Is Globalization Helping Coronavirus Spread Rapidly?

There is a myth going on in many parts of the world, that because of globalization, the Covid-19 virus could spread easily and affect many around the world. Although it may be true, that because of fast distance coverage by air, water and other sources, the disease spread, laying the entire blame on globalization is wrong. There are many instances in history, where epidemics have spread and causes loss of human lives in millions before air transportation even existed. In this article on has globalization helped corona virus to spread rapidly, let us look at the details.

Restrict Globalization - What is the Idea?

The supports of deglobalization want to build walls such as the Great Wall of China, restrict voyages and travel, decrease the trading between countries. Yes, in these times of Corona crisis, it is needed to put a temporary quarantine, but long time implications of isolation among countries can trigger a financial collapse. In short, the most required factor at the present time is co-operation among all countries and definitely, not isolation.

History and Epidemics

Epidemics such as plague and small pox have destroyed many civilizations around the globe. There were times, when people used to leave the entire city and villages, move to a new place to start a new life. In the ancient ages, there were no proper means of transport such as ships and airplanes. But still the epidemics happened. For example, just notice the Black Death epidemic of 14th century. The death toll comes to millions from countries right from Western Europe to East Asia. Nearly more than 19 million people lost their lives.

It was in 1520, the small pox started in Central America and wiped nearly a fourth of its native population.

A deadly flu started in 1918, and spread to many corners of the world. The total population lost was 100 million. When compared to lives lost in First World War, the toll is more.

How Our Ancestors Faced An Epidemic

To be honest, they tried every measure and method to control the epidemic. Many methods were unsanitary and did not bring good results. Some cultures relied on superstition and thought the epidemic was a curse or punishment from the Gods. In some countries, the healthy people used to shift to other places leaving behind the dead, sick and undeserving livestock. There is also proof of human sacrifice to appease the Gods as a means of warding off the epidemic.

What are the measures followed in recent times to combat any epidemic?

Although epidemics did continue to rear their head every now and then, the process of sanitation and cleanliness did help to curb the casualties. The main reason for millions of deaths in the old ages was due to the fact, our ancestors did not understand the disease and the reasons for its spreading so fast.

In recent times, a virus can spread within a few hours to all parts of the globe, courtesy air travel. But any epidemic will not cause deaths in millions, the reason, exchange of information. The best defense humanity has against any disease in recent time is information in the form of scientific analysis and preventive medicine prepared at the earliest.

It was in the 1900s, that medicine professionals of every country came together and exchanged information about diseases in every country. Then, the vaccination programme started on a global scale. Thanks to the sincere efforts of these medicine professionals, some highly contagious diseases such as small pox were completely eliminated as early as 1979.

In the earlier days, it was difficult to collect samples from affected people without being infected. Now, with recent medical equipment in the form of gloves and face masks, the professionals can easily collect samples, analyse, identify and then suggest the possible cure in the form of antibiotics. People in the old ages, could not determine the cause of diseases such as Black Death and died in millions. But when the Corona outbreak happened, medical professionals took less than 15 days to identify the virus, its genetics and the possible ways to identify affected people, put them in isolation and prevent the spreading of this disease on large scale.

What Did You Learn From The History of Epidemics?

The very fact, globalisation has caused many deaths is proved wrong once again. Without proper transportation, many epidemics caused millions of deaths in the earlier times.

The real protection against any epidemic is when the country first affected should share the information regarding the disease to its neighbouring countries as soon as possible. In this situation, it is trust and mutual understanding that matters a lot in preventing the spread of disease. All other countries should also extend a helping hand to the affected country. Today, with Corona virus making mayhem all over the world, China has to teach countries lessons about the virus.

Co-operation is also mandatory when countries try their best to restrict travel from citizens of other nations during an epidemic. If countries do not trust each other, then the information on disease becomes useless.

In the last century, the war against small pox was won, because every country participated in the vaccination programme. If one country had failed to fall in line, then the small pox would have remained and waited for the right moment to strike. But it did not happen.

