Is Globalization Americanization?

Is Globalization Americanization? In my opinion, I don’t believe an item's history and origin make it inevitably American. This is partly because some items don’t gain the popularity here, but rather outside the country. In addition, some franchises are seen in so many countries that while it’s likely known that it originated in America, that’s the only â€Å"American† thing about it. Lastly, some For the fast food examples such as McDonald’s or Starbucks, they are probably best known in terms of their origin and the most popular in terms of being â€Å"American†. Both chains have been around for decades – McDonalds, since 1955 (mcdonalds. com, 2012) and Starbucks, since 1971 (starbucks. com, 2012). Both chains have continued to grow and expand to immense proportions. McDonalds currently has locations in 119 countries (en. wikipedia. org, 2012), while Starbucks follows at a respectable 50 countries (starbucks. com, 2012). They are both good examples of â€Å"American† chains however I don’t think that simply originating in America created that label. I think that if that were the case, there wouldn’t have been as much success in other countries. I think that these chains have been able to expand so much simply because they’re so popular. In theory, much of their popularity might come down to the attraction from tourists, whether famous and popular or unknown. One public message about a great restaurant is good press alone and can cause frenzy. For the television show example, I think Oprah says it all. The Oprah Winfrey Show became its own in 1986 (en. wikipedia. org, 2012). Since then, she has become has become a household name both in American and internationally. At its height, the Oprah Winfrey show aired in 149 countries (en. wikipedia. org, 2012). I think that with the viewership in other countries, it just goes to show that while the Oprah phenomenon started in America, it has certainly branched out; therefore, America is only where she’s from, not who she is. The musical example falls on the Beatles. I think they are maybe an especially important example of the American versus not question. The reason being is that although they originated in England, due to their talent of singing, if you didn’t already know where they were from, there was no immediate awareness as to their origin – at least for later generations such as myself who still love their songs years after the initial release. The point is that with the Beatles as n example, if the theory about popularity or globalization meaning American is true, then one could think they originated here because they became so popular. Obviously it has been well known for years that they originated in England; but if that knowledge was not immediately known, then they could have been from anywhere. In all fairness, the argument is probably strong both ways. I can absolutely see the point of view that Globalization can be perceived as originating from America. However, I feel even more strongly, that when you take a closer look, it really doesn’t matter when an item actually originated; it all comes down to popularity. References: Our Heritage. (2012, January 9). Starbucks. com. Retrieved from: http://www. starbucks. com/about-us/our-heritage Our History. (2012, January 9). McDonald’s. com. Retrieved from: http://www. mcdonalds. com/us/en/our_story/our_history. html McDonald’s. (2012, January 9). McDonald’s Global Operations. Retrieved from: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/McDonalds#Global_operations Is Globalization Americanization? The question is â€Å"does an item’s history and origin make it inevitable American? † The answer to the previous question truthfully is yes and no. There are several items a part of our American culture that do make that specific item inevitable American. But quite honestly, the United States outsources their goods and resources meaning that a country as a whole maintains several items, such as fabrics, food and toys, from other countries. The only reason why we do this is because it is cheaper for our economy. Looking around the house, there are several items that say â€Å"Made in China†, â€Å"Made in Mexico†, and â€Å"Made in Vietnam†. These items are sold on the shelves of major corporations here in America, but they are clearly not American items. They are just sold in American and outsourced by America so in turn, the ‘history’ of these items make them American. For example, one of the toys that was bought for a friends daughter, was made in another country, but when looking on the package the toy was originally came in, it states that it was shipped an packaged here in the United States. Globalization is definitely a spread of American culture and vice versa. Countries nowadays are nothing but a melting pot of other cultures. The most common fast food chain that started off in America and went international was McDonalds. In week two, we had a discussion question base upon whether McDonalds was an expression of American and global cultures. McDonalds is more so an expression of the American culture in other countries. Other countries, such as China, have built a McDonalds industry in order to introduce the American culture to their youth. Our movie industry in America has taken over the world by storm. There are many films that are American films that ‘go big’ in other countries or are introduced to other countries around the same time that they are introduced to the American culture. Sometimes, the films are more successful overseas than here in the States. Two perfect examples of an American film that not only took off here in The United States but internationally as well would be The Twilight Saga and all Harry Potter films. The