Communication Tools
There have been many technological advances and inventions that have revolutionized the world and brought us closer. For example, many international business calls are now conducted via video conferencing which allows groups to establish a more knowledgeable assessment of their business connections while also being able to read body language when presenting new information or opportunities. This reading on Technological Globalization from Lumen Learning provides you with information on how technology is changing the way we do business. The internet, smart phones and laptops are essentially communication tools that have enhanced our ability to connect and create opportunities on a global scale. Can you imagine how international business was conducted prior to the internet?
Technological Globalization
Technological globalization is speeded in large part by technological diffusion, the spread of technology across borders. In the last two decades, there has been rapid improvement in the spread of technology to peripheral and semi-peripheral nations, and a 2008 World Bank report discusses both the benefits and ongoing challenges of this diffusion. In general, the report found that technological progress and economic growth rates were linked, and that the rise in technological progress has helped improve the situations of many living in absolute poverty. The report recognizes that rural and low-tech products such as corn can benefit from new technological innovations, and that, conversely, technologies like mobile banking can aid those whose rural existence consists of low-tech market vending. In addition, technological advances in areas like mobile phones can lead to competition, lowered prices, and concurrent improvements in related areas such as mobile banking and information sharing.
However, the same patterns of social inequality that create a digital divide in the United States also create digital divides within peripheral and semi-peripheral nations. While the growth of technology use among countries has increased dramatically over the past several decades, the spread of technology within countries is significantly slower among peripheral and semi-peripheral nations. In these countries, far fewer people have the training and skills to take advantage of new technology, let alone access it. Technological access tends to be clustered around urban areas and leaves out vast swaths of peripheral-nation citizens. While the diffusion of information technologies has the potential to resolve many global social problems, it is often the population most in need that is most affected by the digital divide. For example, technology to purify water could save many lives, but the villages in peripheral nations most in need of water purification don't have access to the technology, the funds to purchase it, or the technological comfort level to introduce it as a solution.
Source: Lumen Learning, https://courses.lumenlearning.com/alamo-sociology/chapter/reading-technological-globalization/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.