Globalisation Identity free essay sample

It is a complex concept has several dimensions such as political, technological, human, environmental and cultural (Pais, 2006). Identity often refers to the ways in which individuals take to distinguish themselves or are perceived to be distinguished, in their social relations with other individuals and collectivities (Jenkins, 1996). But James Fearon (1999) argues that the term identity is used in two senses namely social and personal. While in the former sense the reference is only towards a social classification of a group of people differentiated by the rules and attributes, the latter sense of personal identity is more closely related to the individual and is taken to be the set of distinguishing characteristics and sense of pride that a person takes while representing these characteristics. It is these concepts of globalization and identity that this essay seeks to explore in context to India. India, as a country is vast with each of its twenty eight states representing diversity not only in terms of geography but with regards to language, lifestyle and essentially the culture. We will write a custom essay sample on Globalisation Identity or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The demographics pose another enormity including men, women, youth, aging population, lower, middle and upper class. Considering this immense range, the scope of the essay has been narrowed down to represent the issues of globalization and identity and the effects of these issues particularly on the youth of India, in two of its major cities of Bangalore and Delhi. This scope has been selected as irrespective of what age limits are taken to define the age of youth, majority of India’s population is young and globalization has had a profound effect on the youth, especially in metropolitan cities such as Bangalore and Delhi (Athyal, n. d. ). The essay commences by giving a brief historical background of globalization in India along with an introduction about both the cities of Bangalore and Delhi. It argues that globalization has both pros and cons with regards to the youth and discusses both advantages and disadvantages of the situation n the process of analyzing the issues of globalization and identity faced by the youth, in both the cities. The essay ends by concluding that while there are areas of progress and enhancement, there are also numerous issues of grave concern with regards to globalization and identity. These issues pose a threat to the well being of youth of India, particularly in metropolitan cities such as Bangalore and De lhi and there is a need to maintain a right balance in order to gain from globalization History The process of globalization has been an integral part of the recent economic progress made by India. Whereas in the 1960s and 1970s the image of India was synonymous with poverty, in the 1980s and 1990s the attention increasingly shifted towards the process of economic liberalisation and globalisation (Lakha, 2005). India opened up the economy in the early nineties and the new policies radically pushed forward in favour of a more open and market oriented economy, with measures including scrapping of the industrial licensing regime and a notable reduction in the number of areas reserved for the public sector. This marked an important period sparking the interest of multinational companies in India and it still continues to be one of the most favourable destinations for international investment owing to factors such as the high potential of domestic market driven by an emerging middle class and an enormous talent pool (Ersnt amp; Young survey, 2012) Globalization has played a major role in export led growth and enlargement of job market in India. One of the major forces of globalization in the last fifteen years has been the growth of outsourced Information Technology sector and Business Process outsourcing. There has been a sharp rise in the number of skilled professionals in India employed by both local and foreign companies to service customers in the US and Europe in particular. Taking advantage of India’s lower cost but educated and English speaking work force and utilizing global communications technologies such as voice-over IP, email and the internet, international enterprises have been able to lower their cost base by establishing outsourced knowledge-worker operations in India (www. economywatch. com, 2010). Bangalore Few places in the world have seen the dramatic effects of globalization like Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India. Bangalore is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka and experienced an unprecedented IT (Information Technology) boom that is transforming the prospects of the Indian economy. India is one of the worlds leading exporter of IT services, with its volume of offshore business doubling every three years. Bangalore accounts for being a major hub and the nation’s leading exporter of IT enabled services. It is among the top 10 preferred entrepreneurial locations in the world. Several dynamic Indian companies headquartered here, including Infosys and WIPRO, are now challenging the multinationals for global leadership in the field. Every major international company in the IT industry now has a presence in Bangalore and plans to further expand its investments (Schifferes, 2007). Apart from new multinational companies springing all over the city a specialized suburb area termed as Electronics City spread over 332 acres of land is one of the largest electronic industrial parks of the country. Walking through the x-ray machines and past the security, the workforce seems to enter into another world with office blocks inspired by and resembling global icons such as the campuses at Silicon valley, I M Pei’s pyramid at Louvre and the Sydney Opera House. This scene is quite different from the India that most of its 1. 