Probably because of this striking resemblance between colonization and latter-day globalization, analysts saw globalization coming as early as the mid-19th century. One of them was Karl Marx, who perforce warned of dire consequences: "It will make the poor poorer because it will bring down wages, increase class and country inequality, create monopolistic companies with global dimension and create economic collapse in places characterized by social, economic and political instability (Mahdavi, 2004)." Marx in his Das Kapital even expressed fear of "religious terrorism" as a possible reaction to the concept of globalization. These are exactly the same social concerns that many are raising to intersperse with the chorus of praise for the otherwise welcome benefits of technology as represented in today's world by computers and the Internet. The questions that this paper seeks to satisfy are: Has any of Marx's predictions come true While technology is generally viewed as a good thing, are there any downsides to the resulting globalization that fostered business outsourcing
The information revolution as we know it traces its roots to the family computer that made video games possible. Then in mid-1970s, the electronic principle that made the family computer work was successfully expanded through a gadget that came to be known as personal computer. The personal computer with its subsequently developed Internet capability was soon hailed as a device that revolutionized information dissemination in a much bigger way than the telephone. Whereas the telephone established connection between only 2 or 3 nodes, the Internet allows simultaneous exchange of information in digital form among a limitless number of nodes. The economic impact of the Internet is believed greater than that of the Industrial Revolution (Martin & Curry, 1999). At first, Internet use was confined to academic research, then in 1990, the US National Science Foundation finally approved it for non-academic activities, including business and commerce. Only three years thereafter, some 5 million people were already using the new technology for previously unimagined applications. The number rose in rapid fashion, from 62 million in 1997 to 100 million in 1998. This moved the pioneer Internet provider Unmet Technologies to say: "The Internet achieved one of the fastest adoption rates any technology has ever experienced."
Technology has changed our lives in many ways but it is the workplace that has experienced the most pervasive impact. The advent of technology changed the entire process of working to make project teams, global cooperation and networking an integral part of day-to-day life in many business environments (Risku & Pircher, 2005). The 21st century workplace as reconfigured by the Internet is characterized by global operations and markets, global sourcing, virtual companies, greater choices and more individualism, speed and flexibility, supply chains, collaborative commerce, knowledge sharing and emphasis on service (Andan, 2003). This