Globalization and the Digital Divide
This chapter reviews the role that information technologies have had in the globalization of our world. As you read, pay attention to the many positive and negative changes that globalization has brought.
Summary
Information technology has driven change on a global scale. Technology has given us the ability to integrate with people all over the world using digital tools. These tools have allowed businesses to broaden their labor pools, their markets, and even their operating hours. But they have also brought many new complications for businesses, which now must understand regulations, preferences, and cultures from many different nations. This new globalization has also exacerbated the digital divide. Nielsen has suggested that the digital divide consists of three stages (economic, usability, and empowerment), of which the economic stage is virtually solved.