A particularly rational and succinct definition is that of Held and McGrew (2003:1) who referred to globalisation as a process demonstrated by ‘the expanding scale, growing magnitude, speeding up and deepening impact of transcontinental flows and patterns of social interaction.’ It is key to note that both Held & McGrew emphasise their belief that globalisation is a process, not a concrete state of affairs, echoing the earlier writings of Marx and Engels.
The growth of globalisation has been happening for the many years but over the past 50 years the growth has been rapid, as a number of new technologies have allowed such communication and trade to take place, and many corporations have invested in developing countries.
Globalisation is often associated in society with theories of modernisation, and commercialisation. This occurs due to the general belief that globalisation is solely about the worldwide marketplace (Giddens, 2006). However, on a local level for example, the transformation of developing countries into a more westernised, industrialised framework is often thought of as globalisation. An example here is how McDonalds and Starbucks are popping up on every street throughout the globe.
In the next section of my report I concentrate on the impact globalisation has had on the choices of employment and careers for staff in the UK. Whilst globalisation is not the only factor pertaining to the loss of particular industries, it has certainly played a big part in this, and I will consider its impact in detail.
3. Globalisation & Employment
3.1. Changing Career Patterns in the UK
The changing patterns of the UK workforce are a difficult area to research, with little academic writing found specifically about the subject. However, it can be closely linked to changes taking place at in the western world - as disposable incomes increase, education levels rise and attitudes to class, status and aspiration fragment, employees require a more individually based, self determining workplace framework.
The generation of today are increasingly determined to negotiate, control and progress their own career paths. People are now less likely to stick in a job or career that they are not happy with. This is in stark contrast to previous generations.
This new breed of employees are 20-somethings and are referred to as Millennials (Oblinger 2005). Born after 1982, this group will outnumber Generation X and according to sociologists, will have the same impact on our culture as their Boomer forebears.
Our parents’ generation changed jobs three times on average, careers hardly ever. But those born in the 1970s and 80s in particular are likely to change jobs between five and 10 times in their lifetimes, and experience at least four career shifts – as many as six to 10 if they were born after 1982 (Oblinger 2005).
Globalisation has affected business and employers in many ways and has opened up many different kinds of opportunities to the workforce. Different ways of working, more flexibility, greater choice of employers. Today’s generation have a greater depth of careers to choose from.
However, globalisation has had a major influence on the choices of UK individuals. Over the past 20 years, industries have changed significantly due in part to the impact of globalisation. With the reduction in transportation, production, and labour costs, organisations looked at ways of increasing their profits along with continuing the service standards their customers were used to. One industry hit hard by this in was the British Coal industry.
3.1.1. The British Coal Industry
The movement of industries away from the UK has been highly visible since the 1980’s. The collapse of both the British Coal mining & steel industries can be attributed to the fact that such goods were produced cheaper in oversees countries such as India and China.
Globalisation has been a major factor in this, as the development of cheaper transportation and technological improvements meant you could import coal and steel cheaper than actually producing it in the UK. This can also be attributed to the fact both raw materials and labour costs are significantly lower in developing countries.
Unfortunately, the British coal industry responded to globalisation not by protecting the industry and the workforce but by allowing the free market to run riot, which resulted in the decimation of a traditional industry. It also destroyed a skill base within a generation. Sadly, today’s generation know very little about mining and many of our miners are past retirement age.
Following the privatisation of the industry in the 1980’s and with costs significantly increasing, profits began to be the driving factor. Due to technological advances, cleaner fuels were also being developed that resulted in a huge drop in the coal requirements of the UK. The collapse of the industry that followed was rapid, and coal was subsequently obtained from China and India when required, as the costs were significantly cheaper.
You could argue the facts for the fall of the industry, for which Mrs Thatcher is often blamed, but the impact globalisation had on this cannot be underestimated. Had the UK been able to compete with the likes of China and India, then the industry may have survived. But the landing of coal in these countries was far cheaper than the UK could produce.
Coming from the coal industry myself (I worked for the Mineworkers Pension Scheme in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s) I witnessed first hand what impact this had on the mining community. The majority of miners had grown up in mining families and communities. Their fathers and grandfathers had been miners. These were the original ‘jobs for life’.
The loss of the industry led to vast amounts of unemployment - people who had only known mining as their job, their community. The issues facing these workers were increased due to the fact it was difficult to get a meaningful job without qualifications. Miners had little if any training and further education, as it had never been required. However, their career of choice had been taken away and left them with difficult decisions to make. New careers were needed, and a new direction was required.