2 billion population inhabits (Bernstein, 2011). Growth indicators include the Net Domestic Income 52,346 Crore Rupees (US$9. 89 billion) in 2007 making it one of the largest economic centres in India. With an economic growth of 10. 3%, Bangalore is the second fastest growing major metropolis in India. With a per capita income of 74,709 (US$1,412) in 2006, this city is the third largest national hub for high net worth individuals. Gross Domestic Income of Bangalore’s urban district have increased exponentially over the years and shows a sizeable increase from 36. 58 (Billion Rupees) in 1980-81 to 15294. 08 (Billion Rupees) in 2004-2005 (Narayana, 2011). Delhi Delhi is often regarded as India’s eternal city. From sixth century B. C, when it was believed to be the legendary capital of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharata, to the present it has been prominent to Indian life be it in the area of politics or culture. From the time it became India’s official capital during the British rule it has been a symbol of India’s nationalism. With its current 22. 2 million population, the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi is the largest Indian metropolitan region by area and includes neighboring cities such as Gurgaon, Sonepat and Noida (Ghosh, 2007). One of the recent surge in job opportunities came from the boom of Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) sector in India. Delhi along with its adjoining cities such as Gurgaon records one of the highest growth rates of the BPO sector. A newly emerging transnational labour force comprises of the call center workers in Delhi, who provide voice-to-voice service to clients dialing for customer support in the United States or Europe. Multinational companies that have outsourced their customer support centers to India and are located at Delhi include British Airways, TechneCall, Dell Computers, America On-Line, GE Capital, Cap Gemini, Swiss Air and American Express (Mirchandani, 2003). The growth indicators include an estimated net State Domestic Product of 157,817 Crore Rupees (US$29. 3 billion) for the year 2010, making it the largest commercial centre in northern India. As of 2010, the per capita income of Delhi was 135,820 Rupees (US$2,567) with one of the highest growth rates in the country of 10. 7%, for the past five years (Govt of NCT Delhi, 2011). Being one of the fastest growing city in the region also makes it one of the most livable cities in the country. Youth in India A major impact of globalization in Ind ia is the extension of the period in which people are defined as youth. But going by the traditional definitions, if people under the age of 30 are considered the youth then well over 50 percent of India’s population is young. About 47 percent of India’s 1 billion population is under the age of 20 and teenagers among them are about 160 million (Kriplani, 1999). This demographic is among one of the most critical factors to the ways in which globalization influences India. According to Sakhi Athyal, Indian youth are increasingly attached to and affected by the positive and negative impacts of globalization and are embracing it ways not imagined by the previous generations. Globalization – Analysis of its positive impact on the youth and their Identity India’s strong position in the field of digital technology and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services sector has given rise to a new found confidence which many hope will allow the country become what Bill Gates termed as a software superpower. This embrace of software technology has challenged the typical perceptions of India as the underdeveloped, poverty stricken nation. Images of a high-tech youth and the software companies have come replace the stereotypes of snake charmers and starving children (Greenspan, 2004). With a billion people, the world’s largest democracy, an enormous pool of English-speaking engineers among the youth, an expanding middle class and one of the greatest untapped markets on the planet, India’s encounter with cyberspace has a far-reaching impact on the future of globalization. Major US corporations such as Dell, Citibank, AOL, Delta, General Electrics, ATamp;T, Goldman Sachs, among numerous others have large bases in India. These companies are also among the major multinationals moving their customer support centers to India. Hundreds of thousands of Indians are employed in call centers with the youth making up the majority of the employee strength. A typical entry-level worker in India earns around US$250 month, which would seem considerably less compared to international salaries but by Indian standards and cost of living, this figure is a significant entry-level salary for a fresh college graduate (Shome, 2006). The affluence of the young workers in the IT sector has provided significant levels of financial independence and change in attitudes towards wealth and consumption in India. Educated young people are increasingly able to afford home ownership, consumer white goods and cars previously regarded as luxuries becoming affordable at much later ages (Schifferes, 2007) Urban Indian youth are also influenced to a large extent by the popular culture promoted by the media, dictating their