Critical Reflection

I rectified many grammar and expression problems in my writing. The grammar issues range from tense problem to wrong use of word, from preposition mistakes to unparalleled structure such as “there was an equal exchanging and migrate rate”. Wrong expressions of countable and uncountable nouns have been corrected and APA standard has been applied for references. During the process of improving my essay, informal use of words and expression has been identified such as “…no choice but to run away from the region.” Even though informal phases are not grammatical errors, they make the essay unprofessional and the meaning of sentences unclear. The improvement of grammar is critical in essay writing, because it makes the thesis, topic and arguments of the essay clear, enhances the connection between sentences and strengthens the coherence of the essay.

I will focus on the expression and coherence in the future stage of essay improvement by rearranging the sentence order and adjusting the sentence structure. More delicate and compound sentence structures will be inserted; more connective words and phrases will be added to improve the linkage. For example, the connective words- moreover, consequently, whereas, meanwhile, besides can be used; simple and straight-forward words and phrases will be substituted by advanced ones to better improve the expression. I will also work on the conciseness of the introduction and the conclusion paragraph by deleting redundant words and expressions and adjusting the sentence structure to express the topic and thesis in a more explicit way. 

Globalisation can be defined as the increasing cross-border interaction and integration of various aspects of human activity. Based on this view of globalisation, identify one problematic area of the phenomenon and discuss its influence on contemporary society. What actual or possible means are there to ameliorate (improve) the issue highlighted?

Globalisation promotes the deployment of human resource to an unprecedented level that people move in and out of countries more frequently. Exporting and exchanging human capital are ubiquitous today. However, some regions have concentrated human capital because of unequal influx and outflow rate of foreign talents. Since labour forces are the key to future development, the uneven distribution will cause economic imbalance in the future.

The world population is more hybridised than ever due to increasing mobility. With lower opportunity cost, namely the cost of an alternative that must be forgone, people choose to migrate and travel at an alarming rate and seek better education as well as new job openings in emerging markets of developing countries. Problems would not have arisen if there was an equal exchanging and migrating rate, but talents are most likely to be attracted to the most lucrative business and thus, naturally human capital is distributed unevenly. In China, there were about 350,000 students going overseas in 2011 and the number increased by 30 % in 2008(China Xinhua New, 2011). Furthermore, many western investors are moving their funds to support their starting businesses and setting up branches in Asia where natural resources and low-cost labour are abundant. In addition, the emerging banking and finance industry in Asia is developing at an astonishing speed (Channel News Asia, 2013). On the contrary, the financial markets and systems in many African countries are undeveloped and progress is stagnant; financial professionals are less tempted to go there (How we made it in Africa, 2011). Without the support of quality human resources, the future economic gap between different regions will be widened and a vicious cycle may continue, causing an almost irreversible effect on fair distribution of wealth and equality.

The most important step in ameliorating the problem is a united consensus and a recognized common ground among different governments that unequal distribution of fortune will eventually result in serious and detrimental turmoil on a world-wide scale. Poverty-ridden people in poor countries will remain constantly poor if no help from outside is given and they will have no choice but to escape from the region(The Guardian, 2013) and flee to other countries for survival which may cause a series of problems in the country where they move to. This is happening in some south-east European countries where they take in too many refugees from Africa and the war-ridden Middle East (Science Co.). The accommodation, education and job opportunities for those foreigners are insufficient and with the discrimination against those people, social inequality and instability rise. The problem could deteriorate if no effective solution is provided to improve the living standard of the ‘abandoned countries’.

Governments along with international organizations should try to close the gap by first constructing an effective platform for information exchange. Asymmetric information is a huge barrier for development as in this fast-pace information era. Digital recording replaces hand-written paper recording; information exchange is done via long-distance devices; less hardcopies are used and most transactions are done online, which greatly enhances the efficiency of communication. The poor countries may not be able to establish such systems, so developed countries may help to set up basic infrastructure such as networks in financial institutions, media equipment and cable construction to connect the countries with the rest of the world.

