Economic Interactions and Flows

Outsourcing - India India is located in South Asia and according the 'Global Services Location Index' is the most attractive location in the world to locate global services, including IT. Although New Delhi is the capital of India and Mumbai its financial centre, it is actually Bangalore (Bengaluru) that has become its most important IT centre. Bangalore has a population of 8.4 million and is known by some as the 'Silicon Valley of India'. Bangalore is found towards the south of India. It has a new international airport (Bengaluru International Airport) that opened in 2008 and it has quickly become India's fourth busiest airport. The city is also in the process of building a 42km (41 station) rapid transit system and the city is also connected to the Indian national railways system. The city also has an extensive bus network and an improving road network. In recent years Bangalore has become India's most important centre for hi-tech industries. The government has aerospace, defence, IT, software and telecommunication research facilities based in the city. This has meant that Bangalore has enjoyed sustained growth nearing 10% per annum and now has India's third highest GDP per capita. As well as enjoying domestic investment, Bangalore has also enjoyed FDI. Bangalore's BPO clients now include; Reuters, HSBC, Dell, JP Morgan and Citi. Their ITO clients also include Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Cisco, Samsung, Motorola and Intel. Bangalore has managed to attract FDI and become home of IT outsourcing for a number of reasons including: Most Indians speak English either as their first or second language India has a growing number of high skilled graduates Indian workers are prepared to work unsociable hours (night shifts to coincide with working hours in Europe and US). Indian pay is lower They have strong historical links with UK and other commonwealth countries They are a democracy Bangalore is home to some of India's best universities e.g. Indian Institute of Science India has improving transport and communication links India is an emerging market Reputation and growing success Geographical location near to Europe, Middle East and East Asia Seven Reasons Why Bangalore Still Tops The Offshoring League - Silicon.com Bangalore Remains Outsourcing Capital of the World - InformationWeek The Rise of the Bangalore Tigers - BBC article

Bangalore is best Indian City Says Survey - BBC article Innovation Hotspot Grows in Bangalore - BBC BT Opens Indian Call Centres - BBC article Multinationals lead India's IT revolution - BBC article BPO: Business process outsourcing which basically means backroom operation like human resources, customer services and accounting. ITO: Information technology outsourcing includes things like IT support, programming, collation of data and data analysis.

Top Outsourcing Cities - 2008

Despite its success as become the most attractive location for IT outsourcing, India does face many problems in maintaining its position. Potential problems that India may face in the future include:

• Competition from cheaper locations e.g. Vietnam and the Philippines (The Philippines: The World's Hotline - BBC article)
• Saturation of its IT capacity meaning internet speeds slow
• Demand for increased wages from its employees
• Increasing costs in terms of rent, electricity, etc. (inflation)
• The call for TNCs to return their operations (especially call centres) to their home countries. This is because many customers get annoyed speaking to people who are sometimes using their second language and don't understand the culture or the problems of the customers country.
• Skilled workers who maybe currently underemployed (many call centre staff will have degrees and masters) finding better employment as economy grows
• Less people willing to work anti-social hours
• Greater call to keep jobs in home country during economic downturns. UK and US companies are already moving some of their call centres back home (Santander Brings Call Centres Back to the UK - BBC article)
• Growing risk of terrorism (Mumbai Rocked By Deadly Attacks - BBC article)
• Increases in value of Rupee (Indian currency) making them less competitive
• Corporate scandals (Fear Over India Call Centre Fraud - BBC article)

Source: http://greenfieldgeography.wikispaces.com/Information+flows

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interesting to see that the Philippines is emerging as one of the top countries for call-centre offshoring in the world because our culture is so integrated (some might say homogenised) by western culture and we have a strong english speaking workforce. What other industries would find the Philippines a better destination for outsourcing then its other asian neighbours? 

Political Outcomes: "Broader EU Sanctions on Russia Could Hurt Europe's Economy"

 Summary of the article: 

As tensions between Russia and Ukraine intensify, European diplomats have discussed the possibility that broadening sanctions against Russia could create significant blowback for their domestic economies. Billions of dollars in foreign investment could be at risk if Russia chooses to retaliate against foreign sanctions. Some European diplomats have described this threat as the economic equivalent of the dangers of the Cold War decades ago.

Thoughts:
The European Union is forced to create economic barriers with Russia in an effort to lower its political tension with Ukraine. This article is illustrative of a shift of power, as MGO's are essentially causing a loss of sovereignty in numerous TNC's and countries that are economically linked to Russia. Further, an interesting aspect in all of this is that countries, such as the Czech Republic and Hungary have to be wary of sanctions against Russia because they depend on TNC's that provide a majority of the energy in their country. The interconnections between TNC's around Europe and Russia, seem to dwarf other countries in Europe because of their sheer economic power.