A prime example of this was a former colleague of mine. He was a miner of 22 years, and took redundancy at the age of 39 in 1992 following the closure of his local colliery. Utilising his redundancy payment to good effect, he enrolled on a retraining course that led him to study IT for 4 years, gaining a BSc and subsequently gaining employment with my organisation.
This was typical of the kind of choices thousands of UK miners had to make at the time. Miners had never before needed academic study to be employable. But they now had to look for new careers. Initiatives were setup to help miners retrain, and provide necessary support.
Such an initiative was the British Coal Enterprise (BCE) scheme, which was setup in October 1984 following a number of mine closures in the UK during the miners strike. BCE was created to bring training and employment opportunities to mining communities and by 1996 it had helped create over 130,000 job opportunities across the traditional coal-mining areas of Britain.
This scheme assisted redundant employees of British Coal in seeking new careers in the UK or to start up their own businesses. Not only that, but it also presented opportunities to other companies to set up, expand or locate in traditional mining areas, many of which suffered from serious unemployment problems.
The BCE initiative was a lifeblood for the ex British Coal employees. It helped revive whole communities and areas. A prime example of this is that of Derwent Valley Foods whose premises were built on the site of a former colliery in the town of Consett (Adam Smith institute). This initiative brought employment and career opportunities to the ex mineworkers. Derwent Valley Foods are now a global brand, whose innovative Phileas Fogg snack range now sells around the world.
As explained earlier, globalisation was not the sole reason for the closure of the mining industry but it certainly played a major part. Had there not been the ability to mine and transport coal cheaper from developing countries than to mine it in the UK, then the industry may still be alive today. There are a few private mines that remain open, but nothing like the great British industry of yesteryear.
What has happened is that after a difficult few years in the mid 1980’s, thousands of ex miners have forged new careers in different organisations and industries.
3.1.2 Call Centres
Another more recent industry affected by the growth of globalisation is that of the call centre. Over the past decade, the industry has developed with rapid pace, and improvements in technology have assisted this growth.
Call centres were originally created to concentrate a group of specialised workers in a specific location with communication links to other areas of the organisation. Basic support functions were moved away from the office floor to new ventures providing this specialist service.
However, over time it became apparent that the cost of this burgeoning industry was constantly growing. The need to maximise profit by organisations, led them to look at ways of saving costs whilst continuing to provide key services to customers.
One way that this has been achieved is via investment in emerging markets. Globalisation has opened up the world, and markets that were not really accessible 10 years ago, are now seen as a thriving area(s) to locate business operations.
One of the first industries to 'offshore' its call centre operations to an emerging country was HSBC. In 2000, it made the decision to outsource its call centre operations to India. Since 2002, numerous UK based organisations have migrated call centre jobs to developing countries, such as India including (Bain & Taylor 2004):
- HSBC (3 separate entities)
- Lloyds TSB
- Prudential Assurance
- British Telecom
- Aviva
- National Rail Enquiries
- Reality
- Client Logic
The reasons behind these decisions were that these emerging countries offered huge labour cost savings to the organisation, as labour in an emerging market was significantly cheaper than in the UK.
Such migrations led to the prediction of the end of the UK call centre industry, with speculation based on the fact that due to technological developments, call centres could be based anywhere across the globe as long as the relevant infrastructure was in place.
India was seen as an attractive, desirable destination. An infamous quote, attributed to the Scottish Chief Executive of Lloyds TSB, Susan Rice (Sunday Herald 18th April 2004):
This showed the attitude of major corporations to the UK worker. And to a certain extent, it was correct. People did not see working in a call centre as a ‘career’. A call centre in the UK was deemed to be a basic job with little or no prospects. But in developing countries such as India, where work in a westernised company was a new opportunity, it was seen as a way to enhance their quality of life.
So what impact has that had on careers in the UK? Well, many jobs have left the UK, leaving the choice of career for many people to be limited. The kinds of roles being offshored are deemed as basic functions and include (Bain & Taylor 2003):
- Customer Services
- Insurance claim processes
- Out of hours calls
- Telemarketing/telesales
- Technical support
- IT help desks
The impact this has had on the UK is that many people have had to look at further education or training just to be employable. In all due respect, to work in the fields listed above, you did not have to be a graduate or a highly skilled individual. But this is also one of the reasons it has been easier to offshore these jobs to developing countries – high skill levels were not required.