On a domestic scale, governments should introduce effective talent policy to boost the talent pool as well as attracting foreign talents. For example, Singapore is a country which emphasizes human resource development. It inputs huge fund into education, approximately more than 20% of the GDP (Singapore Ministry of Education, 2012); it provides various subsidies for low and middle-income families so that the children can go to school and become highly skilled worker through education (Singapore Ministry of Education, 2013). Apart from developing and enhancing domestic talents, Singapore implements policies to attract more foreign talents to work by providing scholarships and subsidies. Singapore used to a small fishing town and red dot on the map, but with its effort in boosting human resource it grows at a stunning speed. The poverty-ridden countries can simulate the development of Singapore and nurture its own skilled workers. The development of human capital in Singapore took decades to be established, improved and completed, but with abundant natural resources, the expected development period should be shortened. 

In conclusion, the uneven distribution of human resource caused by globalization is worsening the fair distribution of the world wealth. With concentrated talent pools, Asia and America create the astonishing amount fortune and opportunity and more investments are attracted. On the contrary, the help to people in poor countries is disproportionate and resources are drained and highly talented labour moves out for better opportunities, which exacerbates the poverty and inequality. International aid is ineffective and communication has not been fully established; no effective domestic policy is implemented. Hopefully, governments can realize that globalization connects every part of the world strongly, helps reduce inequality to lower the potential risk and brings unity and equality in the future.

Reference:

(1) Xinhua News. 2011. Expected number of students going overseas reaches 350,000. Retrieved from http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-12/13/c_122417704.htm

(2) Channel NewsAsia, 2013. China proposes setting up Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Retrieved from

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/international/china-proposes-setting-up/835722.html  

(4) How we made it in Africa, 2011. Africa’s deepening financial sector. Retrieved from

 http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/africas-deepening-financial-sector/12890/  

(5) The Guardian, 2013. UNHCR 2012 refugee statistics: full data. Retrieved from

 http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/jun/19/refugees-unhcr-statistics-data#data

(6) Science Co. Middle East Refugee. Retrieved from http://www.science.co.il/Arab-Israeli-conflict/Refugees.asp 

(7) Singapore Ministry of Education, 2012. Ministry of Education Expenditure. Retrieved from http://www.mof.gov.sg/budget_2012/expenditure_overview/moe.html

(8) Singapore Ministry of Education, 2013. Ministry of Education. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.sg/initiatives/financial-assistance/ 

The Reader's Respond: "Assessing Globalization Benefits and Drawbacks of Trade and Integration"

The author mentions that: ‘even though they (publics) believe global trade and free markets can lead to economic growth, they realize this growth will not benefit everyone equally.’ I do not think it is entirely true.

First of all, everyone admits and recognizes the rising production and trans-continental trading have given consumers in general more goods to buy and more services to enjoy. Untapped natural resources such as oil, gas and lumber in developing countries can be exploited and utilized for manufacturing with the technical and financial support from developed countries. With hiking total output, the global economic boom follows and wealth is created. The problem arises when the wealth is distributed to each individual and the author claims that globalization causes more unequal distribution of wealth and increases the economic gap between the poor and the rich.

Even though I agree the gap is increasing, the true reason behind it is not globalization. It is the fault of the social system or the problem of the government. Globalization expands the cake into a larger size, but it is the government that is responsible for distributing the cake to its own citizens. There may be corruptions, structural inefficiency, administrative inefficiency and lack of comprehensive information. Because not everyone has the same share, proper and sufficient information is needed for the “distributor” to fairly and accurately ration out the cake. Unfortunately, such perfect information never exists in reality. Due to human errors and other unforeseen random errors, inefficiency during the process of distribution of the wealth always is inevitable.

In conclusion, globalization is not the true reason for inequality of distribution of wealth; it is some invisible factors during the process or the structure that causes the increasing gap. 

SUMMARY:"Assessing Globalization Benefits and Drawbacks of Trade and Integration"

There are vastly different views about globalization between developed countries and developing countries. In western countries, the supporting number has been shrinking as people worry about the increasing wealth gap, environmental pollutions and excessive inflow of immigrates who seek better job opportunity and education. Unfair distribution of resources and social instabilities may arise. The United States is blamed for cultural penetration and invasion and many countries try to preserve their cultures against Americanization. However, most developing countries advocate globalization and recognize the economic growth due to market expansion, free market and international trade. Moreover, the governments embrace multinational companies and foreign investments. Different political parties, social hierarchies and countries have polarized views.