of the important forces that have driven globalisation.
It is no coincidence that the take-off of the container matches the take-off of global trade. In “The
humble hero”,The Economist explains how countries that started to use containers, experienced a
rise of 790% of bilateral trade over the following 20 years (The Economist, 2013, para 6). Uniform
shippingcontainersmade itpossible to transport more goods in a safe way. Containers encouraged
the use of bigger ships and the labour productivity at ports increased twentyfold. Ports became
biggerand due to more consistent delivery times, suppliers from the other side of the world could
deliver quickly and on schedule.

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Containerisation is just one of the forces that have propelled globalisation. Transport by air, the
harmonisation of regulations, a better infrastructure and more lately, the Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI),have all contributedtoa rapidincrease of efficiency in the transport of cargo. The
introduction of containers to global trade has even helped to accelerate the industrialisation of
developing countries. According to Richard Baldwin, the international supply chains formed by
containerisationalloweddevelopingcountrieslike Chinatoeasilyjoin existing supply chains instead
of building their own (Baldwin, 2011).
Thisrapid increase ininternational trade wouldnothave beenpossiblewithout the new methods of
communicationandinnovationsinthe information technology. New innovations in communication
are one of the forces driving globalisation. Both the speed and costs of communication has been
reduced to almost nothing. The introduction of the telephone made it possible to speak with
someone atthe other side of the globe within minutes instead of waiting weeks for a letter. In the
same way the fax machine made it possible to send documents and contracts across the globe in an
instant. These were costly methods of communication, but caused a revolution nevertheless. The
televisionopenedawindow tothe worldandway to reach the masses. With the introduction of the
internet, communication became almost free. More importantly, the internet offers an unlimited
amount of information. Remember the old math teacher in high school who told you that it was
absolutelynecessarythatyoulearntorememberbasiccalculations,since inthe future you wouldn’t
carry a calculatorwithyouall the time? The joke ison him, since the smartphoneswhichhe probably
never saw coming, offers the answer to all known calculations. With a smartphone in our hand we
have access toa large share of the world’sinformation. If it’strue thatknowledge equals power, the
most powerful nowadays are the ones that have the knowledge off where to find all other
knowledge.
Population growth and economies of scale have contributed to globalisation in various ways. First,
strongpopulationgrowthhas caused overpopulation which has forced people to emigrate to other
continents. These migration flows, have brought an exchange of new products and ideas and have
been at the basis of the United States and Australia. Secondly, population growth has created an
abundance of labour, which made it possible to achieve a high level of industrialization. Thirdly,
populationgrowthhasbeen responsible for creating a huge demand for products and services. In a
way, these huge consumer markets are one of the drivers of globalisation. They have created the
steady demand which made it possible to grow economies of scale. Economies of scale have
contributedthe interconnectednessof the world economies; a crisis in a major economy can be felt
in all major economies. In this sense, borders don’t matter anymore. Through mergers and
acquisitions, the world has seen the growth of companies with a turnover higher than the GDP of
some Europeancountries.These globalenterprisesare responsible for alarge share of foreign direct
investments;inthiswaytheyare propellingglobalisation.Amongall these forcesthathave propelled
globalisation, the removal of trade barriers may not be forgotten. Without the removal of high
importand exporttariffs,companieswouldstillbe servingtheir home market only and the build-up
of global supply chains would not have been possible.
All these forcesdrivingglobalizationcausedarevolutionontheir own, but working all together they
are propellingglobalizationatanincreasinglyfasterrate. Withoutthe humble container, it would be
much harderto buy160.000 watermelonslicersfromChina.Withouttechnological advancements in
communicationandinformationtechnology,itwould not have been possible to communicate in an

4. 4
instant with everyone across the globe at virtually no costs. Without the development of the
internet, we wouldn’t have access to large share of the world’s information. This has all been
possible because there has been a steady consumer demand for these innovations and because
economiesof scale have motivatedcountriestospecialize andtrade the productsinwhich they have
a comparative advantage. And this international trade would not have been possible without the
abolishment of most trade barriers. In a way, all these globalisation forces have set each other in
motion and continue to propel this revolution.
Word count:1045
Source:
Baldwin,R.(2011). Trade And Industrialisation AfterGlobalisation's2nd Unbundling:How Building
And Joining A Supply Chain AreDifferentAnd Why ItMatters.RetrievedAugust,2016 from
NBER Website:http://www.nber.org/papers/w17716
The Economist.(2013). Free exchange.Thehumblehero.Containershavebeen moreimportantfor
globalisation than freertrade. RetrievedAugust28, 2016 fromThe EconomistWebsite:
http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21578041-containers-have-been-
more-important-globalisation-freer-trade-humble

