21st century globalization

Today in the early 21^st century advances in technology make instant communication with countries on the other side of the world possible. This ability to almost instantaneously transfer information to distant places makes globalization of our nation’s companies and their products/services possible and highly beneficial. In Thomas Friedman’s documentary “The Other Side of Outsourcing” he covers these benefits and also controversies arising over globalization’s impacts on American jobs.

Thomas Friedman’s documentary focuses on a large telemarketing company in India. The company has several hundreds of thousands of Indian employees who represent American companies. The major controversy is obviously over the loss of jobs for Americans. These jobs are being outsourced to another country while they should, many argue, remain in America and be given to thousands of unemployed people who are dependent on government programs to live.

It is in Bangalore India that the documentary takes place, focusing on a 24/7 call center. Here Indian telemarketers and customer service operators communicate with people from all around the world. Most of the companies that they represent are American-based such as AT&T, Dell, and Microsoft. The employees even take special American dialect classes and adopt pseudonyms to have a greater appeal to their customers.

Another argument with completely different concerns than the American job market is with those who feel that forcing the American way of life onto other countries is wrong. These people argue that America has no right to spread its effects of capitalism all over the globe to benefit itself. Others may argue that although we are introducing these companies into other countries, we are also giving them job opportunities.

The Thomas Friedman documentary that focuses on the 24/7 telemarketing job opportunities in India, focuses mainly on the upsides to globalization. Some may not see this situation with the same positive attitude as Friedman does, but in today’s global economy expanding to other countries is almost inevitable and probably more beneficial to both parties than harmful.