International Communication – Page 5

Dentsu Aegis Network

Written by Samiyah

Dentsu Aegis Network’s vision is ‘Innovating the way brands are built’ and offering is to be ‘different and better’ in a market defined by Globalisation and Convergence. Globalisation, where advertisers need to evaluate different markets and regions to judge where future growth will come from and prioritise their resources accordingly and Convergence; which has swept away geographic and technological borders. Their vision, ‘Innovating the way brands are built’ unites them as one organisation, focused on delivering first-class results and is underpinned by a clear set of values and behaviours that guide them in everything they do. Sharing the same values and acting as one cohesive organisation will enable them to grow their business globally, by ensuring that their global clients enjoy a consistent experience regardless of the market.

Dentsu Establishes a New Global Operating Unit, Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd.

On July 12, 2012, the boards of Dentsu Inc. and Aegis Group plc jointly announced that they had reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer by Dentsu for Aegis. Aegis shareholders approved the transaction at shareholder meetings on August 16, 2012.
The acquisition was completed on March 26, 2013, and a new global operating unit, Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd., established in London. Tim Andree, Dentsu Inc. Executive Vice President and Dentsu Network CEO, has been appointed Executive Chairman of the Dentsu Aegis Network, and Jerry Buhlmann, CEO of Aegis Media, has been appointed its CEO.

Expansion of Global Presence

The geographical fit between Dentsu and Aegis is highly complementary. Dentsu has a leading market position in Japan’s advertising and marketing sector, an established presence across Asia, and an increasingly expanding business in North America. Moreover, Aegis is rapidly growing its footprint across emerging markets, and has established robust positioning in Asia.

With a full range of advertising, media and marketing services, the new global network will provide highly integrated services for local, regional and global clients across multiple international locations.

Intensified Digital Capabilities

The adoption of “scaled” technologies by consumers has driven the proliferation of connected devices and advancements in communication technology, significantly affecting clients’ advertising and marketing activities. Dentsu faces strong client expectations to strengthen digital solutions. With the rise of digital consumption and client demand for digital services, Dentsu has successfully enhanced its digital solutions over the years. By integrating Aegis, with Isobar and iProspect’s digital strengths in creative origination and performance marketing, the combined business will provide a powerful global platform for media, content and digital technology, and will increasingly support client activities.
The Dentsu Group now has a presence in 124 countries and employs more than 43,000 professionals.

Dentsu Aegis Global Network

EMEA: Algeria, Australia, Bahrain, Bulgaris, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Edinburgh, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Leeds, Lithuania, Manchester, Middle East, Morocco, Nederland, Newscastle, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, UK, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Americas: Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, USA, Venezuala. APAC: Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam,

Background of interviewee

Miss Natasha Ismail is a Social Media Executive at Isobar Malaysia. She has strong media and communication professional with a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication.

Reference:

http://www.dentsu.com/business/international/dentsuaegisnetwork.html

http://www.dentsuaegisnetwork.com

http://www.dentsuaegisnetwork.com/ournetworks/isobar

Nestle

Written by Wan Anis Aqilah

About Nestle

Nestle is the world’s largest food and beverage manufacturer. Headquartered in Switzerland, Nestle is present in 191 countries around the world. Since 1912, Nestle have been nourishing Malaysians through their quality brands and products like MILO, MAGGI, NESCAFE and KITKAT, whilst maintaining Halal excellence and integrity. This is in line with promise of delivering GOOD FOOD, GOOD LIFE to all.

Nestle’s purpose is enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future. They want to help shape a better and healthier world. They also want to inspire people to live healthier lives and that is how they contribute to society while ensuring the long-term success of their company.

Medium of communication

Nestle has several communication channels which are social media like Facebook, twitter and also Instagram. These social media are purposely to keep all the consumers updated with latest products, event and news. Social media also have been a place for consumers to lodge complain and give any feedbacks and share their pictures and stories with Nestle.

For the international communication, Nestle is using Email to keep all the formal communication among clients and also among the corporate clients.

Nestle also using simple and quick communication channel which is mobile phone instant messaging; Whatsapp within the department to discuss some issue and deliver quick information and breaking news.

Other than that, Nestle also using Skype as for a conference meeting within internal and worldwide communication. Skype is so useful for business which makes the communication easier rather than travel abroad. Video conferencing was held using Skype platform communication.

