*Witty Title* (a.k.a. "DTC 475 Blog Post #4")

This week will be a 'student led' blog response.  I want you to provide your reaction and reflection the of documentary 'Office Tigers'.  Discuss how technology is an artifact and process of globalization, how technology facilitates cultural imperialism & how the digital divide reveals the contradictions about development around the world.

  Please make sure to ground your reflection by drawing on this weeks reading by Nakamura, Shome and Dori.  

      Drori states in Global E-Litism that “the era of globalization is marked by the expansion of social exchanges internationally and transnationally. Global interaction extends to more and more spheres of our life. These days, people, commodities, capital, and information rapdily flow across national borders and to all hidden corners of the world. . . Globality, then, describes the scope of social life”(4). The Office Tiger business is built directly on this principle of globalization and is made possible by the employment of modern technology

     
     Office Tigers was definitely interesting, thought-provoking, and somewhat depressing too. The idea behind the Office Tiger company seems like a good business move, mining a new market and opening up jobs to the local population as a result. My approach to the situation is best summed up in the categories provided by a 1960's Spaghetti Western;

 

The Good:

     
The company seems to be successful. The employees act professionally. A professional work environment is put in place, and the company goes to great lengths to ensure that the employee base is educated in every aspect of their area of work, be it spreadsheet organization or graphic design for posters. Since the company is successful, they are a major employer in their area, and their work environment is probably safer than many of the other jobs available in the area.

 
The Bad:
    
I don't really like the boss. He carries himself somewhat professionally, but he seems rather...proud. I don't blame him for being pleased with the business he has started, and I certainly don't fault him for wanting to improve the company he has poured so much into. Still, he seems to think that, somehow, he is better than his employees. Honestly, from the way he carries himself in the documentary, it seems that he treats his employees like doormats. He even gets their names wrong on camera and doesn't seem to care. To him, they're just another cog in the machine. He shows off the employees as if he's showing off a new car.

 
The Ugly:
     
Let's face it, the work that Office Tigers do is mundane, stressful work. Since you serve clients around the globe, the company operates 24/7. It seems that many of the employees work very, very long shifts, staring at computer screen for hours at a time. Add to that the fact that they are frequently on a tight schedule, and the work life seems even less healthy. Of course, some of these elements are part of the industry, and can't be avoided. Time zones exist, there's no way around that. It does seem, however, that shifts could be scheduled more efficiently (which might result in a better final product as well). Still, it does seem that a position at Office Tiger is a highly desired job in the local community.

    

 Discuss how technology is an artifact and process of globalization, how technology facilitates cultural imperialism & how the digital divide reveals the contradictions about development around the world.

     
     Now, the blog prompt instructs us to discuss how technology is an artifact and process of of globalization. However, I am arguing that it is not. Changes in technology are not caused by globalization. Rather, technology is an enabler of globalization. Technology itself does not globalize industry, culture, etc., but it does make globalization easier. It usually doesn't take long for someone to figure out how to use the tech in such a fashion, and thereby make a profit.

     
     This same technology also facilitates “cultural imperialism” to some degree. The rest of the world is starting to look more and more like the Western world. Even the various places in the Western world are beginning to look more and more like America. Yet as various cultures in the American melting pot begin to re-separate into the figurative salad bowl, America is beginning to look more like other parts of the world.

     
      In the case of Office Tigers, some of the employees may feel pressured by their clients who live in 1st world countries and have high expectations for the work they have contracted out. When one of the employees is lambasted for “inferior” work, one might say this is a prime example of cultural imperialism, as the employee in the 3rd world has to live up to the expectations of the 1st world. However, there may yet be a power balance possible. If more and more work at a 1st world business is outsourced to 3rd world countries, the 1st world business may eventually become dependent on that outsourcing, which then puts the power in the hands of the 3rd world contractor. America was once a manufacturing superpower, but is no longer, and now relies on other countries to make its things, which is definitely having an effect on American economics.

     
     As a final note related to that last thought and one of my previous blog posts, we often think of “technology” as the newest Facebook machine that was imported from China, will be used for a few years in America, and then will be junked and burned for copper salvage in Africa. But technology was and can be so much more than that. Before globalization, the “Made in USA” stamp on just about anything was a sign of a quality product. Now, it most frequently appears on old things sitting in the local antique mall.

    
      Perhaps that will change. If you haven't seen this ad yet, you should. Building, crafting a quality product to last is something to be proud of, and something America needs to get back to. We don't neccesairly need to globalize our culture, but we do need to work on re-cultivating it here in our homeland. “Work is beautiful thing”.