Introduction
As a phenomenon, globalization is contested based on its amplitude, implication and nature. Generally, it is described as a process with multiple facets of the expansion of human activities globally. There are two dimensions that are presumed to have a mutual influence. The two are real and ideational dimensions. The idea has been charged normatively so that when the phenomenon has been perceived, there are many other views. The views are concerned with its desirability, sustainability and its regulative features. Globalization is a defining phenomenon for various historical eras such as the post-Cold War.
The implications of globalization to international law are huge. They are at times difficult to point out. The significance of such an implication is that globalization significantly touches the area of international law. Public international law is based on historical unfolding after the Roman Empire crumbled. International law is primarily driven by the concern to have a particular actor in the State and the way it relates to other countries. As a result, international law becomes uniquely vulnerable to a phenomenon that attempts to pose a challenge to the role played by a state and its status. However, globalization in international law implies various ambiguities because they have an intrinsic relationship with the evolution of international law with time.
Question One
The Role of UNICEF’s International Business and how it is affected by International Law
The United Nations Children’s Fund abbreviated as UNICEF is a program that has set up procedures to follow in observing the rights of children in member countries of the United Nations. The United Nations Children’s Fund is a United Nations program headquartered in New York City that provides humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries (United Nations Children’s Fund, 2015). The Convention on the Rights of the Child is a body that was approved by the United Nations in 1989 under UNICEF to set the required international standards that countries ought to follow in observing the rights of children as human beings. These rights are to be observed in fields such as healthcare, education, freedom of expression, and protection from instances of abuse. The CRC is a universal body with the mandate of touching on different aspects of a child’s life.
There are four guiding principles that aid in the operation of CRC. These principles guide the interpretation of the rights of a child. The four guiding principles are:
- The principle of non-discrimination
- The principle of life, survival and development of children
- The principle of best interests in the life of the child
- The principle of participation
The CRC is an international treaty concerned with human rights that a majority of member states have ratified within their borders. The meaning of this ratification is that every country around the globe has taken a step to formally accept the provisions under the treaty. Moreover, countries have the option of ratifying three other protocols that are optional to the CRC. The first two protocols were introduced in 2000 with the aim of setting out the rights of children to a greater detail than is normal. These two are the Optional Protocol on Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC) and the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OPSC) (United Nations Children’s Fund, 2015).The third protocol was is a creation of 2011 that was set up to create a procedure for communication. Through the protocol, the child is given a chance to notify any form of violations of rights that they are supposed to be accorded to the United Nations for action.
The committee on child rights is a group with independent experts at the UN with the mandate of looking after the implementation of CRC and all the optional protocols. The committee is comprised of 18 members. It has periodic meeting schedules with a frequency of three times annually. The sessions are conducted based on three main functions:
- The first function is to oversee the reporting process done periodically. It is a discussion that goes on between the committee and governments that are charged with ratifying the protocols. They are known as state parties; they engage in discussions to determine whether the laws passed by countries, policies and programs are in line with the rights of children. The committee makes regular publications on recommendations entitled Concluding Observations.
- The committee plans days that general discussions with agencies of the UN, the civil society bodies, universities, children and other groups about how to handle the rights of children.
- The committee compiles various general comments that provide governments with the information to guide them on ways of handling various topics under the rights of children.
Legislations passed to help in observing the rights of children may end up being violated. Therefore, governments are charged with verifying whether the laws have been followed to the letter.
Question Two
Approaches to World Politics
The first approach is known as idealism while the second approach is known as realism.
Realism
In the case of realism, the international system takes place through anarchy in which a central authority is lacking (Fernandes, 2017). The states in a real approach are sovereign with autonomy such that there is no inherent structure or society that can make its way into existence with the purpose of ordering the relations between such states. Realism lays emphasis on the distribution of coercive material capacity as a determinant employed in global politics (Bell, 2017). There are four assumptions upon which realism rests. The first is the claim that survival exists as a principal goal to be pursued by every state (Bell, 2017). The second assumption is that states are rational actors. The third assumption is that the states are capable of military capacity and is unaware of the precise intentions of its neighbors. The world of realism is dominated by Great Powers which are basically states which have economic clout and might through their military (Bell, 2017).
A good example where realism is applied in current world politics is in the United States and Chinese application of territorial control as a form of the zero-sum game. The advantage with realism is that it has a robust explanatory power on issues such as what caused World War 2 where it eliminates the thought that international harmony exists in the form of interests between states (Sonda, 2014). Further, it is able to explain the Cold War using the balance of power concept to the foreign policies used by the United States and USSR. Realism considers international law by asserting that it should be separate from ethics (Sonda, 2014). Its limitation is that it has to create a scientific theory and simplify the assumptions made. Realism does not understand what norms should exist along with global institutions (Sonda, 2014).