The most main portal for Nestle is their own official website which summarized all the achievements, contribution, awards, news, press release and CSR projects which can be visited by everyone around the world. Nestle always keep their website updated with the latest information and news.

Challenges

Nestle faced numbers of significant business challenges and risks.

Consumer dynamics and preferences
Speed and success of innovation
Brand and marketing effectiveness
Retailer consolidation and power, inc. private label
Emerging market strategy and execution
Competitive intensity
Environmental sustainability
Disruptive new technologies and competitors
Competition for talent

Big company did faced several challenges such are organization management, global versus regional versus local, speed to take decisions, cultural differences, latency (from the differences in the time zones) and language barriers. Nestle also have their own competitors like Unilever, Cadbury, Danone and so forth.

Nestle also faced boycott issue. The first boycott against Nestle was launched in the United States in 1977. It spread in the United States, and expanded into Europe in the early 1980s. It was due to the concern about Nestle “aggressive marketing” of breast milk substitutes, particularly in the third world countries. The boycott is based on the claim by the organizers that the use of the breastmilk substitutes represent a health risk for infants as they encourage breast milk for new-born.

The Political Power of Social Media in the 21st Century

Written by Nasihah Hamid

Remember the tragic racial episode at Plaza Low Yat during July 2015? Many thanks to the emergence of various social media, the story are shared, commented and spread like wildfire causing an uproar in the online community due to the wild rumour of racially motivated incident. A simple case of smartphone theft and misunderstanding had led to bigger consequences involving national insecurity. Sadly, social media also has brought this issue into political dimension despite the fact that it has nothing to do with it.

The fake tweets involve Elizabeth Wong, Selangor executive council member apparently accused “askar upahan UMNO” as the solid cause of the issue (Hamid, 2015) show that social media has made easier for people to frame message and cause political instability in Malaysia environment. The defamatory, seditious and racist statement in the social media like Facebook and Twitter not only fanned racial tensions but also can directly change the political landscape and threatened government reputation. Thus, this tragic case at Plaza Low Yat, for instance, has provided an illustration of how the content of the social media can be a double-edged sword in managing nation harmonious and naturally influence political landscape and government reputation in general.

There are several debates on the issue of political protest and violence concerning the ability of social media to challenge to take collective action (Wolfsfeld, Segev, & Sheafer, 2013). During the Arab Spring, Twitter was used by the Iranians in 2009 to protest the elections. This event had been known as “Twitter Revolution” because protesters use Twitter and other social media to spread their message out (Wolfsfeld, Segev, & Sheafer, 2013). In Malaysia, the Bersih rally has captured the international and local headlines which demanded clean and fair electoral. Indeed, a Facebook petition has been made calling for Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak to step down has drawn the attention of 200,000 supporters (Ahmad, Kee, Mustaffa, Ibrahim, & Mahmud, 2012).

Although Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (CMCF) existing guidelines and rule apply to all the content on the internet the challenge to create awareness on the usage of social media is beyond reachable. In the past, social media seems simple and not harmful, but their functions are changing over times as people are now exposing with various alternative information from the local and global context. Thus, social media need to be given incentive attention by the policymakers if they would like to insulate the dramatic event of “Arab Spring” from happening again.

References

Hamid, A. J. (2015, July 19). Social media worth its share of scrutiny. Retrieved November 12, 2016, from News Straits Times Online: http://www.nst.com.my/news/2015/09/social-media-worth-its-share-scrutiny

Wolfsfeld, G., Segev, E., & Sheafer, T. (2013). Social media and the Arab spring politics comes first. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 115-137.

Learn Coding Even at Early Age: A 12 Years Old Impressed The Parliament and Teaches Coding To The Politicians

Written by Halimatul Nabilah

Feature image_bella — *Image: Amelia Lockley with Dr Michelle Dickinson*

Amelia Lockley is a 12 years old who learnt to code three years ago, and she impressed the world with her skills when even the Parliament is acquiring her to teach coding to the politicians. This little girl believes that everyone needs to learn to code at a young age and it a very helpful skill. She was invited by the parliament and flew to Wellington on May 8 to teach the politicians about coding. She was accompanied by an expert team including Nanogirl herself: Dr Michelle Dickinson who is the recipient of the Women of Influence Award and a role-model for young women that encourages more women to move into STEM (a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics). They facilitated the special Code Club Aotearoa event. Code Club Aotearoa is a nation-wide network of volunteer-led coding clubs, with the goal of teaching coding to all young New Zealanders. At this event, the politicians will learn to code together with primary student around the Wellington region.