5. 5
Assignment 3: The promises ofglobalisation
Whenthe worldwoke up on the Friday after the Brexit referendum, it was shocked to be informed
that the Brexitcamphad won.The resultcame as a surprise andthe Brexiteers might have been the
mostsurprised. Althougheveryindividual voter had their own reason to cast a vote to leave the EU,
it could be stated that a large share of the voters in favour of a Brexit felt that the promises of
globalisation and the promises of the EU had not benefited them. Brexiteers are not the only ones
who feel that globalisation has not kept its promise. In the EU, populist parties, who have
protectionistmeasuresin their programmes are on the rise and in the United states, Donald Trump
suggests that the United States should impose a 45% import tariff on Chinese goods; it seems that
anti-globalistsentimentsare onthe rise. Therefore Iwould like to take a closer look at the promises
of globalization. My guideline will be the article “Trade in the balance” written by the Economist
whichtakesa closerlookat howfree trade withChinahas affected the working class of the USA and
how it will affect them in the future.
At this time, as the UK has not left the EU yet, it is still too early to predict the true implications for
the UK’s and World’seconomy.Itiscertain,however,thatalittle bitmore thanhalf of the voters felt
that the countrywouldbe better off on its own. Besides being tired of EU regulations, and the high
membership costs, they felt that free movement of goods, persons and capital had not benefited
them personally, and that only the rich elite was getting richer while their situation remained
stagnant. Therefore, to some extent, one can conclude that the middle finger towards the EU was
also meant as an anti-establishment middle finger towards globalization. The middle finger was
aimedat the privilegedelitesthattoldthemthatfree movementof goodsandpersonswouldbenefit
them,while clearlyithadnotbenefitthem over the past decades. It were the “normal” people, the
working class, who were tired of these false promises and wanted to take back control over their
countryand take back control over the money that they sent to the EU. The various institutions like
the IMF, the OECD, the Bank of England and Price Waterhouse Coopers, who told them that a leave
would have a negative effect on GDP were mistrusted and attempts by Obama or the European
Unionto letthe Brits staywere ignoredorseenas part of the problem.Clearly,globalisation has left
a large share of Brits unhappy.
Justlike theircounterpartsacrossthe Atlantic,ashare of the workingclassin the USA feels betrayed
by the promisedbenefits of free trade. In “Trade in the balance”, The Economist takes a closer look
at how trade can make everyone better off in the long-run, but often does not in the short-run. In
comparison with the jobs the American economy could have had, the competition with labour
abundant China has led to an estimated job-loss of 2.4 million jobs. The assumption that workers
wouldeasilyfindJobsinother fields turned out to be untrue; the regions affected turned out to be
unable tomove workerstootherindustriesorto more prosperousregions. The following chart from
The Economistshows how free trade with China has led to a significant reduction in manufacturing
jobsinthe USA andhow America’scurrent-accountbalance hasdeteriorated due to the unbalanced
trade with China:

6. 6
Competition with China has had a large impact on manufacturers across the country. According to
the authors referred to in the economist, Chinese imports accounted for a 44% decline in
employment in manufacturing between 1990 and 2007. As a consequence, America’s electorate is
increasingly susceptible for protectionist measures such as the 45% import tariff on Chinese goods
which is campaigned by Donald Trump.
The protectionismadvocatedbyTrumpcan neverbe the rightanswersince itcan cause protectionist
retaliations which will result in a lower global output. Globalization, on the other hand increases
global output and has the power to make everyone better off. Globalization has lifted hundreds of
millions of Chinese out of poverty, but why has it not worked for the working class in the United
Kingdomandthe UnitedStates?One answeristiming;inthe shortrun free trade resultsinincreased
competition and a loss of jobs as production is moved to places with lower wages. In the long run,
howeveritenhancesthe varietyof productsavailable onthe marketandcausesmarketstospecialize
in producing what they can produce the best. The industries with such a comparative advantage
have, due to free trade, a whole global market at their disposal resulting in lower costs and higher
incomesforconsumers.Anotheransweronwhyglobalizationhasnotworkedforeveryone liesinthe
fact that eventhoughglobalizationandfree-traderesultinalargerpie toshare,thispie is not shared
equally. Some get a large share of the pie and others only receive a tiny piece. It is up to the
countries themselves to compensate the workers and invest in job retraining in order to let free
trade work for everyone.
To summarize: “globalisation can make everyone better off. That does not mean it will.” (The
economist, 2016) On both sides of the Atlantic there are large shares of people who lost their jobs
due to globalization and want to take back control. Their responses to globalization are
understandableandsupportedbyfacts.Theirresponseshoweverdonotmeanthat free trade should
be abolished. The increased competition caused by free trade will result in larger markets and
productsbeingproduceswhere theycanbe producedthe mostefficiently.Thiswillresult in a higher
global output and a larger pie to share. How this pie is shared is up to countries themselves to
decide.