Pros and Cons of Globalisation

Pros

• Better relations between people 
• Time and space convergence seemingly shrinks the world. Tea
• Integration of economies and cultural systems across the globe 
• An opportunity for economic growth and democratic freedom 

Cons

• In some instances, the world can appear even bigger. An example would be Pacific islands, who were once connected to the world through shipping but are not left isolated as new technologies such as airplanes exist. 
• Allows for the practice of illicit trade which corrupts entire government, and leads to money laundering practices 
• Dominance of developed countries in decision-making at the expense of poorer, less powerful nations 
• Environmental devastation and exploitation of the developing world and the suppression of human rights 
• The Tuna-Dolphin
• The origin of what became known as the “tuna-dolphin” case was the United States’ Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), which imposed a ban on imports of tuna from countries that did not have a conservation program designed to protect dolphins in the tuna-fishing process.
• the prospect of one country taking actions to interfere with the resources of another country could be abused and lead to innumerable disputes.
•  idea that one country can impose its view of the need for environmental protection on another country’s resources
• the tuna-dolphin case dramatically raised the stakes in the debate over the relationship between international trade and the environment because it came at the same time that two major sets of trade negotiations were in high gear-those to create the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) and to finish the Uruguay Round in the GATT and create the WTO. The tuna-dolphin case therefore became ammunition for both environmentalists and strict believers in American sovereignty.

Sources 

http://www.globalization101.org/

Characteristics of hazards – drought

Characteristics of hazards – drought

Explain the characteristics and spatial distribution of the following hazards using at least two specific examples. [10 marks

The above map shows the spatial distribution of drought in the world today. The general trend on the map is that no continent is safe from drought, as drought can be found in several areas around the world. An area that does not experience much drought would be South East Asian countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. These countries may not experience drought for several reasons. Firstly, their geographic location being close to bodies of water keep the soil arable and less likely to erode and cause drought. Secondly, they are in areas that experience casual rainfall and typhoons keeping the surface moist and less likely to face drought. An area that is experiencing severe drought would be the North of the African continent, particularly countries close to the Saharan Dessert. The land here is experiencing drought for several reasons. A combination of extreme heat with no nearby bodies of water can cause the ground to remain dry for extended periods of time, thus causing drought.

How does global distribution of wealth both change as well as stay the same?

How does global distribution of wealth both change as well as stay the same?

We live in a world where a majority of the wealth is centred around a fragment of the world's population. The global distribution of wealth in the world is uneven to say the least. A handful of countries control the distribution of wealth, particularly economic powerhouses such as the United States, Japan and China which have numerous transnational corporations around the world. Through expanding their companies, outsourcing (offshoring), to countries around the world, they are in fact allowing other countries to industrialise which is an example of how wealth can change. However, a percentage of the money generated - in most cases a majority of the money generated - benefits these aforementioned economic powerhouses making the global distribution of wealth stay constant. 

Another example that this can be applied to is when economic powerhouses offer loans to other countries. They expect to be payed back in full, with interest at times, making the global distribution of wealth seem as though it is changing, but in the long run it is staying the same. 

Reflection Questions #2

Writing prompt

1. Why have some countries donated more in aid to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan than others?

There are several reasons countries have differing amounts in aid for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan: 

1. The amount of resources that the country has. For example, the US has more money to donate to the victims than Vietnam
2. How linked two countries may be are in terms of socio-economic aspects. An example being the UAE which employs thousands of OFW's. 
3. Political tensions such as the conflicts in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) are possible reasons why China may be giving a meager donation compared to other countries with its financial stature. 

2. How does the aid being sent to victims of Typhoon Haiyan represent the following:

altruism - This philosophy makes individuals feel morally inclined to help those that are suffering from the aftermath of the typhoon. Additionally, countries and organisations are themselves "pressured" to donate funds in order to maintain a certain image. 

geopolitics - Countries such as the US which have played such a strong role in the upbringing of the Philippines in the past, as well as the present, represented this through the large sum that they donated to the relief efforts. On the other hand, China, has donated a meager sum compared to countries of its economic stature. Its small donation is suspected to be due to the current geopolitical tension in claiming the Spratly group of Islands. 

neo-colonialism - 

Disaster Reflection

1. How does the devastation brought from Typhoon Haiyan make you feel?

In a time where many of my countrymen have been so quickly displaced from their homes, and left starving in the shivering cold, I feel a sense of urgency to help. I am very privileged, not in that i am unaffected by the typhoon, but privileged in that i am in a position where i can help people whose lives have drastically changed. I intend to join relief operations in and out of school. 

2. How should people prepare for and respond to disasters like Typhoon Haiyan?
I believe that people close to coastal areas should be prioritised in evacuation efforts, and moved to areas more land-locked to make themselves less-likely to be involved in flood related risk.

3. Why do people live in vulnerable areas?
- Disparities (low income makes them unable to move to areas away from risk)
- industry (fishing, living close to coastal areas)