What is globalization?

1. Summary
 The question‘What is globalization?’ is both simple and complicate depend on what we are focusing on. There are so many discussions about definition of globalization in the world so it is hard to assure what globalization is and means. Also there are lots of attemptation to try to make a definition. Velho  has spoken of globalization as an object, a perspective and a horizon. As Velho mentioned, globalization may be understood as the direction in which the world considered as a whole is moving.
 Globalization has been discussed in sociology and anthropology, as well as in religious studies, as long ago as the late 1970s and early 1980s. However, concern with globalization in effect began  many centuries ago.
 Considering the rise of globalization theory was the relatively simple observation, it seems the world was increasingly becoming a ‘single place’. Follow this, the most important single defining feature of globalization seems as increasing connectivity.
 Globalization needs to be considered as a combination of both subjective and cultural factors. But the failure to acknowledge fully the cultural aspect of globalization is clearly a very costly mistake from some examples.
 Many books and articles on globalization usually said there are three major dimensions of such: the economic, the political and the cultural. The latter, the cultural, has come increasingly to the fore partly because of the concern with economic globalization. Writers mentioned McDonaldization. It means global brands need to adapt local circumstances and their specific or special taste, religion and so on. The central thrust of this brief comment on there lationship between economic and cultural factors is the expansion of capitalism around the world has of seeming necessity involved the elevation of the cultural themes. It is connecting to globalization.

2. What was interesting?
 I would like to mention glocalization that our class studied and discussed before. All over the world there are lots of success example of glocalization. After reading 'one week in Beijing', I was interested especially KFC in China. In China KFC is more popular than Macdonald. Because KFC studied specific and special taste and behavior of Chinese then developed and made 'meal' only for    Chinese and it fits well.
 Let us see more specific examples. KFC offer rice congee and bread meal and as many as 80 different meals for breakfast made of local ingredient. Also according to one-child policy, Chinese parents think of their child so precious and they have a tendency to do whatever the children wants. Following this trend, KFC make their department's design fit for young child like high class kindergarten; they plan children's birthday party fabulously to make children think they are so special. Not even targeting for children, they also target college student in many ways. It is a good example of glocalization but there are other view of that below.      

3. Discussion point

 As a student of cultural anthropology, sometimes glocalization seems as intrusion of global corporates or capitalism into cultural part of a nation. We should not ignore a single part of a cultural area. Often it makes conflicts in efficiency and cost-effective way that study or handle the situation.    But in every single part, economic and cultural part is not always in conflict relation. There should be many ways to get involved well. I am going to find some examples of that also I want to discuss that in this semester.