Please note, the entire humankind at recent times needs to establish a clear border line. It is not between countries and nations. But the line needs to be put clearly between humans and viruses. Viruses which have caused deaths in recent times have come from animals to humans. For example, Ebola virus. So, communities all over the world have to be explained on the safety measures and precautions. Or else, every now and then, the border line between virus and man will be broken because of a transmission. Then the entire human race will become sitting ducks for a new hunter virus.

With the content in the earlier paragraph, some facts also have to be taken in consideration. There exist some cultures in the world, where the people are not even knowledgeable about basic healthcare services. These people may become the targets of transmission.

Since the last half a century, medical science has geared itself to meet the challenges of epidemics. There exists an entire army in the form of medical professionals, nurses and other staff to patrol the world and safeguard from any epidemic.

What Are The Major Factors Which Can Help An Epidemic Spread Faster?

True, we have all the medical facilities, but countries have lost trust in one another. In some countries, corrupt politicians do not provide grants to medical institutions and hamper their growth and research. There is a section of society which does not trust scientific medical expert advice and carry on their lives as per their will. All these factors can contribute to spreading of a disease among many countries.

Conclusion

Let us hope that the Corona Scare will promote trust between countries. Let us not focus on the topic - has globalization helped corona virus to spread rapidly. It is a painful lesson, but let us turn this unfortunate event to an opportunity to make the bonds between countries stronger. The brotherhood between countries can make the entire human race stand strong against any catastrophe (natural or health-related). Let us make a resolve to cross the planet, if needed, any time to combat a threat that can threaten the entire human race.

At present, let us pray in our hearts to the Supreme Power to save this Mother Earth from the impact of Corona Virus.

Life in Italy During the Pandemic of Coronavirus

For more than a month, Italians had heard of the 'Corona Virus' in China, having seen the stories on the news about how the Chinese Government was handling the epidemic. This news seemed like something that was from a far off land that could never hit the Italian peninsula because it was the kind of situation that only happened to 'others', quite a normal response, much like many other populations responded. Thus, people were slow to put any emergency plans into place. At one point in early January, it was suggested that an Italian manager come up with an emergency plan, but this had not been the first time this manager had been advised that establishing rules to protect people from the normal flu was in order. However, one had to think positively rather than to living in fear of the Corona Virus, which was considered 'unlikely' to spread beyond China.

People from all backgrounds, not just Italians, tend to be more favourable of looking at life from a positive point of view; however, planning for the best is sometimes the equivalent of kicking the bucket down the road to someone else. Politicians are now trying to find a solution to help small businesses that are facing difficulties during this trying period, and money is being allocated to help families with children who need to keep a mother or father at home to watch the children whose schools have recently been closed. On the surface, these seem to be the best solutions to problems facing the country, but the long-term effects could potentially bury the nation in outstanding debt, causing difficulties for future generations.

Not only have hugs, kisses, and handshakes been banned. Soccer games open to fans have also been banned for thirty days by the decreet of Giuseppe Conte, the Prime Minister of Italy. This has saddened the majority of Italians, although many argue that even soccer players should have the right to keep their distance from one another. Furthermore, all sports' events must be held behind closed doors until the third of April, something that remains incredible in the country known for kisses on the cheeks.

COVID-19 has interfered dramatically with the practice of religion, especially the Catholic religion, during February and March 2020. Yesterday, the author visited the Church of Santo Stefano in Borgomanero, where custodians had just cleaned the floors and disinfected the church. Not a living soul was to be found, neither a priest nor a tourist, which allowed the author to focus on the frescoes and the beautiful stained-glass windows in silence. If one travels across Italy this month, he or she will encounter numerous churches without parishioners because people are naturally afraid to meet one another in closed spaces no matter how large and accommodating they might be. It has been recommended that priests remove the holy water from Catholic Churches for fear of spreading the virus. Although citizens and tourists can visit holy shrines, church services have to be conducted via television and internet. Furthermore, churches have been closed because, in recent years, people have begun to steal religious artefacts from them when the churches and shrines are not guarded.