Amelia is part of the almost 300 Code Clubs around the country that are teaching up to 10,000 children on the skill that is a staple to the information technology industry. Currently, Amelia is working with the immigrants to develop an application that helps the immigrants to find essential services including schools and banks when they first arrive in New Zealand, but she’s hoping to forge a career as a mechatronic engineer. United Future Leader, Peter Dunne hosted that workshop to show his colleagues about the remarkable talents possessed by this young people. In fact, National MP, Brett Hudson who spent 20 years working in information technology before joining the Parliament was also impressed and amazed by the skills that those children have because even an experienced person like him are not aware of some of the knowledge and skill shared by the children. Hence, we need to acknowledge the importance of learning to code since the benefit can be to the individual and even to the country and it is clear that there are no boundaries regarding age to learn how to code. Everyone can become a coder!

Local and Foreign Media Coverage on The Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370

Written by Nor Diyana Abd Kadir

Three years ago, 239 people on board a Malaysian flight from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing mysteriously disappeared. At that time, many believed that the plane had crashed into the Indian Ocean. However, news reported from foreign media had spurred many assumptions on exact whereabouts of the aircraft. This had led too much of the confusion and anxiety to those who are affected by the tragedy in one way or the other. During the weeks following the incident, the government spokesperson had given out statements that reassure the situation is under control. While some may agree that the authorities could have done things differently in their ways of reporting, many rely on foreign sources that were steadfast in supplying an endless stream of information.

mh370 — Image credit : *freemalaysiatoday.com*

Identity of News Organisation

Local Media: New Straits Times (NST)

The famous local English-language news daily, The New Straits Times began circulation as The Straits Times in 1845 before changing its current name in 1974. Initially, the paper is recognised as Malaysia’s only broadsheet format English language newspaper. It has changed to a tabloid version on 1 September 2004 to be syncronised with British newspapers; The Times and The Independent. The tabloid format paper was either controlled or owned by government coalition parties under ‘Barisan Nasional’ or companies who have strong relations with the ruling party and now is part of Media Prima group of companies (Lim, 2007). Thus, it has become a government mouthpiece and progressive nation-building newspaper which covered a rich editorial content of various weekly sections such as lifestyle, business and technology (New Straits Times, 2013).

International Media: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (the ABC)

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (the ABC) was formed by the government and launched on 1 July 1932 by Prime Minister Joseph Lyons and ABC radio announcer Conrad Charlton. Since its inception, ABC has become a modern day broadcaster and reliable source of news and information for Australian society across the nation and to the region. ABC being the government’s mainstream channel, it is aimed to provide informative, entertaining and educational services that reflect the breadth of its nation. Among ABC prominent contents are nightly entertainment, music, comedy shows, children’s programming and sport.

Chronology of Event (Timeline)

Practicality

Both local and foreign media were somewhat extensive enough in their documents citing various references from the time the incident had occurred up to 12 months after. This exhibits the degree of transparency in their narrative although we could observe an apparent variation in reporting style. For instance, ABC laid the timeline in ascending order while NST chose to have their latest reports shown first.

Degree of transparency and level of reporting

Interestingly, if we look at this from a different angle, the western media is often critical to the management (or mismanagement) of the crises. They sometimes try to discredit the Malaysian authorities by insinuating headlines that feel less relevant, vengeful and trailblazing away to the actual search and rescue efforts. A case in point, the ABC sub-headlines reads on October 31, 2014 – “First lawsuit filed over disappearance” which was not mentioned in the NST version of the chronological report. This seems to be a deliberate attempt by the mainstream foreign press to shame the authorities adding further insult to injury.

On another incident, they also shrug and criticise how the airlines were handling next of kin, where they were informed via text messages of their missing loved ones. In a press conference journalist threw questions that further draws anger to their relatives of the casualness of the text message as if there’s no hope to find the victim. Many argued Malaysia Airlines (MAS) should have waited and contact the family members before releasing the text message. This move may have single-handedly tarnished the integrity and reputation of the channel of public communication for both MAS and the country.

