1. WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION? WHAT ARE ITS
DRIVING FORCES?
Globalization – Something old and something new…

2. LESSON AGENDA
 By the end of this lesson, students should be
able to:
 Identify what is globalization?
 Examine what are the driving forces of
globalization

3. INTRODUCTION – WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION?
 Definition:
 Globalization is the process by which people, ideas and
activities in different parts of the world become interconnected
and integrated
 Globalization would not have been possible without:
 improvements in transportation and communications
technology.
 Transnational Corporations (TNCs) have also played an
important role in spreading globalization

4. DRIVING FORCES (CAUSES) OF GLOBALIZATION
 Transportation:
 Transportation refers to the means by which people, materials
and products are moved from one place to another.
 Technological developments in transportation have shortened
significantly the time taken to travel from one place to another.
 Just as the steam engine revolutionized travel in the 19th
Century, the jet engine revolutionized travel in the 20th
Century.

5. DRIVING FORCES (CAUSES) OF GLOBALIZATION
 Transportation (Con’td)
 The developments of jet aircraft, large ocean-going vessels and
containerization resulted in great increases in movement of people and
goods.
 The movement of goods over long distances saw a great reduction of
time and cost with the development of containerization. The ability to
directly transfer the containers from ocean-going vessels to trucks also
reduced costs and time significantly.

6. DRIVING FORCES (CAUSES) OF GLOBALIZATION
 Transportation(Con’td)
 Link: Countries around the world improved
infrastructure such as airports , seaports,
railways and highways to make it possible to
easily move people and goods from one
place to another.

7. DRIVING FORCES (CAUSES) OF GLOBALIZATION
 Communications
 Communication refers to the movement of information(ideas, instructions
and images) from one place to another.
 There have been great developments in communication tools such as
telephones, e-mails, fax and video-conferencing.
 Technological advancements have made it possible for people who are in
different parts of the world to communicate with one another efficiently and
without any inconveniences.
 Satellite technology has made it possible for messages to be sent and
received at the same time.

8. DRIVING FORCES (CAUSESE) OF GLOBALIZATION
 Communications (con’td)
 Optical fibre systems enable high volumes of
information and data to be sent at very high speeds.
 Link: The Internet has made it possible for
consumers to get information of new products and
places very conveniently and efficiently. The Internet
has transformed the way people correspond, carry
out business, get information and buy goods and
services.

9. DRIVING FORCES (CAUSES) OF GLOBALIZATION
 Transnational Corporations
 TNCs are corporations that are registered and operating
in more than one country at a time. TNCs have their
headquarters in one country and operate companies in
one or more other countries.
 Companies get their instructions & report to Central HQ.
 TNCs operate in different countries to lower the costs of
production and get new markets for goods/services.

10. DRIVING FORCES (CAUSES) OF GLOBALIZATION
 Transnational Corporations (TNCs)
 TNCs obtain raw materials from different parts of the globe
and put them together into the final product in another country.
This has made the economies of the world more integrated.
 Advances in technology and communications have enabled
TNCs to function globally more efficiently and easily.

11. WHICH IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DRIVING
FORCE?
 To answer this question, students would
need to:
 Weigh all three factors and decide on the relative
importance of each.
 Students may use the following criteria for
analyzing the importance of each factor:
 Long term vs. short term outcomes/effects
 Greater impacts vs. lesser impacts