7. 7
Wordcount:1019
Source:
The Economist.(2016). Free exchange.Tradein the balance.Globalisation can makeeveryonebetter
off.Thatdoesnotmean it will. RetrievedAugust26,2016 from The EconomistWebsite:
http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21690073-globalisation-can-make-
everyone-better-does-not-mean-it-will-trade

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Assignment 4: Identifying Current Trends in Globalisation
For Henk,the new manager of our R&D facility in vegetable seeds, the key word is automation. His
aim is to speed up processes and to reduce costs. Not long after our former manager retired, he
placed a digital weather station in one of our fields where we try to develop cabbage that has a
resistance to bacterial diseases like Xanthomonas and Pseudomonas. For the type of research that
our companydoes,itisveryimportantthat inthe firstplace plantsdon’t die, since some can cost up
to 5000 euro. Secondly it is very important
that with every test, we are able to create
similarconditions.The weather station was
a good investment; it sends up-to-date
information to our system about the
temperature, wind, soil humidity and
nutrients. At the same time, it’s a good
example of some current trends in
globalisation. Touching upon “the internet
of things” this remotely monitored station,
equippedwithsensors,allowsustoincrease
efficiencyandtocreate data fileswhich will
form a bench mark for the upcoming years.
Touching upon “Lean and Green”, the
weather station allows us to save-up on
recourseslike fuel,fertilizer and pesticides.
Lastly, the station will reduce the labour
whichwasneededto check upon the crops.
The weather station is not loved by all; one
of my colleagues is warry about machines
taking over his job.
One of the newtrendsinglobalisationis“the internetof things”.Thistermis used for describing the
trend that in the future most everyday items like clothes and washing machines will be equipped
withsensorsandconnectedtothe internet.Thiswill increase operatingefficiency, send feedback to
manufactures and provide more comfort of usage. My brother, who is studying electrical
engineering, has already embraced this new trend; he has attached a temperature and humidity
sensorto hiscoffee machine,tolethisfriendsknow whenthe coffee is ready. It shows how sensors
can be easilyincorporatedinproductstoincrease consumercomfort.How will the internet of things
influence globalisation? For most, the world is changing from a connected place to a digital
hyperconnectedplace. As a result, the trade of physical goods is expected to be replaced by digital
“goods”.E-books,moviesandgamesare already traded digitally. In the near future, 3D designs will
be sentinsteadof replacementpartsandthe errorin yourcar’s operatingsystemcanbe fixedfrom a
distance.Supplychainsare expectedtobe linkedfromconsumertoraw-material supplierandmaybe
even vice versa. This trend has the potential to make the world a little bit more efficient.
“Lean andGreen” Isanothertrendwhich continues to influence globalization. As recourses like oil,
gas, phosphates and rare earths are becoming scarce, the global economy is preparing itself for a
transition. Climate change is the ultimate example of how meaningless borders are. As a global
problem,itrequiresaglobal solution.Inthiswayitispropellingpolitical globalisation. Not only does
a country like China uses its foreign policy to secure “rare earths” from Africa in order to supply
Chinese companies, it is also trying to find a balance between economic growth and the
environment.For businesses, the environment will continue to play a key role in the way products

