Module 7

                Comparative advantage is the ability of a party or in this case a country, to produce products, items, and services at a lower cost than their competition. There are a lot of factors that contribute to this. For example, China is very big in manufacturing because they're able to produce a high yield because of their high population and cheap labor whereas if the same products were produced in the U.S. it would be much more costly. Because of this, China has a comparative advantage.

                A self-directed consumer is a consumer that uses all the tools available to them to get their exact price, experience, and service they want when making a purchase. I am an extremely self-directed consumer. I rarely ever purchase anything without some research on the product. My use of the internet has greatly enhanced my experience of purchasing things I want or need. For example, I am an avid computer enthusiast and I love building custom high end computer systems for both myself and paying customers. Because of this, I am quite fond of newegg.com. If you don't know what newegg.com is, it's a website that sells computer hardware, software, and other items. Newegg tailors to my self-directed nature extremely well. Rather than going to Wal-Mart and buying an HP or a Dell computer, I can customize my own computer with parts from brands I know and love all the way down to the color of wires and cable I desire. This not only fulfils my picky needs for my high end system but it allows me to custom build systems for clients of my own to fit their price, needs, and expectations.

                I personally think that the ideas of globalization and Americanization are both completely different. Globalization refers to the growth and unity of the whole world, merging new ideas, companies, and businesses to compete on a global market rather than a local or regional market. Americanization refers to the influence America has on other countries products, culture, beliefs, etc. One could argue that globalization is forcing other countries to live an American lifestyle but I don't see it that way. The way I see it, the new lifestyle is a product born from globalization itself because other countries are still retaining their cultures and beliefs.