Outsourcing

I found this diagram about outsourcing and what growing companies think about when deciding where and what operation they are outsourcing interesting because the country and the operation they are outsourcing are heavey depent on each other. For example, many companies are outsourcing parts of their companies to the Philippines due to the lower cost, can focus on core business, and to avoid paying health insurance, pension contribution and other benefits that the company would have had to pay for in the orgin country of the company. The main operation that they are outsourcing to the Philippines are call centers due the focus on educating Filippinos in english and the lower costs for the labour.

My question is what factors, other than money, cause the top five countries for the best offshore destination from a Western European perspective to be India, China and countries from Southeast Asia? What makes them so different compared to lower ranked countries such as Bularia, Ghana, Romania, Russia and South Africa?

The European union

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/21/us-ukraine-crisis-eu-agreement-idUSBREA2K0JY20140321

Summary:

The Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk signed core chapters of the Associated Agreement at an EU summit in Brussels on March 21 2014. The deal commits Ukraine and the EU to have closer Political and Economic relations while some parts have yet to be signed and will be signed after the presidential elections in May. This deal was rejected by the former Prime Minister of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovich, in November which triggered the mass protests and riots in the streets. 

I find this fascinating because I heard about the protests and roits that have been occuring in the Ukraine but I had no idea what caused them. Ukraine seems to be in a very delicate situation right now regarding what decisions it should take. The former Prime Minister decided to reject this offer from the EU to form stronger relations with Moscow but was overthrown for this decision and was led to him fleeing the country. The potential good that can come from this agreement between the EU and Ukraine is well worth it I believe, however there are possible repercussions with relations with Russia as Russia has already imposed stricter customs on trade with Ukraine. Another trial that Ukraine has to overcome to gain the benefits of this signing is to meet the obligations that come from with EU political assoication; inculding the changes to the rule of law and justice, adopting business practices, and environment standards that will definitely push the country

Cultural diffusion

Thinking about cultural diffusion and using specific examples, explain how transnational corporations either intentionally or unintentionally spread consumerism through your chosen concept.

Consumerism is essentially the economical and social ideology that encourages the consumer, essentially everyone, to purchase goods or services in regular and large amounts. Its a process where people go to work and spend the money they earn in a continuous cycle of gaining a salary, spending it and then working for more money to be able to buy more goods or services. 
   
Coca-Cola is a major world wide brand that is easily one of the most recognizable brands of soda can beverages in the world. There are only two countries left in the world that do not sell coca cola to this date, North Korea and Cuba. Burma was the third country that didn't sell coca cola but since 2011 it has officially started to sell any products from Coca-Cola  It first started off as a small business in 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia USA. Since then Coca-Cola has become a huge transnational corporation and deals in over 200 countries around the world. 

Coca-Cola has been thought of in the past as the symbol of capitalism and of the west in many foreign countries. The company has intentionally spread consumerism through cultural diffusion however I highly doubt, that when the company originally set out to sell their products world wide, that they would ever reach this scale. Coca-Cola has stated that they sell 1.8 billion servings of Coca-Cola alone, excluding any of their other products. One of the main reasons why they have reached this level of consumption of their product is through focusing on its custemers. The Company is very active in promoting its products as the best sodas to drink, in understanding the consumer and targeting their wants, and leads the way for trending and popular trends. To be turthful I have fallen for this strategy as I drink at least one can of coke a day. This causes the wide spread of consumerism as people keep buying their products and then it promotes the consumption of other goods or services that follow the current popular trends in society of either that country or the world. Coca-Cola intentional do this so more and more people will buy their products and will continue buying their products. 

The Pros and Cons of globalization

The advantages of globalization:

• Surplus in resources and materials from different coutries can be sold around the world improving the countries economy.
• Consumers have a larger and more varied stock of products to buy for cooking or building or anything.
• New and innovative technologies can be sold to people who need them such as the ablity to purify water or increase the efficiency of crop harvests.
• Companies want to invest in making factories overseas for competitive prices, creating jobs in the choosen country.
• Better interactions and relations between countries that would aid each other in a state of emergency such need in aid or during war.

The disadvantages of globalization:

• In the countries that are still developing, companies can sometimes abuse the workers when they open factories there because they do not have a set nationalized safety standard for workers and for work space.
• Transnational corporations can set up a mining faclity or other activities, such as farming, that strip away the natural resources a location and leave them poorer than before. 
• An economic depression in one of the major countries can have a major effect in others, interdependence bewteen nations.  
• Small local companies are put at risk when competing against large companies that sell their products at much lower prices due to them out sourcing.
• Companies can monopolize a form of product if they can make, transport and sell at the lowest because they are able to make it in different countries for low pay and transport it all around the world.