The author has been researching what is happening in the churches throughout Italy; however, there is much more information available about soccer games and the survival of the economy, which seems to be the main focus right now. For instance, in the news one finds much information about saving the reputation of 'Made in Italy', so low-level employees are forced to work even harder than before as they hope other countries will continue to demand their products in times of trouble. A company which had had to quit producing medical face masks for fifteen years (due to Chinese competition), suddenly had to reopen its doors to help meet the needs of the Italian population that did not have enough masks to protect citizens from COVID-19.

Not having enough masks was ironic in a country known for its Venetian Carnival celebration. Sadly, Venetian Carnival parades had to be cancelled this year for fear of contagion, causing the country to lose many tourist dollars and initiating the current crisis in Italian tourism. According to Assoturismo, ninety per cent of hotel bookings in Rome have been cancelled, and the United States has issued a level-3 warning to its citizens, stating that they should avoid travel to Italy in March. Travelers who visit Italy are required to stay home for 14 days after returning to the United States. A well-known leader of the Five Star Party was worried that such travel restrictions might lead to discrimination against Italians and 'Made in Italy'. Many members of La Lega believe in a bailout amounting to 50 billion euros.

Human Resource Practices That Would Lead to Your Company Success

What we have in the prevailing marketplace in today's economy is the effort that has been made by some well-recognized companies, among them, the Fortune 500 companies based in the United States, who have come to take note of the contribution of their human resource department towards the success of their organizations, SHRM. This has led to the creation of human resource practices by HR department, that motivate its members to continuously being proactive in looking at the business organization, as it engages its employees to determine how they can be supported in strengthening the company's strategic policies.

A business organization's human resource practices coupled with its policies are very important in the creation and maintenance of a work culture that is meant to reward, support and then create the expectation for the employees to be consistent in the performance of their work and provision of services. The ultimate goal is the achievement of an optimum customer satisfaction, which at the end leads to a satisfactory financial outcome that create a tremendous success for the company involved, SHRM.

Human resource professionals have been traditionally aligned with administration and finance, tasked with paperwork and far removed from where decisions are made in C-suite level leaders. It has been acknowledged in today's organizations the value of employees as a key resource, therefore are embracing HR as a key strategic partner with organizational leaders. The new role being given to HR is behind the drive to have companies invest more in advanced technologies that will enable them to manage the workforce, in order to allow HR to spend more time in making valuable contributions.

It has been found based on an audit of Fortune 500 companies that having an HR executive officer among the company's executive leaderships lead to high performance. In the audit, it was made clear the impact of having Chief HR Officer in the C-suite, which is that the companies with CHRO are averaging 105 percent more profit than their industry peers that do not have one.

Having a chief human resource officer at the C-suite conference table means that the person with the title is able to bring to the table issues affecting the HR department that could not have been possible were the person not there. So the CHRO presence is able to make the argument of the impact of having human resource on the company's bottom line, the value it brings to the company's strategic decision making process, and also the need for the company to create HR that is high performance and is involve in the learning and development of its employees, and also the need for an effective technological solutions.

According to some of the Fortune 500 companies audited, the CHRO in those companies embraced the use of customer analysis, proactive talent management as human resource practices. Some of the human resource practices policies enacted that directly lead to high performance in those companies include the exposure of HR risks, like the need to retain key talent in the company's annual reports and instituting the continuous review of goals and performance throughout the year, particularly:

When the company involve identify risks in their annual reports, the company performs better when compare with peers that do not identify risk in their key financial and market metrics like return on assets (55%), operating profit (by 95%) and earning per share (by 54%).

The organizations that review its employees performance throughout the year are likely to continuously meet its quarterly financial expectation, and show a better average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) when they are compared to their peers that only review performance on an annual basis.

Organizations that have a higher part of its goals aligned and completed does better than its industry peers in key financial metrics, such as quarterly financial estimates, operating profit, earning per share, and price-earnings ratio.

Having a CHRO has proven to have a link to a company's bottom line, demonstrating the vital correlation between effective talent management and business performance. There are many companies that are very successful in today's marketplace because they have been able to institutionalized human resource practices platform that put forward an advanced, connected HCM solutions that manage an entire employee life cycle; starting from recruitment to retirement- taking the role from being transactional to strategic, also predictive.