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11.1 Industrialisation - good or bad?

Industrialisation is the the development of an industry on an extensive scale.
  
Many people believe that Industrialisation is good, but some believe it's bad. 

• Economically, it's a major advantage to go from being a pre-industrial country to industrial. 
  That is how every strong economy has built itself. 
  Manufacturing is a relatively high value-added sector and can create a middle class that can drive economic development in a country.
• However, socially and environmentally, it can be a bad thing.
  Industrialisation tends to pull people out of villages and into cities. This can disrupt social networks and cause people to feel much more alone in the world. This change can upset the whole culture of a country.
• One big advantage of industrialisation is that it tends to raise the standard of living for most of the people in a society, over time. Machines can be used to do the more dangerous and physically demanding types of work, which saves lives and injuries. Industrialised nations tend to have better health care systems, and there is more money to build infrastructure, such as roads, power distribution networks, schools, and communications systems.
  

11.2 Changing employment

Industrialisation offers many job opportunities , enhancing home development for better living conditions. It strikes out improvised communities, reduces marginalisation, and closes the gap between the wealthy and the poor. It also provides experience for the trained youth or the young adults who have just graduated from university with limited skills, here is the opportunity to enhance one's skill.

11.3 Understanding globalisation

Globalisation is the process by which the world is becoming increasingly interconnected as a result of massively increased trade and cultural exchange. Globalisation has increased the production of goods and services. The biggest companies are no longer national firms, but multinational corporations with subsidiaries in many countries.
Reasons for globalisation...
There are several key factors which have influenced the process of globalisation:

• Improvements in transportation -  Larger cargo ships mean 
  that the cost of transporting goods between countries has decreased. Economies 
  of scale mean the cost per item can reduce when operating on a larger scale. 
  Better transport means they can be transferred quickly.
• Freedom of trade - Organisations like the World Trade Organisation (WTO) promote free trade between countries, which help to remove barriers between countries.

GEOGRAPHY: PEOPLE AND PLANET:

Globalisation

11.1 - 11.10

• Improvements of communications - The internet and mobile technology has allowed greater communication between people in different countries. I.e. Skype can allow businesses to have conference calls over the internet. This saves costs of travelling on planes and money spent on hotels.
• Labour availability and skills - Countries such as India have lower labour costs (about a third of that of the UK) and also high skill levels. Labour intensive industries such as clothing can take advantage of cheaper labour costs and reduced legal restrictions in LEDCs.

11.4 How does globalisation work?

Globalisation has been taking place for hundreds of years, but has speeded up enormously over the last half-century.
Globalisation has resulted in:

• Increased international trade 
• A company operating in more than one country
  
• Greater dependence on the global economy
• Freer movement of capital, goods and services
• Recognition of transnational corporations such as McDonalds and Starbucks in LEDCs
  

11.5 Keeping the economy afloat

11.6 Globalisation - who wins and loses?

Economists focus on free trade in goods, services, labor, and capital, and the institutional rules that make 
this possible between (rather than just internal to) countries. 

There are also issues of cultural homogenization (e.g., a “race to the bottom” of a mass consumption society). 
Examples of baby milk powder, McDonald’s, and clean bathrooms.

Larger corporations tend to be more involved in international trade, and some worry about monopoly power. However, competition between large corporations in different countries reduces monopoly 
power.

11.7 How TNC's operate - E.g Apple

TNC Report: Apple

Apple are an American multinational corporation headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software and personal computers. Its best-known hardware products are the Mac line of computers, the iPod music player, the iPhone smartphone, and the iPad tablet computer. Its consumer software includes the OS X and iOS operating systems, the iTunes media browser, the Safari web browser, and the iLife and iWork creativity and productivity suites.

Apple has 406 retail stores up to this date. In California, there have 46 stores, and the other 334 are scattered around Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,  New Mexico, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Nevada, Nebraska, Missouri, Mississippi and many other stores.

                Apple has 72,800 full-time equivalent" employees, up from 60,400 last year. The company also went from employing 2,900 "full-time equivalent” temporary employees and contractors to 3,300. 42,400 "full-time equivalent" employees are in the retail division, up from 36,000 last year

Throughout their history, Apple has created entirely new products and entirely new industries by focusing on innovation. As a result, they’ve created and supported nearly 600,000 jobs for U.S. workers: from the engineer who helped invent the iPad to the delivery person who brings it to your door.

The advantages of having a TNC in a LEDC country is that it brings plenty of jobs, like how many jobs were created when Apple opened up. It also helps by bringing new technology in the country. Moreover, it develops trade links with other countries, creating stronger bonds between them.

The disadvantages of having a TNC in a LEDC country is that the companies can leave the country at any time, leaving the locals without jobs.  The work done creates pollution. Usually, few skilled workers are employed and jobs are often repetitive and low skilled. The important disadvantage is that, the needs of the country are rarely considered.

The advantages of having a TNC in a MEDC country are that there are cheaper imports from the LEDCs. There is greater efficiency cause by outsourcing leads to the development of new technologies in MEDCs, attracting foreign investment.

The disadvantages of having a TNC in a MEDC country is that the outsourcing of jobs leads to job losses within MEDCS, these are often of unskilled workers. If there are job losses in certain areas or industries, this can lead to deindustrialisation, mass unemployment and social problems. There may be poor working conditions, natural resources being over exploited.

                In my opinion, I believe that TNCs are making a positive impact in the global economy; they create many jobs and improve some families’ quality of life. Before, the economies of many countries depended on local businesses, and had less chance of employment, but after the n of TNCs, everything has changed.

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