Idealism
Idealism in international relations is a spirit which carries into the relations between states and the moral progress that has been made (Woods, 2007). The approach of idealism favors the abandonment of old, ineffective and harmful behavioral modes like war, using force and violent conduct. Their abandonment is done to favor ways such as knowledge, compassion, and restraint of the self. Human beings are responsible for ensuring that reason prevails. Therefore, according to liberalism, it is possible to create a world based on reason, science, and education of individuals. The approach vouches for morality as the way through which one secures the objectives that work towards establishing an ideal setting. Based on such moral disposition, people are to eliminate negative things like war, inequality, discrimination, tyranny, and violence.
A good example of Idealism lies in the treaty negotiation that Woodrow Wilson made to end the First World War in 1918. He aimed at the creation of a self-determined and democratic state through which he pushed for the creation of the League of Nations through which aggression would be fought and the weak protected.
The advantages of idealism are that it encourages people to have a reflective life. People can be able to discover more of the world through debates and exchange of ideas. People tend to be open-minded as idealists. Idealism encourages people to value education. The disadvantage of idealism is in the transgression of geographical borders and global commitments. Idealism makes individuals disregard the consequences that come from their decisions. It undermines the structures that already exist.
Implications of Idealism and Realism for the Future
The world is moving towards an ideal approach rather than a real one. In the near future, the entire world will be liberal. That explains why concepts such as democracy and respect for human rights are gaining ground with the current generation compared to previous generations.
Question 3
The roles of both globalization and changes in technology have had an immense impact on the strategy used and the operations that the organization conducts. Globalization is responsible for the intense competition that Apple has faced while the team itself strives to increase presence by efficiently attracting and retaining customers (Grant, Hackney, & Edgar, 2010). With competition, Apple has revisited and changed strategy for the better to meet market demands. Reduction of competition was partly due to its global presence. Apple’s products have become widespread in the world and because of this; there has been a struggle with different environments such as the economy, the social, cultural, legal and political. These settings provided further persuasion for Apple to change both policy and structure of the business (Grant, Hackney, & Edgar, 2010).
Through global sourcing a company is able to create and manufacture goods and services in many parts of the world. Apple became a major company in 1977 on the 3rd day of January (Zhang, 2018). Apple functions by outsourcing its labor so that it can be able to take advantage of a situation created by lower-wage labor in some countries where it has its presence. Apple began as an American Company; because of globalization, Apple has transformed into a multinational company. Globalization greatly affects the supply chain used by Apple (Zhang, 2018). The high profits that the company makes globally come from its ability to produce at a low cost while selling at a high price. The company makes its assemblies in China since its components are manufactured from there. There is an added advantage of assembling at a low cost. FedEx has hubs through which it is able to move finished goods across the globe. It provides Apple with the logistic supply services needed.
Globalization has been facilitated through technological changes through the emergence of electronic commerce, online selling and other tools intended for internet (Burns, 2011). The sale of iphones has been a successful endeavour that Apple Inc has had to handle. They are responsible for the model changes and have gone as far as providing the overflowing opportunities. The opportunity being talked about here is the development of an internet-based chain supply model through which it makes direct sales. Through this change, Apple has integrated and used it to make a build-to-order and the coordination of people responsible for making supplies of its products especially the iphone and Mac Book (Mello, 2015). Changes in technology are also responsible for the modification of tactics used in the communication chain. The interactions involved were with suppliers, customers and those employed. The use of internet has been in response to the changes in technology.
There are various advantages that a company experiences when it expands on a global scale. The first one is that it gains an advantage over competitors especially the ones who do not have a global platform. Sales are maximized and the channel of distribution becomes greatly improved. Globalization has led to a steady cash flow in the developing countries. Worldwide presence is responsible for the increment in production and an increase in the options available for making investments. Through globalization, Apple products have an increased demand. The disadvantages are that outsourcing leads to loss of jobs. A single company like Apple needs a lot of capital to invest in a globalization campaign.
Conclusion
Globalization defines the earth as a single market which ought to be uniform in nature as possible as it can get. When viewed on its own, globalization can be defined as the process that involves people ideas and goods where these are made to spread from place to place in the world throughout. With globalization, what is spurred is an interaction and integration between the cultures of the world, the governments of the world and the economies that are operated in the world. Media provides a means through which information is passed on from an individual to another or from place to place. Media globalization is making dissemination of information become global through such avenues as multinational corporations.