Belt (2004) actually believes that the call centre industry has primarily attempted to recruit a particular type of employee – women who they perceive will not be interested in promotion. This has been a negative perception of this industry in recent years. However, the call centre is now moving away from the basic, mundane transactions to one that has the potential to interact and sit at the heart of customer relationship management (Durbin, 2004).
This movement of the industry to being a key element of a business is part of the reason for the movement of such call centres to overseas developing countries. As stated by Rice earlier, these developing countries can provide a specific type of employee, graduates and well educated individuals. Unfortunately, in the UK, such people would be averse to working in call centres, especially on the front line.
Whilst I have covered two totally different types of industries in this section, you can compare the two quite easily. The education needs of miners and call centre operatives were similar. Formal qualifications were not required to carry out either role.
But for these people who have lost the option of working in these industries, the choice of career has been taken away, and has resulted in the requirement to gain further knowledge, education and training just to be employable. Of course there are still many basic roles available in the UK, but for how much longer?
3.2 Globalisation & IT Careers
I have worked in the IT industry since 1994, and have seen vast changes in the way services are delivered. It is readily recognised that the globalisation process has shaped work patterns in recent times. Many organisations now aspire to the fact work can be ‘done by anyone, anywhere, at anytime’ (Dick Brown, EDS CEO, 2002). Globalisation, and improved methods of communication have allowed this to happen.
In the 1990’s, many organisations had onsite IT support teams, who provided day-to-day advice and guidance to an organisations multitude of users. However, in the late 1990’s, a trend to outsource IT services occurred, with many major organisations taking the decision to put their trust in a specialised service provider.
Many of these IT services providers were American based organisations such as IBM, EDS & CSC – global powerhouses who had built their reputation as market leaders. Globalisation had allowed these companies to compete for business overseas.
As part of many outsourcing arrangements, the IT staff of the original company, transferred to the new IT service provider with immediate effect. Whilst this was a major change, it also opened up a whole new world of opportunities with a specialist organisation. I was one such transferred employee when Aon insurance services decided to outsource its IT services to EDS in 2000. At the time I was an IT support team leader responsible for desktop and server support for a small arm of the consulting division.
By moving to EDS, my role changed within 2 months and due to the way the organisation was structured, I took on responsibility for other accounts services. This immediately opened up a vast expanse of opportunities in the IT field. Within 6 months I had transferred to a government account as Security Manager.
Indirectly, globalisation had contributed to a major change in my working environment. After all, without globalisation, EDS would not be bidding for work in the UK.
The industry has changed significantly over the past decade, and as covered in the earlier section about call centres, many basic IT support functions have been offshored to developing countries. In my own organisation, this has allowed staff the opportunity to further their careers in a specialised field such as Project Management or Service Delivery. EDS have offered these opportunities to staff, and this has been commonplace in many of the IT service providers in the UK following the movement of basic services.
However, the concerns apparent in the UK IT industry, are around the fact that although these 'basic' functions such as call centres, help desks, etc are at the lower end of the jobs scale, the people performing these functions are gaining substantial training and knowledge of IT. What is the impact of this? Well, how long will it be before specialist roles can also be outsourced or offshored also?
At EDS, we have recently had a communication informing us that if you currently perform a role that does not require you being onsite 5 days a week, then your role effectively does not need to be carried out in the UK. I myself am in danger here. I am currently the Disaster Recovery service delivery manager for a financial client, but have worked from home for the past 2 years, attending site(s) as and when required.
An article in The Observer on the 3rd December 2006 reported that EDS intended to double its offshore employee numbers to over 13,500 by the end of 2007. The offshored work is centred on user support and applications development, and EDS have global service centres in India, China, Argentina, Hungary and Poland, all low cost countries.
This can only result in concerns for the employees of EDS. After all, IT was the first service line to be ‘taken away’ from organisations when outsourcing deals first took place. With technology developing at a rapid pace, and communication links becoming ever faster, there may not be a need to IT service providers to be based in the UK for much longer.
So what does this mean to individuals in the IT industry? Well certainly it’s a period of uncertainty. The days of a job for life have long gone, and it is now up to people to make themselves more employable.
The IT industry is renowned for being leaders of change, and is often the first industry to adapt to new working methods and patterns. During the millennium bug scare pre year 2000, IT was perceived as the career of choice by many people, and was seen as a way to earn good money in a flourishing industry.
