An interesting literary fact -

When F. Scott Fitzgerald died, barely 25,000 copies of "THE GREAT GATSBY" had sold. In 2007, 25,000 copies are sold every two weeks.
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There have been a lot of definitions of "Globalization" bandied about. This is the best I have found:

Flat vs. Global
by Stephen Pratt, CEO, Infosys Consulting
In speaking with many clients about how to compete in a flat world, I often hear something to the effect of “We are global, we operate in 35 countries.”
On this point, it is important to be clear. The Flat world means running operations that are connected globally – dependent on one another - not just present in many places. Often, however, operations in different countries operate independent of one another and operate quite differently.

A flat world company will use mathematicians in Budapest to analyze shopping patterns in London so the designers in Paris can direct the manufacturers in Beijing just at the marketing engine in LA cranks up. And do it quickly in complete coordination, at a staggering low cost structure. It is not about having independent operations in Hungary, Britain, France, China and the US whose financials get rolled up at quarter end - although that likely is a step in the right direction.