Globalization AND Change PDF

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SOC 1100 GLOBALIZATION AND CHANGE Over the years changes have taken place and are taking place at a very fast rate because of technology, for example, modern technology has created things such as the camera, the motor car, the airplane; the nuclear power plant and a whole array of electronic devices. People change, babies are born, grow into children and into adulthood. Adults grow old and die and are replaced by a new generation, it is a continuous cycle. As we grow we change and things around us change, yet despite all the changes that are taking place some things remain from the past, as Pareto (1993:207) stated “Most changes are only apparent”; meaning that changes do not take place in its entirety, remnants of the past will always remain, for example, major religious systems, such as Christianity, Islam etc. retain ideas and practices initiated thousands of years ago, for example, marriage proceedings.

Social Change Social Change is the transformation overtime of the institutions and culture of a society (Giddens, Duneier, Applebaum, (2003). Human societies have developed from hunting and gathering and pastoral societies to traditional civilizations and eventually to the highly complex social systems of today. Factors influencing Social Change

Three main factors have consistently influenced social change: The physical environment The political organization Cultural Factors Influence of the Physical environment The physical environment often has an effect on the development of human social organization; Diamond, (1997) in Giddens et al (2003). People must organize their lives according to weather conditions, for example in Guyana there is the rainy and the dry season. There is a need to guard against floods and make preparation for drought and to be on the alert for wild/bush fires. The importance of easy communication and transportation must be noted, for example, there exist; rivers, swamps, dense jungle, mountain ranges etc., which may or may not hamper development.

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The type of production in which a country is involved will strongly influence the level and nature of social change, for example, bauxite at Linden, gold, diamond mining and manganese.

Influence of Political Organizations The type of political organization that operates in a society will strongly influence social change. In hunting and gathering societies political influence is at a minimum, since there are no political authorities capable of mobilizing the community. Giddens et al (2003:645). Giddens et al disagreed with Marx that political systems are direct expressions of underlying economic organizations because quite different types of political order may exist in societies that have similar production systems. For instance, some societies which are based on industrial capitalism have had authoritarian political systems: Nazi Germany; apartheid in South Africa. While others like the USA, Britain and Sweden have a more democratic political system. A ruler may choose to channel resources into building up the military, even when this impoverishes most of the population and at the same time spending billions of dollars destroying the lives of those who he/she thinks are not loyal, as happened in Iraq under the rule of Saddam Hussein, when he built up the military and destroyed the wet lands (marshes) of Iraq. Cultural Factors. Cultural factors such as the effects of religion, communication systems and leadership can influence social change. Some forms of religion may be either a conservative or an innovative force in social life. Some forms of religious beliefs and practices have acted as a brake on change because they emphasized traditional values. However Max Weber emphasized that religious convictions play a mobilizing role in pressures for social change. According to Weber, the Protestant Ethics “contributed to the rise in Capitalism”. Protestant Ethics John Calvin (1509-64) a leader in the Protestant Reformation promoted the doctrine of predestination. According to Calvin an individual’s fate was sealed prior to birth. In seeking signs of God’s favour, in this world, the Calvinists understood that hard work coupled with prosperity as key symbols of divine favour. Their belief and commitment to duty led them to pursue prosperity. They lived frugal, that is, they did not involve themselves in self-indulgent spending; nor did they share their wealth with the poor because they saw the plight of the poor as a mark of rejection from God. As agents of God’s work, the Calvinists believed that their lifelong “calling” was best fulfilled by reinvesting profits and reaping ever-greater success; they practiced personal thrift and eagerly embraced technological advances that would enhance their efforts. Driven toward worldly success by religious motives, then, they laid the groundwork for the rise of industrial capitalism. (Macionis et al) Culture influenced change in the nature of communication systems, for example, the invention of writing, allowed for the keeping of records, making possible increased control of material resources and the development of large-scale organizations.

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Leadership is placed under the heading of cultural factors. Some leaders, such as Jesus, Julius Caesar, Isaac New Newton, Martin Luther King, and Adolf Hitler had enormous influence in the history of the world. A leader who is capable of pursuing dynamic policies and generating a mass following or radically altering preexisting modes of thought can overturn a previously established order. However, individuals can only reach positions of leadership and become effective if favorable social conditions exist. Economic Influences Of the economic influences, the most far-reaching is the impact of industrial capitalism. Capitalism involves the constant expansion of production and the ever-increasing accumulation of wealth. Capitalism promotes the constant revision of the technology of production. Science and technology both influence and are influenced by political and cultural factors and have a tremendous impact opon our lives. Through the use of science and technology, forms of communication such as radio television and other forms of electronic media have developed and have come to shape how we think and feel about the world.

