Globalization Worksheet– winners or losers?
Read through each scenario and choose if you believe that person is a Globalization winner or loser and why. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper!
1. Jonathan (43) worked in a call center in the US. He recently lost his job when his company decided to base their call center in India where labor wages is cheaper.
2. Mollie (13) works in a sweatshop in a SE Asian country making T shirts that are sold in the USA, Western Europe and Japan. She works very long hours and is paid very little by her employers.
3. Yanik (27) is grateful to people in U.S. His home in Indonesia was destroyed by the Tsunami and he lost his possessions. Now he is rebuilding his home with help from donations made by people who live thousands of miles away.
4. Miko (14) who lives in Japan enjoys listening to British bands and she downloads their music from the Internet.
5. Dave (27) lives in Dundee in Scotland. He loves eating exotic tropical fruit and is able to buy a wide range of these products from other countries in his local supermarket.
6. Michelle (16) is from Wilmington, DE. Her mom and dad work for Barclays Bank that is headquartered in London, England. Every year her mom and dad take her and her brother to a different country on holiday. She’s just come back from a fabulous trip to Mexico.
7. Zak (31) lives in London. He loves eating out. In his part of the city there are Thai, Vietnamese and Indian restaurants to choose from. He can eat food from all over the world without having to travel more than a mile from his home.
8. Jen lives in Australia. She’s studying Indian history at university. In her spare time she enjoys watching Bollywood movies with her friends. She wants to learn to dance like a Bollywood star and is attending classes in Melbourne.
9. Sania (10) lives in Sri Lanka. His family are farmers. They get a good price for their product because the farmers in their village are part of a Fair Trade scheme. Sania’s dad can now afford to send him to school.
10. Kubya (8) is very pleased. Volunteers from Tear Fund (a Western Aid organization have installed a water pump in her village. Now she no longer has to spend hours each day carrying water from the river to her home in the village.
11. Kali (17) works on a West African farm as a laborer. She is helping to grow cocoa beans for use in the making of chocolate, which is eaten by consumers in the UK and Ireland. She only receives food and clothing from her employer. Although she has a job, she is virtually working for a slave wage.
12. Mr Caldwell (63) from New York City owns hundreds of stock shares in a large global company that makes pharmaceutical products (medicines and drugs). It is making massive profits and paying out excellent dividends to its shareholders, including Mr. Caldwell.
13. Elaine (26) lives and works in Brazil. She is employed by Fiat, a huge transnational corporation. Global communications allow her to keep in touch with her mom who lives back home in Baltimore. She talks to her mom on the phone, and also communicates with her via text, instgram, twitter, skype and e-mail
14. Paul (40) lives on a remote farm in the prairies region of the USA. He knows what’s going on all around the world because he has satellite TV and home office computer using FIOS. He is able to buy and sell his harvest and farm equipment all over the globe as a result.
15. Ben is concerned about deforestation and the greenhouse effect. He’s done research on the Internet and listened to documentaries on PBS. He’s setting up his own campaign group to protect threatened species in the Amazon.
16. Lanya (39) is worried that her children are being harmed by American movies and culture. She thinks that they are in danger of losing their Icelandic cultural identity. They use English words in conversation and spend time discussing American celebrities and playing violent video games.
17. Anna (28) is a fluent speaker of Mandarin Chinese. She has just helped her company, KFC, a massive transnational corporation, to start opening restaurants into the Chinese market. Her bosses are delighted and she’s received a huge bonus.
18. Wayne (20) is really pleased. He has just bought a new Polo shirt in his home-town of Philly. It was made in Vietnam and was very cheap.
19. Chris (44) is happy. His work takes him all over the world for work. Wherever he travels he can nearly always buy a burger from his favorite fast food outlet, McDonalds. Junk food appears to be truly global.
20. Petra (20) lives in Russia. She supports an English soccer team and wears a replica shirt she purchased inexpensively. The shirt was made in Pakistan. She watches them play on satellite TV
21. Kedya (36) works in a factory in Turkey where components are made for V W cars. The cars are sold in American and Japan. The work is boring but he is paid well and saving up for his own home.
22. Rajesh (22) works in a call center in India and earns more money than he did in his previous job. He is employed by a U.S. telecommunications company which has recently relocated its call center from Dover, De where labor costs are much higher. Rajesh uses his higher income to begin purchasing U.S. goods and services.