However, due to the globalisation growth and many jobs being outsourced, numerous people turned away from careers in the IT industry. Over the past couple of years there have been many cases of IT staff making a complete career change, with many looking at learning a trade such as plumbing (Computer Weekly, 2006). This is an industry that will always require its specialists to be in the country of origin. After all, you cannot offshore roles such as these.
Such uncertainties in the IT industries has kept many employees on their toes and has resulted in an increase in further education and training being sought by most. An IT career in the UK is not as secure as it was 10 years ago.
4. The Impact of Globalisation
From international call centres, to offshore processing departments and home working, the introduction and improvement of new technologies to enhance information and communication has transformed the way business is carried out today. These developments have hastened the growth of globalisation with many organisations taking on multi national status.
Globalisation has had a major impact on the world we live in and will continue to do so for many years. It is predicted that technology will develop at a faster rate over the next 3 years than it has done in the past 20 (Gilligan, 2007). When you consider how far we’ve come in that time frame, then the options are endless.
As has been covered earlier in my report, globalisation can be thought of in many different ways. The world is viewed as a ‘single global system’ in most quarters. Money and business transactions can be completed instantaneously there are numerous global consumer products, and there is an increasing global awareness thanks to inventions such as televisions, computers and the Internet. Even as early as 1962, Marshall Mcluhan coined the phrase ‘the world is like a global village’ and his sentiments are still relevant today.
In the 1990’s, many organisations changed their corporate strategies to focus more on globalised operations. This period was known as the ‘decade of globalisation’ due to the widespread acceptance of the term (Held et al, 1999).
According to Cairncross (1997), developments in technology and communications have brought about the ‘death of distance’ and have globalised the distribution of employment, which has resulted in the borderless global economy (Ohmae 1995).
This is apparent in today’s world. When you pick up the phone to talk to someone about your bank account for example, you have as much chance of speaking to someone in India, as you do Sheffield. And the connectivity is instantaneous (if you ignore the automated telephone systems – a hindrance of technology developments!).
What is apparent however is that increased skill levels are required for a career in the UK. Staff who would have happily worked in a call centre were suddenly found to need further skills to progress in the UK job market, resulting in requirements to further their knowledge and education.
But globalisation has also allowed employees the freedom to work where they like. The fact that many organisations offer the access to their networks via Virtual Private networks (VPN’s) over the Internet, means that many people have the ability to work from home. This phenomenon is known as ‘teleworking’
A UK Labour force study carried out in 1999 identified that 5% of the British workforce were classed as teleworkers (Huws et al 1999, pg xi). This figure will have increased significantly over the past 8 years. I myself am classed as a teleworker, with my being based at home since July 2005.
This also results in cost savings to organisations, as staff do not have to have a dedicated work area in an office, saving premises costs. Teleworkers usually work longer hours too – after all, they don’t have to travel to and from the office.
Teleworking has allowed individuals to adopt a different career, or have a greater choice of how they wish to work. Many organisations in the UK are adopting teleworking as a standard.
The impact of globalisation on the changing work patterns of UK employees cannot be underestimated. Whilst new technologies continue to be developed, the connected world is shrinking. What globalisation has created in the UK is a greater awareness that to be a success and develop a successful career you have to take control of your own future.
5. Conclusions
During my research I have encountered many definitions of what globalisation is. As it is such a large subject area so it is obvious that different theorists will have different viewpoints. However, the constant throughout most of the definitions is the fact globalisation is seen as increasing the interconnectedness of the world today.
Globalisation is perceived by many as a set of processes that happen as life moves forward and the world becomes more connected and modern, which can not be denied nor be ignored. In a cultural context, globalisation brings uniformity, diversity, and hybridization. Therefore, in the simplest way, globalisation is set of processes in many aspects as a result of world’s improvement that brings advantages and disadvantages to contemporary world.
The benefits of globalisation would also bring differing opinions. Organisations will see it as a major benefit as it allows them to spread out into the wide world and utilise available resources and raw materials from developing countries. But many see this as just an extension and modernisation of slave labour.
The affect that globalisation has had on the UK and the career choices of employees has been vast. From the decimation of major UK industries to the movement of basic functions overseas, the availability of jobs in the UK has changed significantly. The UK faces an uncertain future in the marketplace, and this has an impact for many employees in the country. Many industries face an uncertain future.
Whilst personally I am a believer in keeping jobs in the UK and not offshoring every possible work stream, I also understand the need to move with the times. If technologies are developed that allows work to be done in a more efficient, cheaper way, then this has to be embraced. To succeed in the UK, people need to take control of their life and constantly improve their knowledge and skill base.
