(Solution) CIPD 7C001 Assess in what major ways a retreat from globalisation would affect employment markets in your country

Question

Learning Outcome 1: Understand ways in which major, long-term environmental developments affect employment, work and people management in organisations

To what extent do you agree with the view that the trend towards greater globalisation has peaked and that its extent will decline in the next few years? Assess in what major ways a retreat from globalisation would affect employment markets in your country?

Solution

From the reviewed literature, there lacks a universal common definition of globalisation. Nevertheless, WTO (2023) identify globalisation as international-based integration in commodity, capital and labour markets. Further, as evidenced in Pieterse (2019), globalisation is categorised into economic, social and political categories. Since Mid-19^th century when the initial phase of globalisation emerged, it has over the years been in an increasing trends. All these trends have had their positive and negative implication with equal critique.

It is true that the peak towards a great globalisation has peaked over the years. However, in the next few years, it will record a significant decline. To support this assertion, IPSOS (2023) survey had hypothesised that globalisation has already achieved its peak and characterised by world of protectionist policies, shorter, secured supply chains and increased priority on nationality and local community. In Saudi Arabia context, the outcome of this is establishment of small, secured supply chains and an increased priority of nationality and local community creating small, less globalised landscape. Further, as a result of (re)globalisation after the pandemic, Olivié and Gracia (2020) report hypothesised that Post-COVID 19, there has been an increase in the globalisation aggregated with the top countries taking a greater share of the global economy.  For instance, in Saudi Arabia, the high-level increase in the aggregate of globalisation is an evidence of globalisation with the opposite being contraction of globalisation.

Also, comparing the past globalisation statistics such as in Elcano (2023), it is evident that stagnation of globalisation strategy from mid-2010s has been evident. In years 2014, it reached to approximately 15,500 points which account for a  15,300 and 16,300 points increase. This is with 2022 reporting an exceeding globalisation with an all-time high of 16,700 points. In Saudi Arabia case, the increase in globalisation has been noted to coincide with the exit from the COVID-19 pandemic health crisis. The trends of globalisation continue to be at their peak despite the Ukraine and Russia political conflicts and international trade and financial tensions.

Despite of the globalisation being at its peak, there has been evident plateauing of the trade openness internationally in the past years. To support this trend, IMF (2023) note that there has been an increase in the number of trade restrictions internationally in past few years. In particular, in year 2022, the report indicate that 2845 trade restrictions were imposed.  The increased trade restrictions have a negative implication on globalisation. According to Kataryniuk et al. (2021), this is even worsened by current and future trade tensions of world largest economies which is United States and China and complicated by Russian invasion of Ukraine. All these issues in globalisation have contributed to immense disruptions in financial, food and energy flows. This is a continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic which had similarly contributed to economic insecurity and leading to supply chains increased resilience owing to pandemic exposure of people to vulnerability in different nations.  For organisations, the best practice has been ensuring they are balancing lower production costs with unstable supply chains. The result of this is input made in stabilisation of supply through nearshoring which is in some instances demonstrated as an input of supporting localised communities.

Retreat from Globalisation Impact on Employment Markets

Retreat would impact employees pursuing specific roles as opposed to workers in specific firms, sectors and skill groups–

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