CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
- Background to the Study
The concept of “globalization” is not more than twenty years old, but the social, economic, political, and cultural processes that have been associated with globalization have existed for many years. “Globalization” refers to the increasing movement and exchange of capital, commerce, communication, and culture world- wide. According to lugalla, globalization is not at all a new process. It is simply an expansion of capitalism as a mode of production at a global scale.
Human economy progresses from primitive accumulation to peasant farming through agriculture and industrial revolution to capitalism, colonialism, neo colonialism, imperialism and now to globalization which is the current economic system. Globalization is the most important phenomenon shaping the current environment for economic development. Globalization simply defined is the increasing interaction among, and integration of, the activities especially economic activities of human society around the world(Musa, 2000). Globalization is the summit of mankind‟s effort towards breaking down of the physical barriers among the various races of the world for the mutual benefit of humanity. In Ajayi(2008),description, globalization is “the latest economic fad that is turning the whole world into a global village”. Facilitating the attainment of globalization are such factors as technological advances in the transportation particularly maritime technology, which gave rise to slave trade colonization and the attendant exchange of goods and services among nations. Second is the international trade with its underlying comparative advantage, international gold reserve, euro dollar market, „offshore export platforms‟ and „supply side economics‟. The third factor is the advent of multinational companies, which forge a link among nations in the production of goods and services far beyond the headquarters of these multinationals. Fourthly, the advent and revolution in information and communication technologies makes it possible to have access to remote location in real time. Coupled with this are computer mediated communication (CMC), Computer-supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) and World Wide Web(WWW), electronic commerce, virtual communities, and virtual social structures, electronic achieves, virtual architecture, virtual imaging and information design. Similarly, the term „cable network news‟ epitomizes the revolution in the electronic media; and the name „Rupert Murdoch‟ the international imprint magnate,
symbolizes the new industry and what globalization has come to mean to its ownership and distribution. Fifthly, the establishment of international and supernatural organization among nation and continent necessitating the union of regional, continental and world bodies