In conclusion, it would appear from the evidence obtained that globalisation is not an entirely new occurrence, with certain key aspects having been around for many years. What has happened in recent years however is mass growth in the rate and advancement of an already established phenomenon – and this is likely to continue for many years to come.
6. References and Bibliography
Bain, P., and Taylor, P. (2004) No Passage to India? UK Unions, Globalisation and the Migration of Call Centre Jobs, Work Employment & Society conference, Manchester 1-3 September: quoted in Burgess, J., and Connell, J. (2006) Developments in the call centre industry: analysis, changes and challenges Routledge, p36
Baylis, J. and Smith, S. (2001) The Globalization of World Politics: an introduction to international relations, 2nd edition Oxford University Press
Belt, V. (2002) A Female Ghetto? Women’s Careers in Telephone Call Centres, Human Resource Management Journal, 12(4): pps51-60; quoted in Burgess, J., and Connell, J. (2006) Developments in the call centre industry: analysis, changes and challenges, Routledge, p121
Brown, D. (2002) EDS & The Communication of the Future, Internal EDS Report
Cairncross, F. (1997) The Death of Distance: How the Communication Revolution Will Change Our Lives, Boston: Harvard University Press: quoted in Burgess, J., and Connell, J. (2006) Developments in the call centre industry: analysis, changes and challenges, Routledge, p37
Durbin, S. (2004) Is the Knowledge Economy Gendered? Call Centres as a Case Study, University of Leeds; quoted in Burgess, J., and Connell, J. (2006) Developments in the call centre industry: analysis, changes and challenges, Routledge, p121
Giddens, A., (2006) Sociology, 5th edition, Chapter 2 – Globalisation and the changing world, Polity
Gilligan, C., Prof (2007) Contemporary & Pervasive Issues lecture 14th March 2007
Held, D., McGrew, A., Goldblatt, D., and Perraton, J. (1999) Global transformations: politics, economics and culture, Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
Held, D., and McGrew, A., (2003) The global transformations reader: an introduction to the globalization debate, Blackwell Publishers Ltd
Hirst, P.Q., and Thomspon, G. F. (1999) Globalization in Question: The International Economy and the Possibilities of Governance, Polity Press, 2nd Edition: quoted in Michie, J. (2003) The Handbook of Globalisation, Elgar Publishing: p17
Hirst, P. Q., and Thomspon, G. F. (2002) Co-operation & Conflict, Nordic International Studies Association; quoted in Michie, J. (2003) The Handbook of Globalisation, Elgar Publishing: p17
Huws, U., Jagger, N., and O’Regan, S. (1999) Teleworking and Globalisation, The Institute for Employment Studies
Levitt, T. (1983) The Globalization of Markets, Boston: Harvard Business Review Press: quoted in Aliber, R., Z. and Click, R., W. (1993) Readings in International Business, Cambridge, p28
Marx, K., and Engels, F. (1848 – published 1967) The Communist Manifesto, Penguin Books, p7
McLuhan, M. (1962) The Gutenberg galaxy: the making of typographic man, Routledge press
McNeill, W. H., and Root, F. R. (1963), The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community, Chicago University Press: quoted in Held, D., McGrew, A., Goldblatt, D., and Perraton, J. (1999) Global transformations: politics, economics and culture, Blackwell Publishers Ltd, p418
Oblinger, D., (2005) Boomer and Gen-Xers Millennials understanding the new students, Educase review
Ohmae, K. (1995) The Evolving Global Economy: Making Sense of the New World Order, Boston: Harvard Business Review Press: quoted in Burgess, J., and Connell, J. (2006) Developments in the call centre industry: analysis, changes and challenges, Routledge, p38
Rice, S. (2004) Sunday Herald 18th April 2004: quoted in Burgess, J., and Connell, J. (2006) Developments in the call centre industry: analysis, changes and challenges, Routledge, pps36-37
Scholte, J., A. (2005) Globalization: a critical introduction. 2nd edition, Palgrave Macmillan
Taylor, P., and Bain, P. (2004) Call Centres in Scotland and Outsourced competition from India, Stirling: Scotland: quoted in Burgess, J., and Connell, J. (2006) Developments in the call centre industry: analysis, changes and challenges, Routledge, p41
The Challenge of a career outside of IT – Computer Weekly 10th May 2006
Web References
Mining the Market – Job Creation to solve structural unemployment - - last accessed 17/04/2007
EDS offshoring announcement, The Observer Online, 3rd December 2006 -
last accessed 17/04/2007