choice of how to dress, where to be seen, what music to listen to even to the extent of what opinions to adopt. An exponential growth in the number of television channels took place from one state-controlled channel in 1991 to nearly seventy in 1998. With the youth aspirations for a western lifestyle and a fast-growing advertising sector led to the Indian media market becoming exceptionally attractive for multinational broadcasters (Thussu, 1999). Western movies, Mumbai based franchise of MTV and Rupert Murdoch’s Hong Kong based Star TV have come to play a large role in setting trends conducive to youth culture. Indian youth are becoming more comfortable with the western culture and are adapting to it in order to be regarded as global citizens (Srinivas, 2002). Due to these vast influences there is a shift towards the decrease of visuals that are traditionally typical of Indian identity. The traditional Indian dress is declining, especially among urban youth, in favour of new fashions, allowing them to assimilate more easily with the west. Jeans and T-shirts, ladies dresses and skirts have become the increasingly popular choices (Gonsalves, 2012 ). Liberalization of India’s economy is encouraging its interaction with the world and increasing economic prosperity. The traditional family structure has given way which has its advantages in terms of giving providing mobility and empowering women as they begin to occupy non-traditional roles. According to 2004, Delhi police reported that deaths of about six women everyday in the city were related to dowry and domestic violence (Pais, 2006). Globalization offers new opportunities for women allowing to them to become economically independent. The opportunities to find employment in the Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) sector, arising from offshore outsourcing by global corporations are rising on a large scale. There are already more than 160,000 employees on the payroll of Indian call centers in India of which about 45 percent are women (Mitter, Fernandez amp; Verghese, 2004). Globalization – Analysis of its negative impact on the youth and their Identity With increased globalization and economic development, the problems confronting youth are changing. The more modern problems for youth arise from social alienation due to the demise of the support provided by the family. As Fahey and Gale (2005) put it, the youth are no longer satisfied to watch drama on television, they want to be a part of the drama. As a part of the learning of cross cultural management communication unit concepts related to identity formation such as belonging and in-groups and out-groups, voluntary and involuntary identity have been discussed. A reflection of these is observed incase of the youth of India. The focus of youth has shifted from the family to their personal selves. They increasingly look towards gaining approvals of friends before family, as the company they keep provides them with the much needed sense of belonging and interconnectedness helping to define themselves. The sense of belonging helps to develop associations and friendships and most importantly to prevent social isolation. Often young Bangaloreans skip university classes or family get-togethers and prefer to spend time their friends instead. The ones working during night shifts at call centers have the daytime available to do the same. The friendships allow formation of their own in-groups. There has been an exponential increase in the number of clubs, pubs and entertainment options in Bangalore over the last ten years, being the places where they prefer to spend their time with the friends. For the youth these in-groups provide them with means to interact with people having the similar perceptions, beliefs and values rather than just those from the same religion, ethnic heritage and social class. When dealing with their challenges these in-groups are highly significant in providing a sense of comfort and a means to decrease the anxiety levels. But being immersed in their groups also might lead the youth to breaking away from the reality and issues which are prevalent and of significance to India such as poverty, education, duty and collectivism (Saldanha, 2002). As discussed rising incomes as a result of globalization has provided much needed financial independence to some it can be argued a lot of these available incomes might be spent carelessly the hands of the youth. Where a vast majority of the country lives below the poverty line the young often living and financially supported by their parents are increasingly observed to splurge on luxury items. Their spending habits may include things such as mid-day parties which are becoming popular, as it is easier for the teenagers to get away from their homes during daytime (Saldanha, 2002). The youth of India has access to about $2. 8 billion worth of discretionary income, with their families spending an additional $3. 