GLOBALIZATION Schaefer (2005) defined globalization as “The worldwide integration of government policies, cultures, social movements, and financial markets through trade and the exchange of ideas.” According to Giddens et al, “globalization refers to the fact that we all increasingly live in one world, so that individuals, groups, and nations become more interdependent.” Davis and Smith, 2005, defined globalization as the process of increasing connectiveness between societies so that events in one part of the world more and more have effects on peoples and societies far away. Globalization has seen the compression of locations into a single cell through information technology, for example, teleconferencing; surgeons conducting surgery out in the remote areas out of hospitals. Globalization is often portrayed as an economic phenomenon, but this view is too simplified. Globalization is created by the coming together of political, social, cultural, and economic factors. It has been driven forward above all by the development of information and communication technologies that have intensified the speed and scope of interaction between people all over the world. Globalization has a twofold effect – 1) opportunity to expand and influence, for example, markets; 2) on the other hand, it has a sinister tone, for example, increase in crime. Several factors have contributed to increasing globalization. The end of the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet-style communism and the growth of international and regional forms of governance has drawn the countries of the world closer together.

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The explosion in global communications has facilitated important advances in technology and the world’s telecommunications infrastructure. The spread of information technology has facilitated the flow of information around the globe and has encouraged people to adopt a global outlook. Transnational corporations have grown in size and influence, building networks of production and consumption that span the globe and link economic markets. It is noted that Barriers to international trade have been steadily reduced and many believe that free trade and open markets will allow developing countries to integrate more fully into the global economy. Globalization has also been driven forward by the integration of the world economy. Globalization is not restricted to large, global systems. Its impact is felt in our personal lives, in the way we think of ourselves and our connections with others, for example, the media and the Internet and personal contacts with people from other countries and cultures influence individuals. Disadvantages of Globalization Globalization is described as an open-ended contradictory process because it produces outcomes that are difficult to control and predict. It is stated the Globalization produces risks; External risk that spring from the natural world, e.g. earthquakes; manufacturing risks, created by the impact of human knowledge and technology on the natural world. In addition Globalization produced challenges and inequalities that cross national borders and elude the reach of existing political structures, because individual governments are unequipped to handle these transnational issues. Globalization is proceeding rapidly but unevenly, because of the growing divergence between the richest and poorest countries of the world. Wealth, income, resources, and consumption are concentrated among the developed societies, while much of the developing world struggles with poverty, malnutrition, disease, and foreign debt. However, it is argued that international trade bodies are dominated by the interests of the richest countries and ignore the needs of the developing world. (Giddens et al). According to Schaefer (2005) skeptics of the phenomena of Globalization see globalization as a dominance of the business world, as benefiting the rich, especially the wealthy in industrial countries, at the expense of the poor in less developed countries, they see globalization as benefiting the imperialism and colonialism that oppressed Third World countries. Other critics see it as a violation of workers” rights, the destruction of the environment, the loss of cultural identify, and discrimination against minority groups in periphery countries.

Modernization

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Modernization arose out of industrialization; growth in population; rise in cities; specialization; division of labour; loss of community; fostering individualism and a business like emphasis on facts and efficiency; change in behaviours and attitudes towards religion; a moving away from tradition; implementation of rules and regulations; ruthlessness impersonality and basic selfinterest. ORGANISATIONS, BUREAUCRACIES AND THEIR BEHAVIOUR FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS Formal organizations are large, secondary groups that are organized to achieve their goals efficiently. Etizioni (1975) identified three types of formal organizations: utilitarian organizations, normative organizations, and coercive organizations. Utilitarian organizations provide material rewards for their members, for example, large business enterprises generate profits for their owners and income in the form of salaries and wages for their employees. People join normative organizations (sometimes called voluntary organizations) to pursue goals they consider morally worthwhile, for example, the “drop-in centre.” Coercive Organizations are distinguished by involuntary membership. People are forced to join the organization as a form of punishment, for example, prison. Features of coercive organizations are locked doors and barred windows and supervised by security personnel. (Goffman, l961) Formal organizations date back thousands of years. They allowed rulers to collect taxes, undertake military campaigns and construct monumental structures, e.g. the pyramids of Egypt. The organizational structure called bureaucracy became known in Europe and North America after the Industrial Revolution. Bureaucracy is an organizational model rationally designed to perform complex tasks efficiently. In a bureaucratic business or government agency, officials deliberately enact and revise policy to make the organization as efficient as possible. Max Weber (l978; orig. l921) identified six key elements of the ideal bureaucratic organization. 1. Specialization. The assigning of individuals to highly specialized duties. 2. Hierarchy of offices. The arranging of personnel in a vertical hierarchy of offices. Each person is thus supervised by “higher-ups” in the organization while, in turn, supervising others in lower positions.

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3. Rules and regulations. Operations are guided by rationally enacted rules and regulations. The bureaucracy seeks to operate in a completely predictable fashion. 4. Technical competence. Officials are expected to have the technical competence to carry out their official duties. Bureaucracies regularly monitor the performance of staff members. 5. Impersonality. In bureaucratic organizations rules take precedence over personal whim. This impersonality encourages uniform treatment for each client as well as other workers. The detached approach gives rise to the notion of the “face-less bureaucrat.” 6. Formal, written communication. It is stated that the heart of the bureaucracy is not people but paperwork. Bureaucracy relies on formal, written memos and reports.

