Globalization Policy Brief

Name: Institution:Date: GLOBALIZATION POLICY BRIEF Introduction Globalization has turned the world into a village and more interdependent. There are many advantages of globalization such as cultural diffusion and spreading which helps the communities which have been historically been unexposed. It has also helped the developing and undeveloped nations access technology and capital that have come to be very instrumental for their development. Most big corporations and multinationals have taken advantage of globalization to source cheap labor in developing countries. It is one of the ways that China capitalized on when it sought to grow economically and today it has become the factory of the world. Most electronics are designed in other countries but are produced in China. GAP, a multinational cloth line has roughly 1 million workers in approximately 900 factories in China, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia because of cheap labor CITATION Mar151 \l 1033 (Gunther). Due to the cost of living in most western countries, multinationals find it cheaper to produce goods in other countries to maximize their profits. This phenomenon has brought about other unintended effects. These multinationals have resorted to exploiting the people in these countries. Most developing countries in which these multinationals and big corporations have set up their production facilities have weak labor laws or the existent laws are poorly enforced CITATION Fox16 \l 1033 (Fox). This creates a conducive environment for these multinationals to exploit the locals by paying them poorly because of of-of the host country’s high unemployment and poverty rates. The big corporations also tend to poorly facilitate the employees with safety equipment and little or no benefits other than the salaries. The low wages also force the locals to work for long hours to make ends meet even in their struggling economy. There is a need for the world to be concerned about the welfare of the people who produce the goods they consume. They can become the voice of the voiceless who are exploited for bigger profit margins by powerful corporations in corrupt countries. There has been little progress in the efforts to bring these corporations to account and force them to treat their workers humanely in less developed countries where they have set up their production facilitates. There is a need for a policy that compels these multinationals to act in the best interest of their workers, environment, and communities where they have set up their production facilities. Policy proposal The goal of the policy is to protect local communities from over-exploitation and unethical business practices by big corporations. The elements covered in the policy are; minimum wage and working hours, paid leave, workplace safety, health coverage, social security, whistleblower protections, freedom to join labor unions and employment-based protections. All the aforementioned conditions will have to be met for any corporations to be allowed to establish production facilities in other countries and especially in the developing countries. The policies will also be structured in a way that the corporation cannot hide under other laws such as contracting or outsourcing labor to other ...