7 billion on them every year (Athyal, n. d. ). Another factor adding to the negative perception among the older generation of the impact of globalization on youth, is the apparent erosion of traditional values among Indians, especially those which define the family such as filial piety, patriarchy and the extended family as an economic unit (Fahey amp; Gale, 2005). As nuclear family becomes the norm there is fragmentation of the traditional family network is leading to decline of the support available for the parents and grandparents. Migration of younger generations from rural to urban areas or from one urban area to another has resulted results in the elderly being left to fend for themselves at a time when family support becomes more crucial (Pais, 2006). This has led a rise in sentiments of polarization amongst the older generations and disapproval with regards the effects of globalization. Identity among the youth is also seen as being adversely affected by the norms of their modern work life, especially for those working shifts as per western timings. Taking the case of Indian call center workers, they live and work in India but are required to organize their lives as per American or European times and communication styles which might lead to identity confusion, often experienced by the youth (Pais, 2006). Workers are expected to speak with local accents of the client locations, take on western names, adapt to their holidays and greetings. Employees are taught such strategies so as to minimize customer knowledge about the location of their work. They often need to follow scripts and are advised not reveal anything about their real selves however at the same time are forced to reinforce notions of themselves as ready to taking on roles of the client locals, for example the role of an American local at whichever state in USA they might happen to be calling in (Mirchandani, 2003). Another area of growing concern is of the rise of hybridization or hybrid identity among the youth. Hybrid identity is quite common these days and implies one part of the individual’s identity being rooted in the local culture while another part arises from the person’s relations and interactions with the global world (Pais, 2006). But a more detrimental form of the usual harmless hybridization has been observed among the youth of India, especially in the metropolitan cities such as Delhi and Bangalore. The essay attempts to throw light at the gravity of the situation by relating the case of Simran, a call center employee, as described by Raka Shome, 2006. Simran a twenty three year old works the graveyard or midnight shift. She begins her shift entering the glass and concrete building in the suburbs of Delhi. As the telephone rings her persona undergoes a transformation and she becomes Simone with an American accent speaking to JC Penney customer in Philadelphia. Even though she might have never been in a large department store the size of her client company, she handles the call with confidence talking about weather conditions and the perfect day in Philly as the weather conditions flash on her computer screen. She hangs up by wishing the customer a good day while looking on the pitch dark outside where the spatiality of Delhi and Philly collide in her virtual world. The employees, an increasing number of which comprise of youth, describe their lives as living in India by day and the west by night thinking like an Indian by day and needing to think an international by night. They often cite problems readjusting back to their Indian families and lifestyles on reaching home after pretending to be their seudo selves at work. They have difficulties switching identities and while pretending to be somebody else they could quite possibly begin to feel like one to. Further as with usual hybridizations in these cases there is no physical or transnational territorial migration rather there is a virtual migration. This virtual migration occurs where the mind departs into another place and time in the performances of westernness through virtual technology with the body physically remaining situated in India. The stress of living dual lives stretched across multiple times and geographies often takes forms of emotional toll and a transnational identity crisis of an unique nature (Shome, 2006). Conclusion Globalization has most definitely resulted in economic development, empowerment of women, generating employment and financial independence of the youth. This is particularly true in the field of Information Technology Enabled Services projecting India as a software giant and helping to shape a positive image and identity (Fahey amp; Gale, 2005). Bangalore and Delhi being areas of high significance and home to the Indian headquarters of numerous multinationals have been recipients of these benefits. Indian youth are also becoming more aware. Globalization has also enabled Indian youth to make their presence felt along with increasing their global awareness with majority of them learning and adapting to the western ways (Athyal, n. d. ). Although this process is an invaluable opportunity for the youth to raise their skills there are also fears that it is merely a modern version of cultural imperialism that would lead to erosion of the traditional Indian values such as strong family ties (Chinnammai, 2005). Financial independence which is so crucial to economic advancement can turn into a bane in hands of the youth splurging it to foster the needs of their confused identities. The area causing most concern is with regards to the form of detrimental hybridization experienced mostly by the youth working as call center employees. It is resulting in formation of a virtual worlds in the minds of the youth along with their real world and they are increasingly finding it hard to switch back and forth between the two. As India modernizes and comes under the western influences there seems to exist two Indias in the mental map of the youth, one the local and traditional India which is part of their involuntary identity and the other as the global, modern and occidental India they are beginning to identity more and more with, forming an important part of their voluntary identity (Rose, 1995).