An NST report stating that there is information such as “air traffic control radio transcript, radar data and airport security recordings” that cannot be shown to the public. These statements came from representatives of Malaysia Airlines who were supposedly being told to inform the relatives on any updated information. These sorts of reports demonstrate on attacks by the press while taking advantage of the venerable opposition. By any measure, one cannot deny that Malaysia Airlines were on a clear path of PR disaster when they texted the message. They often layout an incomplete and inconsistent accounts leading to undermining the confidence of relative and press of any further statements. Without a doubt, the local media has been protective of their information. NST reported on both positive and negative statement on how authorities update the MH370 passenger next of kin whereabouts. However, being a government mouthpiece; the statement is contradictory to other media reports.

Another contradiction came when their official report entitled Factual Information Safety Investigation for MH370 said that “civilian radar had tracked the plane for a short time after it diverted on March 8 of last year, apparently contradicting earlier Malaysian statements that only its military radar had monitored the plane”. Furthermore, the government also at a fault as they controlled the media too strictly by not disclosing one of the more key dates which were when the preliminary assessment of the report was released on May 1, 2014. The reports highlight several steps that show weaknesses in crises management. Instead, its timeline focuses on somewhat monotonous tone omitting any information that can jeopardise the credibility of the government when in fact they have made numerous public statements of their commitment to being transparent.

The final observation seen is the stark contrast of freedom of speech and media control. Relatively, western media tries to create public discourse where people can come together to give an opinion, discuss and identify societal problems freely, and through that discussion it will influence political action. Meanwhile, on the local front, nations described as authoritarian that practices state-owned media channels where they have complete control over information in direct or indirect ways. Although they sometimes are seen to work independently, there is absolutely no room for media to speak against the predetermined narrative. Many public relations experts conclude that the country was caught off guard by an aggressive international press mainly because curbs on free expression effectively muzzled Malaysian press.

mh370 2 — Image Credit: *thenewdaily.com.au*

References

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370: Timeline of events. (2017). ABC. Retrieved from

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-08/timeline-a-year-of-searching-for-mh370/6261778

Malaysia confirms worst fear about flight MH370. (2017). ABC. Retrieved from

http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2014/s3971390.htm

Malaysia says there’s sealed evidence on MH370 that cannot be made public. (2014, March 26). The Straits Times. Retrieved from

http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-says-theres-sealed-evidence-on-mh370-that-cannot-be-made-public

MH370: Sister of crew member says next-of-kin have not been receiving updates on plane search. . (2017, March 26).

http://www.nst.com.my/news/2017/01/202486/mh370-sister-crew-member-says-next-kin-have-not-been-receiving-updates-plane

Sultan Muhammad V at The Heart of Malaysian

Written by Salmie Shokordey

Today marks the day for the coronation of the country’s new sovereign, His Majesty Sultan Kelantan Sultan Muhammad as the 15th Yang Di-Pertuan Agong (YDPA) of Malaysia for five years term. Sultan Muhammad V previously took the oath on 13^th December 2016 after being elected as the YDPA during a special meeting of the Conference of Rulers to replace the succession of 14^th YDPA Sultan Kedah, Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah. His Majesty is the youngest YDPA in history coroneted as YDPA at the age of 47.

sultan-muhammad-v-e1481614470153 — *Credit image: Quartz Media*

Sultan Muhammad V was born on 6^th October 1969 and was the first son of four children of Sultan Ismail Petra Ibni Almarhum Sultan Yahya Petra and Tengku Anis Tengku Abdul Hamid. His three siblings are Tengku Mahkota Kelantan Tengku Dr Muhammad Faiz Petra, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra and Tengku Amalin A’ishah Putri. His Majesty was addressed as Tuanku Muhammad Faris Petra before he officially took the appellation, ‘Sultan Muhammad the fifth’ reigned from his royal ancestors. His official cars also took the tittle Muhammad 5 in Arabic form as the plate number.

Sultan Muhammad V was crowned as the Tengku Mahkota (Crown Prince) of Kelantan on 6th October, 1985 at the age of 16 years old. He was 42 years old when he ascended the throne as the 29^th Sultan of Kelantan in 12 December 2010 and is the second Sultan of Kelantan who ascend to the YDPA throne after his grandfather, Sultan Yahya Petra Ibni Almarhum Sultan Ibrahim Petra who was the sixth YDPA in 1975 to 1979. He also served as the Deputy Yang Di-Pertuan Agong since 12 December 2011 before he was proclaimed as the YDPA.