9. 9
are designed,produced,distributedandmarketed.Lufthansa,forexample, has acquired an airplane
that can flyon biodiesel.Ithasalsoboughtsharesin a companythat usesalgae to produce biodiesel.
In thiswayit issecuringitsfuture fuel demandandatthe same time letting its customers know that
they care about the environment.
The internetof things,bigdataand artificial intelligence
are all expectedtoreplace routinecognitive tasksdone
by humans. The question is: “Will these future techs
cause mass unemployment, or just require a transition
from jobs that can be automated to job’s that can not
be automated?” In “Automation and anxiety”, The
Economist describes which jobs are at risk of being
replaced and how this will affect society. At risk are
jobs like accountants and real-estate sales agents.
Relativelyrisk-free jobs are jobs that require creativity
or social interaction (The economist, 2016). If a job is
likely to be replaced, depends on whether the job
consistsof tasksthat are routine or not. As an example
theywrite thateven a radiologist, a medical specialist,
can see the task of interpretingx-raysbeingreplacedby
smart software. In the United States, 47% of workers
had jobs that are at high risk of being automated (The
Economist, 2016). This all seems like a dooms-day
prophecy, however,automationisnothingnew;history
teaches us that where repetitive tasks are being
automated, it enabled the workers to do other tasks
better. Until now, automation has created more jobs
than it destroyed (The Economist, 2016). This current
trend in globalisation means that workers need to be
preparedfora life-long learning in order to be flexible
enough to fulfil the future jobs that this future
technology will generate.
To conclude, “The internet of things” and “Artificial
Intelligence” will create, yet unknown opportunities and changes. The world is changing into a
hyperconnectedplace,wherelinkingproductstothe internet will increase efficiency and consumer
comfort.The “Lean and green”movementischangingthe wayproductsare designed, manufactured,
distributed and marketed. It also propels political globalisation as countries are forced to work
togethertoalleviate thisglobalproblem.These global trendswill replace jobs and create new ones.
Therefore, a life-long learning is advised to be prepared for this difficult transition.
Word count:938
Source:
The Economist.(2016). Automation and anxiety.Will smartermachinescausemassunemployment?
RetrievedAugust30, fromThe EconomistWebsite:
http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21700758-will-smarter-machines-cause-
mass-unemployment-automation-and-anxiety

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Assignment 5: How does Globalisationaffect my Daily Life?
Last year I decidedtobuystocksfromthe moneythat I earnedwithworkingduringthe summer
holiday.The firststocksIboughtwere froma companylistedasCREE INC.It’san Americancompany
that designsandproducesLED lightingandsemiconductors.OthercompaniesIinvestedinwere
Gazprom,SouthernCopper,Mosaiccompany(Phosphate mining) andFidelityfundIndia.Itwasnot
until the firstweeksof 2016 that I noticedhow trulyinterconnectedthe world’seconomyis;asthe
growthforecastsforthe Chinese economystartedtofall,suddenlyIsaw all mystocksgoingdown.
My decisiontostayawayfromChinese stocks,gotbackfired.Eventhe companiesof whichIthought,
had nothingtodo withthe Chinese economywere showing asharpdecline instockprice.
Thispersonal exampleshowshowfragilethe world
economyhasbecome.A crisisor negative resultinone
countryor industrycanbe feltinstantly.PersonallyIfear
that thishighlevel of interconnectednesspossessesthe
riskof a crisisspreadingsoquicklythatthere isnotime to
brace forimpact.Thinkof a pandemicdisease wipingout
a large share of the worldpopulation,before we can
react. AnothercrisisIsee cominghasto do withChina
beinga hybriddemocracy.Chinahasbecome asuccess
storyas ithas achievedanimpressive economicgrowth
and upliftedhundredsof Chinesefrompoverty.Atthe
same time,Ifear that since thispolitical systemislacking
the democraticinstitutions thatcan allow unhappyvoters
to vote for a newleader,the Chinese economyisatriskof
an implosion.Tovisualiseit;theirsocietycannotrelease
pressure like the safetyvalve of awatercookerdoes.
Besideshavingsome fearof acrisisbeingable tospreadquickly,asmylife is rightnow,I feel that
globalisationoffersme more opportunities,thanthreaths. Beingborninarich countrywithan open
economy,globalisationallowsme toaimfor a professioninthe internationalfield.Havingchosenfor
a broad study,I feel thatI’mflexibleenoughtocope withthe changesthatwill be causedby
globalisation.Globalisationallowsme tochoose betweenanincrediblelarge varietyof products,all
offeredata competitive price.Yesterday,Icelebratedmybirthday;the numberof congratulations
comingfrompeople inothercountries,outnumberthe one comingfromthe Netherlands.To
conclude,beinginthissituation,Ifeel thatglobalisationoffersmore opportunitiesthanthreatsto
me.