Signs of globalization in your community

One of the best ways to conceptualize how globalization is occurring is to look for signs of the ongoing process in your community. As you go about your daily business, notice the cultural and ethnic diversity among the people that you see in the grocery, at Walmart, or at your workplace. Are there factories in your community that were shut down and the work became outsourced to low-cost developing nations? Do a quick check of the labels on the clothes in your closet or other household items to see where the item was made. You may be surprised by the evidence that is all around you that the globalization process is well underway in your community.

Discussion topic

• Describe the ways that technology and globalization have created change in your own community. Consider such factors as employment, local public education, diversity of cultural offerings in entertainment and retail sectors.
• What are the positive and negative effects of these changes to you, your family and the community and how are they related to technology and the globalization process?