Sultan Muhammad V received his primary education from Sekolah Sultan Ismail 1 in Kota Bharu, secondary education at Alice Smith International School in Kuala Lumpur. He then went to the Oakham School in Rutland England in 1989. After that, he took Diplomatic Studies at St. Cross College, Oxford and Islamic Studies at Oxford Centre from 1989 until 1991. He then continued with Diplomatic Studies and Business Administration at Huron University College, London. He also went to Deutsche Stiftung Internationale Entwicklung Berlin to study further on diplomatic relations and later took up European Business Administration at European Business School London.

Sultan Muhammad V was well known for his down to earth and humble personality by addressing himself as ‘ambo’ (Kelantan pronunciation for Me) when he went to ground to meet and greets the rakyat (people). He was also known for his concern for the welfare of rakyat that he put aside his title as a Sultan to be with Rakyat. On the Internet, shared photo of His Majesty, went down to the grave hole to assist for a funeral is a usual thing. He even drove his four-wheels by himself to meet people during Kelantan massive flood in 2014 especially in the remote area of Kelantan in Gua Musang and Jeli. He was known for his sincere concern for his people’s welfare without the media attention, and sometimes his appearance were not escorted by the police of security.

His Majesty is also significant to the ‘cool and simple’ personality for he was always seen to wear a plain jubbah (robe) with kopiah (skullcap) and Baju Melayu (Traditional Malay attire) or sometimes even wear a plain ‘pelikat’ or sarong. He was also popular on the Internet for being the Sultan who simply wore a crocs sandals while walking down the yellow carpet.

His people-centric monarch approach also were being praised by the people when he envisioned the Program Walkathon D’Raja Kelantan, walking with the monarch members that set a record of 21,111 participants in the Malaysia Book of Record in 2011. To bring rakyat closer to the royal institution, he also initiated the program ‘Qiam with me’ held during Ramadhan (the Holy month for Muslim). The program made it to the Malaysian Book of Record for 6,000 people participating at Kubang Kerian Palace in August 2012. Both programmes are included in the Kelantan tourism calendar and serve as tourism event in the Kelantan.

He took the matter of religion seriously that he changed the call of ‘Daulat Tuanku’ (Long Live the King) to Allahuakbar (Allah the Almighty) so God will bless those who pronounce it. He even requested for the sound system in Masjid Sultan Muhammad II, Telipot to be connected to his palace next to the mosque so that Adzan can echo inside the palace. The distance were only 100 metre away sometimes he even walk to the mosque and spends time at the mosque for any religious event. He always made a surprise appearance at the mosque during prayer time by only wearing plain T-shirt and pant which makes him a king without very much protocol.

Apart from that, he is also the patron of Yayasan Sultan Kelantan that helps the unfortunate, Colonel In Chief of the Royal Artillery Regiment and was once the Brigadier General Commander of the 506 Territorial Army. He was appointed as the fifth Chancellor of UiTM of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) during the university’s 86th convocation ceremony on 16^th April 2017. His installation as the YDPA was very much awaited and appreciated by the people across the nation. As postgraduates of UiTM, we from the In Press team are proud for having Sultan Muhammad V as our Chancellor and YDPA.

Our highest congratulations and best wishes from In Press Global to His Majesty KDYMM Seri Paduka Baginda Yang-DiPertuan Agong XV Sultan Muhammad V on the coronation as the 15th Yang Dipertuan Agong. Daulat Tuanku.

Source and credit: News @ Asia One, The Star, Bernama & Astro Awani

CULTURE SPEAKS THROUGH ADVERTISING

Written by Nadia Rosli

Can we differentiate culture that is printed or broadcasted in advertisement? If yes, meaning we know other culture very well even though we do not living in it. Why? This is due to Globalization.

Globalization has given opportunity for international organizations to make a mark on their business footstep in many places around the world. Somehow, the challenges to fit into other countries culture will be a crucial task. Like how Nike released their first ‘Pro Hijab’, many judgement and impressions were commented online whether positive or negative it is the challenge that Nike should have to accept as a global brand.

