Archive for Uncategorized

Blog Portfolio

{ December 12, 2006 @ 11:22 pm } · { Blogroll, FSEM100J, Uncategorized }
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For my blog portfolio, I would like to include all of my blogs. I am doing this because I did not write nearly enough blogs as I should have. For me, writing blogs was a struggle. At first, I didn’t write any blogs because I honestly was scared of the new technology and was not comfortable with writing something that was not perfectly polished. Now I can confidently say that I know how to write and manage a blog, but I still feel apprehensive. I think that I just need more experience as well as a little more push and direction regarding blog topics.

Once I got a topic in mind, however, I had little trouble writing about it. Oftentimes, the idea would be sparked by class discussion or by some other class or experience. For the most part, all of my blogs are about something that I came across by accident that made me think about globalization.

One thing that I like to do in my blogs is to raise further questions that may or may not be answered. I did this with the hopes that someone else would read my blog and have a reaction just like I did. I hoped that I could get other people thinking about the same things I was and could discuss through comments or in class. Although this seemed like a good idea, it was difficult because few people commented on my postings.

I can’t complain though because I commented on very few people’s blogs, but it was not for lack of interest. I would look at the postings by my peers and was awed by their superiority to my postings. Honestly, some of the bloggers in the class intimidated me and that might be another reason why I backed away sheepishly from blogging.

I know there are really no good excuses to why I have few blog postings, however, I do feel that I have grown as a blogger and technology user from this class. Even though I definitely struggled I feel like it was a worthwhile class and that I am much better off as a student and a person.

“Made in the USA”

{ November 1, 2006 @ 11:30 pm } · { FSEM100J, Uncategorized }
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All four of the companies mentioned in recent articles in the Wall Street Journal in their series “Made in the U.S.A.” are maintained in the US because each company fills a niche that is hard for foreigners to copy.

For example, the Bobcat Company finds that it is easier to stay in
North Dakota where its roots are very strong and the workers are very loyal. Also, the domestic location of the business enable it to ship replacement parts in a very short period of time that foreign companies could not even dream of.

The same concept is true for the Schantz Organ Co that uses manual labor to produce all of its products. It would certainly be difficult to transport large and cumbersome organs from countries abroad. Another reason why the Schantz Organ Co remains in the
US is its highly skilled work force. It takes many years for a person to become an expert worker in the different types of work that need to be accomplished to produce an organ. Not only are workers highly specialized, but they take on “responsibility for an entire chunk of production.” However, as with the Bobcat Company, deep community ties are a strong factor as to why the company stays in the
US.


Warsaw, IN sees the same type of influence in the orthopedic replacement field. This small town community buzzes with activity from the many companies that are congregated all in the name of artificial body parts. The power that the area generates over the field from the concentration of companies is another of the reasons that it remains in the
US. Another important reason is the amount of regulations that
America has on artificial parts and the reduced hassle of buying the parts from an American company that abides by the regulations.

This leads one to thinking of the quality of goods. A company that focuses on quality and stays in
America because of its reputation is Viking. The appliances that Viking produces are “cult object[s].” People will pay higher prices for products from Viking because of its name and therefore, Viking can afford to sell for more. Another way that Viking cuts costs in order to stay in business in
America is to custom make each product in order to eliminate any costs incurred by stocking warehouses.

 These four enterprises are all proof that globalization does not necessarily mean that all factory jobs in the
US will be eliminated. The companies mentioned provide hope for a desperate country that is rapidly loosing jobs overseas by providing examples of effective measures that will make their companies prosper. This all proves that it is possible to keep the jobs that many feared were lost.

Image of Globalization

{ September 18, 2006 @ 9:33 pm } · { FESM100J, Uncategorized }
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Globalization

Originally uploaded by Sharrie.

I’ve seen pictures like this before and I always thought they were a good symbol of globalization so I was excited when I found this. I really like the contrast between the new and the old. The great wall of China is such a powerful symbol but it seems almost ruined by the can of coke. This shows how Americanism can creep into a corner of the world that has so much of its own culture already.

Discussion in Geography Class

{ September 13, 2006 @ 2:59 pm } · { FSEM100J, Uncategorized }
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Yesterday in my human geography class, which just happens to be right after our FESM 100J class, we started to learn about Rostow’s five stages of development and modernization. After going into detail about each stage (traditional society, preconditions for “take-off”, “take-off”, drive to maturity, and high mass comsumption), our class had a provocative discussion that led me to think of globalization. The professor started out by asking us where we thought parts of the world were categorized and why.

            This led me to the conclusion that most of the world is now at the high mass consumption stage, but there are still many pockets in the world that have yet to be touched. After I just had this thought, our professor whipped out a graph demonstrating how the richest five percent of countries have gotten richer over the past few decades and the poorest have gotten poorer.

            Then our class started heading down the path of how richer countries are exploiting poorer countries. I realized at that point that at no point in time will the entire world be at the high mass consumption stage. This could not happen because the poor, agriculturally based countries depend on the richer countries to buy their goods and without the goods produced in the poor countries, there would be no cheap goods. The result of this would be for the price of goods to infinitely increase.

            Just curious, what do you guys think will happen to the world in the future if 1) everyone in the world were to be at the high mass consumption stage and/or 2) we were so polarized and only had traditional societies and high mass consumption?