Problems of Bureaucracy It is claimed that the bureaucracy has the tendency to dehumanize and alienate individuals to the threats it poses to personal privacy and political democracy. Bureaucratic Alienation According to Weber bureaucracy has the potential to dehumanize those it professes to serve. In its efforts to be efficient, it denies officials and clients the ability to respond to each other’s unique, personal needs. Weber opined that formal organizations reduced human beings to “a small cog in a ceaselessly moving mechanism”. Bureaucratic Inefficiency and Ritualism The bureaucracy faces the problem of inefficiency when it fails to carry out the work it was created to perform. The problem of inefficiency is captured in the concept of “red tape” Red tape refers to a tedious preoccupation with organizational routines and procedures. Bureaucratic ritualism is a preoccupation with rules and regulations to the point of thwarting an organization’s goals. Ritualism impedes individual and organizational performance as it stifles creativity and imagination. Bureaucratic ritualism stands as another expression of alienation, arising from bureaucratic rigidity. Whyte, l957; Merton, l968; Coleman, l990). Bureaucratic Inertia refers to the tendency of bureaucratic organizations to perpetuate them. Formal organizations tend to take on a life of their own beyond their formal objectives. It stays in business by redefining its goals so it can continue to provide a livelihood for its members.

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Bureaucratic inertia usually leads formal organizations to devise new justifications for them after they have outlived their originally intended purpose. Oligarchy is the rule of many by the few. Robert Michels (l949) called “the iron law of oligarchy”, the pyramid like structure of bureaucracy places a few leaders in charge of vast and powerful government organizations. Parkinson’s Law and the Peter Principle. Parkinson”s Law is where “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” Whether the amount of work is enough to last all day, officials ensure that the work lasts a full day. Bureaucrats appear to be busy and this prompts organizations to employ more people, this eventually leads to bureaucratic bloat. The Peter Principle: “Bureaucrats rise to their level of incompetence.” Employees competent at one level, of the organizational hierarchy are likely to earn promotion to higher positions where they perform poorly. They hide behind rules and regulations and take credit for work actually performed by their subordinates. Macionis et al (1987)

COLLECTIVE ACTION AND SOCIAL CHANGE Collective behavior can be described as socially shared, but relatively non-routine responses to events, things, or ideas for example the protest of the families of the persons injured and killed in the recent mini bus accident on Home Stretch Avenue. Such behaviours tend to deviate from the everyday routine or habitual patterns of behavior and often the people involved do not know each other. (Light and Keller, 1984) Smelser (l981:431) defined collective behavior as the “relatively spontaneous and unstructured behavior of a group of people who are reacting to a common influence in an ambiguous situation.” Collective behavior is usually unstructured and spontaneous. Crowds, riots, fads have been identified as types of collective behavior. According to Schafer (2005) a crowd is a temporary gathering of people in close proximity who share a common focus or interest. According to the Emergent-norm Perspective crowds are effectively governed by norms and procedures, including queuing, or waiting in line. However sometimes measures provided to contain massive crowds can prove inadequate, for example, people waiting to exit the theater. It is even seen at the National Cultural Centre when only two doors are open to exit the crowd.

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Disaster behavior Newspaper, television reports, and even rumors bring work of many disasters around the world. The term disaster refers to a sudden or disruptive event or set of events that overtaxes a community’s resources, so that outside aid is necessary, for example, earthquakes, floods and fires. Technological disasters also take place e.g. plane crashes, industrial explosions and nuclear meltdowns. A rumor is a piece of information gathered informally that is used to interpret an ambiguous situation. Fads are temporary patterns of behavior involving large numbers of people; they spring up independently of preceding trends and do not give rise to successors. While fashions are pleasurable mass acceptance by society and have a line of historical continuity, e.g. wearing low-rider jeans/pants and wearing pants without belt. The least organized and most individualized form of collective behavior is the public. The term public refers to a dispersed group of people, not necessarily in contact with one another, who share an interest in an issue. Public does not include everyone, it is a collective of people who focus on some issue, engage in discussion, agree or disagree, and sometimes dissolve when the issue has been decided. (Blumer l955).

SOCIAL MOVEMENTS According to Schafer (2005) social movements are the most all-encompassing type of collective behavior, because they may include aspects of other types such as crowds, rumors, publics and public opinion. Although such factors as physical environment, population, technology and social inequality serve as sources of change, it is the collective efforts of individuals organized in social movements that ultimately lead to change. Wilson (l973) in Light and Keller (l984) referred to a social movement as “a conscious, collective, organized attempt or deliberate efforts to bring about or resist large-scale change in the social order by non-institutionalized means”. Social movements also refer to organized collective activities to bring about or resist fundamental change in an existing group or society (Benford l992) Herbert Blumer (1955) defined social movements as “collective enterprises to establish a new order.” Social movements tend to arise from social and economic deprivation, a form of social strain. When discontent with existing social arrangements becomes deep and broad enough, people 8

join together and fight back. However discontent must be coupled with the ability to mobilize resources on behalf of a group’s collective interests. Smeltser (l962) identified six conditions that precede an episode of collective behavior: struct...