Nike Hijab — Manal Rostom jogs wearing Nike’s new hijab for Muslim female athletes – (Source: indianexpress.com)

Some people were pleased that Nike has made sport hijab for women to be comfortable in doing sport, yet the advertisement that was released by Nike in promoting the ‘Pro Hijab’ has also created negative comment where people do not agree with Nike by showing women with ‘Pro hijab’ wearing inappropriate attire as a Muslim women .

ayampromotionposter-ae34e5fa6d halal — Ayam Goreng McD, ‘Halal’ logo at the bottom of the ads – (Source: mcdonalds.com)

For organizations to succeed in the global market place, understanding consumer culture values are the root to influence their behaviour in buying. Culture ‘speaks’ trough words or images in advertisement as it is the most culture-bound element of the marketing mix. The use of images, jargon, colours, etc. can contribute to positive or negative reactions to an advertisements and thereby the product in itself (Khanna, 2014). For instance, McDonald’s Malaysia showing ‘halal’ logo in every of their ads in Malaysia as to build confidence to match the majority culture in Malaysia which is Muslim.

Advertisements are made for identification, information and persuasion on product or services that are usually paid by the advertisers to release their ads either in print or broadcast media. By making ads that fit the country’s culture, people’s reaction will be positive as they feel they are being appreciated and respected. In Malaysia, since we have diversity in culture, advertisers seem to play roles as culture unity in Malaysia where many advertisements are viewing culture values of each religion or ethnics like Petronas ads, Maybank ads and etc.

Petronas Mix Ads — Petronas Ads, from left Harvest Day print Ads, middle Hari Raya Ads and lastly Deepavali Ads – (Source: petronas.com)

Advertisement has powerful influence towards people as it has the possibility to change people’s behaviour and values. Understanding a country’s culture core values is essential to avoid blunders in ads that might offense the viewer beliefs and values.

References

Khanna, N. (2014). The Role of Culture in Advertising. A comparative analysis of selected Nike print advertisements from the U.S. and Japan.

Globalization Impact in The Developing World

Written by Nor Diyana Abd Kadir

manar-051723600146979347521 — Image Credit: *english.almanar.com*

Over the past 60 years, we have seen a cultural shift in developing societies around the world primarily through the rapid usage of technology in their daily lives. The exchange of information upon this varied wide network of telephones and computers has made it easier for people to communicate, transact which undoubtedly enhance their productivity.

The impact on third world nations, like many countries in Asia is very much profound since they are still growing in population. Their mindset is grounded to the believe of communal (we) as opposed to western culture (I) that focuses on individualism. Here, large corporations face little competition and resistance due to market forces.

The US has played a crucial role in the development of these nations through their influential presence in the media and telecommunications as well as other aspects of the socioeconomic realm like finance and transportation. It has somewhat adopted the first world cultural style gradually moving away from the traditional norms. These markets are not saturated hence providing more opportunity for business to expand. In time, the force of globalization shifts power away from sovereign governments to already wealthy private capitals.

Although many were bought into the idea of free market as a saviour to their disparity, undoubtedly many of those ideas did bring in wealth to its people. Some proponents might suggest that western influence whether it is in terms of technology or businesses has brought them out from the brink of hardship. For example, capital influx from overseas investment such as giant telecommunications companies have provided the choice of connectivity to the millions of people of India and South East Asia that was never experienced before.

The spill-over effect is increasing in welfare amongst the underprivileged which can now earn a better living from jobs offered in both skilled and unskilled sectors. This technological advancement means that more and more people can benefit from a wide range of businesses that support the industry. With an increase in the standard of living, people have the opportunity to get access to better education, medical facilities, food, shelter and additional services such as entertainment and transportation.

In contrary, one of the destructive effects of western influence would be that a nation would lose its sovereignty and its culture with the implementation of globalization and free market forces. For example, change of policy has made some countries borrow money from International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank with outlandish clauses which further control power and wealth to the already rich. This form of dominance and control creates a dependency to these corporations that put its people into further enslavement.

In conclusion, globalization has brought forth positive and negative influence to the developing nations. The government needs to be cautious on the changes that they are trying to bring into their country. Not all changes promise the prosperity to a nation’s development. Decisions by the policy makers may unknowingly confiscate its people of their rights and privileges, worsening the already deprived situation further into depths of social calamity.

REFERENCES

Mohammadi, A. (1997). International Communication and Globalization: A Critical Introduction. London, Thousand Oaks & New Delhi : SAGE Publications.