origins of the books were from American authors but once they were made into successful films, they took off internationally. These movies are two perfect examples as to the spread of American culture globally. Music is a hard one to find an example of for the research assignment. No matter whom the artist is, the instrument is or genre, one way or another, not one of them is truly American. Artists are inspired by other artists that are, nine times out of ten, an oldies artist that originated from another country. There are many international artists. Either they started in another country an then began touring in the United States along with selling records, they then became American music ‘icons’. There are some artists that got their major record label contract the America, and then became international celebrities. The major musical groups that could pertain to the Americanization and Globalization of the music industry would be the Beatles, Monkees and Selena. In conclusion, there are many items in the American culture that have gone global. To answer the state question, is Americanization Globalization? Yes. There are so many different examples that can pertain to the said question, so, once again, the American culture has hit the global market. But then again, there are many items that are made in another country for America. The true definition of globalization can differ from person to person. In my mind and my definition, globalization is the different cultures that come together as ‘one’. Our culture is seen in several countries across the globe, as well as those countries being sought out here in America. Is Globalization Americanization? It took me a while to try to work â€Å"glocal† out. This is my way of saying I had a tough time trying to wrap my mind around what exactly is glocal. To me it is open to interpretation; people will have their own theories on what it means. To me it is something that is global but has a slight variation to fit in locally or think local but act global. I see it as thinking global but adapting business to fit local needs and demands while having a global approach to the business, basically, honoring business traditions and customs and adapting product and services for regional intake according to local culture.Cultural items become glocal when they can be seen and found around the world but are changed to fit in locally. These items can be globalized at any time, whenever a company wishes to go global then it can modify changes according to local standards. Walmart is well known just like McDonalds, they have 6,155 stores internationally. These stores have merchandise and practi ces to fit into the local cultures. This is also the case for stores in the U. S. For instance, the Walmart in our little town has merchandise specifically for our area and the Walmart 15 miles away in another town sell merchandise specifically for that town.I have been trying to say away from McDonalds; even in last week’s paper, to me it was like beating a dead horse. I tried to use examples not many classmates would have used. To me it would be nice for the reader to have something different to read instead of having a dozen or so papers all using the same examples. This worked for me because it made my research interesting and I was able to learn new things. This week I will play it safe and use only examples used in the textbook, which by the way, was informative. This brings me back to McDonalds, which is a very good example.McDonalds is a U. S based company who has expanded to 119 countries. As a glocal company they ensure their foods looks and taste the same everywher e, uniformity is essential for large corporations who want to please their customers regardless of where their travels take them. They fit in locally with local customs, such as McDonalds in New Delhi serve vegetable McNuggets or fried egg with the burgers in Montevideo. Often time’s glocal companies who offer products that fit into the local culture purchase these products locally, which helps add to their success.When it comes to a glocal movie the textbook gave a good example, Spiderman. Marvel Comics took Spiderman to a new level when they took the movie franchise to India. They made changes to the movie that fit with local customs, giving India their first superhero. The characters clothing was slightly different and the story line was changed to draw in India’s market. The Glocal franchise succeeded, even though the story had drastic changes, to the point it would be unrecognizable to U. S. viewers, it worked for India viewers. Growing up I remember MTV first com ing on the air.This was when cable first came out in the early 80’s. What I find interesting is MTV was based in New York City at the time, I believe they still are, but while reading this week’s assignment it said the first video played on MTV was a British band, I thought there was a little irony there. However, MTV meets the demand wherever they are globally. Their programming is contingent on local demands. In Brazil MTV play music videos and other programming determined by the local producers. MTV in Asia endorses Thai pop stars and play music videos sung in Mandarin.What makes the three examples I used glocal is all three have ability to be international models with the flexibility to allow for local changes, so they have a global company or product that becomes local and function as both. Other companies such as Fila, an Italian shoe maker makes the same shoe that is sold around the world. Modifications are not needed to sell the shoes internationally; this make s them an international model that does not need to be flexible. It will remain an international item or one that always reflects its culture.