Role of the Internet in Economic Development and Culture Coursework

Role of the Internet in Economic Development and Culture - Coursework Example The essay will also study how developing countries are using the technology for economic development, and whether a gap is being formed between rich and poor countries due to the advent of this technology. Concepts such as globalization, strategic and international management and marketing, and culture will be delved into with use of established literature where necessary and every effort will be made to provide meaningful conclusions. 2. Evolution of Internet and its impact on culture and businesses At the most basic of levels, the internet can be described as a worldwide network of networks, enabling millions of smaller computers to share information with each other and to share various communications, databases, and transactions. For individual perspective, when one is connected to the internet, he/she can contact anyone else on the internet, can trade or publish ideas, and can sell products with minimum overhead costs (Reedy and Schullo 2004; Trott, 2008). With such flexibility, the internet, and its main application, the World Wide Web (WWW), have given businesses a useful alternative to carry out their operations, which is resulting in increased customer satisfaction, which in turn leads to more measures for the development of ‘online’ businesses. Reedy and Schullo (2004) summarise that the internet as a whole must liken to a toolkit containing multipurpose gadgets with many useful innovations. In order to understand the true potential of the internet, Reedy and Schullo (2004) also suggest that it is vital to also gain knowledge of the origins and evolution of the aforementioned innovations. The advent of the internet as a main personal and commercial tool was a result of the concept of technology transfer, wherein the early 1980’s the initial technology leading to the internet was only used for military and scientific purposes. Later, this initial technology was made open for researchers and businesses to adopt and exploit for further development and innovation, and the internet, as we know it today, was born (Trott 2008). Hence the process of technology transfer is of promoting technical innovation through the transfer of ideas, knowledge, devices, and artifacts from leading businesses, research organizations and academic research to more general and effective application in industry and commerce (Trott 2008). Although the internet has inbuilt weaknesses like security problems, they can manage optimally by successfully implementing the information security policies, including fail-safe Anti-Virus Protection system (Milberg 2000). As a result, it can be inferred that the internet itself has become a safe channel for technology transfer through the efficient and cost-effective manner in which entities can transfer and share information, and also facilitate innovation through such interaction. Apart from technology transfer, by allowing people of different culture to interact in a virtual space, it also leads to t he exchange of cultural information between them.