Provide a 9 pages analysis while answering the following question: Features and Consequences of Globalization. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide. An abst

Provide a 9 pages analysis while answering the following question: Features and Consequences of Globalization. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide. An abstract is required. Globalization is not a buzzword today. It is seen as the central driving force behind a number of the rapid changes (socioeconomic and political) that are reshaping the world order. Globalization initiatives are rapidly breaking down Trade and investment barriers between countries and corporations are spreading their operations across the globe. Consumers are able to access an ever-growing basket of goods and services. Countries, companies, and individuals are increasingly beginning to take into account what is happening across the world, rather than in only the country in which they are based. In short, globalization is affecting a vast section of society, whether people realize it or not. Globalization has rapidly changed the lifestyles of many people without their even being unaware. To take an example, most people had not even heard of the Internet in 1990. Also, a few people had an e-mail address then. But today the Internet, cell phones and e-mail have become essential tools that many people just cannot live without, in both developed and developing countries. But globalization does have its opponents. Globalization facilitates freedom of movement without political and geographical hazards and this seems to be the attraction of globalization to most people. Globalization also promotes mutual reliance. As the number of exchanges of goods and of information increase, the result is a growing interdependence between countries as they come to rely on various imported products, services, and cultural input. Thus, from an economic point of view globalization is the integration of world economies into a single economy.

Globalization means and includes increased closeness among countries most notably in the areas of economics, politics, and culture. The term 'globalization' has been defined by various authors in different ways. In fact, it has as many definitions as there are authors. The most commonly used definitions include the following:

1. Globalization is "a complex set of distinct but related processes-economic, social and also political and military-through which social relations have developed towards a global scale and with global reach, over a long historic period" (Rajaee Farhang, 2000, p.44)

2. The prominent Islamic scholar, Mahmoud Ayoub, defined globalization in the following way: "It is said that we now live in a global village. To the extent that it is true, it is a negative process. Globalization is the latest manifestation of Western Imperialism" (Rajaee Farhang, 2000, p.30)

3. In its most concise definition, globalization "simply refers to the complex of forces that trend toward a single world society. Among these forces are mass communications, commerce, increased ease of travel, the internet, popular culture, and increasingly widespread use of English as an international language." (Lautier Frannie, 2006, p.34)

Features of Globalization

Globalization means the integration of an economy with the rest of the world so as to ensure the free flow of goods and services without any legal political and geographical boundaries. Globalization is different from different countries. The way in which one country approaches globalization phenomenon is different from that of another country.&nbsp.