| Not surprisingly,
six of the top 10 countries in agreement that globalisation brings about increased
job and career opportunities hail from the Asia Pacific region. "Today,
globalisation and in particular the internet, has transformed commerce tremendously,
creating new ways for retailers and businesses to market their products and interact
with their customers, and for job seekers and recruiters to seek each other out,"
said ACNielsen South Asia executive director customised research Sarang Panchal.
"Globalisation is impacting every sector and almost every part of
our lives, whether through the advertisement and movies we see, the use of products
or the transfer of talent in the sports industry from Asia to the US or Europe.
Moreover, India's IT boom also have increased the demand for Indians across the
world," he added. The 2005 ACNielsen global consumer opinion survey
polled over 23,500 consumers online in 42 markets in Europe, North America, Asia
Pacific, Latin America, South Africa and Middle East. Among the world's
consumers, Latin Americans and Asians are the biggest supporters of globalisation,
and the value it adds to various aspects of their lives. "Experiencing
accelerated global integration, people in the relatively less developed or fast
growing markets have greatly benefited from increased access to products, services
and opportunities not possible without globalisation," said Panchal. According
to the ACNielsen survey, along with Indians consumers in the Philippines, Malaysia,
Taiwan and South Africa unanimously agree on the value of globalisation, while
people in Greece and Thailand are comparatively more skeptical. Three quarters
of Latin Americans (75 per cent) agree that with globalisation, they have greater
access to news, entertainment and information from all over the world. People
in Asia Pacific were the next biggest supporters (70 per cent). Five out
of the top 10 countries that agree globalisation gives them access to news, entertainment
and information hail from Asia Pacific, led by 88 per cent of Malaysians, 79 per
cent of Singaporeans and 78 per cent of Filipinos. 
"Information
technology is a driving factor in the process of globalisation. The emergence
of numerous internet-enabled news-gathering and dissemination outlets, chat rooms,
bogging, instant messaging systems, e-mail, electronic bulletin boards and other
internet-based communication systems have made it much easier for people to communicate,
exchange information and collaborate with each other," added Panchal. Purchasing
the same quality of goods and services globally
The breaking down of international
trade barriers has enabled consumers around the world to enjoy a broader selection
of goods and services previously not available to them. Most in agreement with
this are 81 per cent of South Africans, followed by 77 per cent of Indians and
76 per cent of Filipinos. 
At
the other end of the spectrum, about one fifth of French, Koreans and Finns are
unconvinced; possibly concerned that globalisation threatens the viability of
locally made products and jobs. Breaking down cultural borders
When it comes to the benefit of cross cultural understanding, people in Asia are
in agreement. The majority of consumers in Taiwan (74 per cent), Philippines (69
per cent) and Malaysia (68 per cent) agreed that globalisation helps break down
borders and enables better understanding and tolerance of other cultures. At the
other end of the scale, 41 per cent of Thais, and a quarter of Australians disagree
with this. 
Local
traditions and cultures under threat
Holding strong to their cultural
values, Thais in particular (64 per cent) agree that the spread of globalisation
is a threat to local traditions and culture. Following close behind are Austrians
(62 per cent) and Finns, Norwegians, and Swiss (each at 57 per cent). In fact,
eight of the top 10 markets who agree that globalisation threatened local traditions
and culture hail from Europe, suggesting that these developed countries may feel
more threatened by globalisation, than benefited by it. 
Interestingly,
38 per cent of Americans felt that local traditions and cultures are threatened
by globalisation, while many would argue that the US has already heavily exerted
its hegemonic influence on the rest of the world through popular culture and the
news media. Values change and life becomes impersonal
While
overall, Latin Americans are generally supportive of globalisation, 59 per cent
agree that it is changing their values and making life too fast and impersonal.
Meanwhile, 47 per cent of Europeans also agree with this statement, further supporting
their opposition to the spread of globalisation. In the Asia Pacific region,
six in 10 Indians agree that globalisation is changing their values and making
life too fast and impersonal. Thais (60 per cent) ranked second in the region,
followed by over half of Singaporeans. It is interesting to note that only 39
per cent of Americans agree with this notion. 
Vulnerability
to global trends and events and the impact on local economies
One of the
reasons for some consumers to hold back from buying into globalisation could be
the general feeling that globalisation has made the market economy in which they
live in become more vulnerable and easier to be adversely affected by trends and
events in the other parts of the world. Across the Asia Pacific, 66 per
cent of New Zealanders and 62 per cent of Australians lead the top 10 countries
globally who agree that globalisation makes them vulnerable to events elsewhere
in the world , followed by Thais (60 per cent), Malaysians (59 per cent) and Singaporeans
(56 per cent). 
"There
are always two sides to a coin. Globalisation has its price. The survey findings
for Asia Pacific indicate exactly that, because while one in two people polled
were positive about the benefits of globalisation, they aren't immune to its possible
down-side," said Panchal. | 
