This activity was to allow us to understand the trading system between countries to a deeper extent and to question its fairness. This activity made us recognize the state of MEDCs, LEDCs and NICs as well as their disadvantages and privileges in terms of wealth and resources. We had to make and then cut out different types of shapes which cost different amounts and varied based on oversupply. The shapes had to be made with the resources and they had to be of good quality and accurate size. Each group represented a country and depending on their resources, their development was established. The groups were allowed to trade with one another to gain items in their interest for items other groups could benefit from. Some groups representing an MEDC had more valuable resources than other groups. However, the challenge was to see which countries would produce most effectively and earn the most by using their resources wisely.
- What country did you represent?
I feel like my group might have represented an MEDC since my group’s envelope had 3 pencils, a protractor, 2 rulers and some more types of rulers, a compass and we also had 2 scissors. However, we did have very little paper (1 or 2 pieces). We were more equipped with resources as compared to the other countries which would suggest that we were an MEDC. However, we lacked paper which would greatly impact our output as we only have a limited amount of paper to work with.
- what materials did you have in your envelope at the start? What kinds of goods do you think these items represent? Does this mean your country is an MEDC, LEDC or NIC?
We had 2 scissors, 3 pencils, many types of rulers including protractors, triangle rulers and 2 sheets of paper with a compass and around $600. I feel like the 3 pencils represent the people they have working in this area as without a pencil, making the shapes is basically impossible and would take time. The pencils also constructed the shapes so I feel like the pencils are the country’s workforce. The rulers and types of rulers represented the country’s resources and determined to what extent they could produce accurate shapes. Since we had many types of rulers, this could suggest that the country is highly equipped with high tech and varieties of manufacturing methods. The protractor could be a more costly resource as I think we were the only group who had it. The protractor could have been a form of a valuable tool of production. The paper represents the land or the goods and services of a country as we were told to sell this by making it into different shapes and sizes.
- How did you feel about being an MEDC, LEDC or NIC? Write about one or two incidents that happened during the game and how these made you feel.
My group was quite confident as we had basically everything we needed except for paper which was most of what we needed. Frankly, I thought that if we had so many of each thing, we might as well sell it to other for money instead of making the shapes as it was quicker and easier. However, I soon realised that this was a mistake as we were only allowing the other countries to produce more efficiently which allowed them to make more shapes and money in the end. This also slowed down our process of production as we could have been cutting shapes at twice the rate but since we only had one pair of scissors, our production rate decreased greatly. As the game continued we realised that the compass, protractor and the triangle ruler were not needed and were quite irrelevant but quite valuable to have as they seemed quite rare and costly as a resource. Instead of these extra items, we would rather have paper as we had a limited amount of it. We ran out of paper very quickly, as we only had 2 sheets. So, the other members of our team tried to fix this by going to other groups and trying to trade our extra items for the paper. However, this was quite challenging as some of the other countries also did not see the value in these items which delayed our trading and production process. We took our items and position for granted as we were too caught up in thinking that we basically already won the game because of the money and resources in our envelope.
- How fair was the game? Is this game a true reflection of the world’s trading system?
I feel that the game was not very fair as different groups had very different items and resources provided, some had more and some had less. However, this makes the game fair as in real life, countries have different resources available and have different amounts of money and wealth available. Honestly, I feel that the resources (scissors, protractors, compass, rulers, papers) really made a difference to the state and level of trade for the country but it all came back to how the country decided to use these items. Some countries which had access of some things traded those for items another country could use which benefited both parties. However, sometimes the deal wasn’t very fair as a group who is desperate for a ruler would probably take the first deal they could due to the little knowledge on better deals other countries could offer. Another instance could include, when I just gave away the scissors for $100 as I did not think this item was very relevant as we had another pair of scissors. This is quite a real situation as country A, for example, which has some resources readily available could see these goods as less valuable and thus exchange it for something of similar worth based on its knowledge on the worth of the good. However, this resource could actually be very valuable and useful for country B which could easily take advantage of country A by trading items with less worth for items that are actually more valuable.
- What sort of emotions might be felt by nations who are disadvantaged by the Global Trading system?
They would fear being left behind in the trading world as they are not producing maybe as fast or products with much value and reliability. Since they might have less money and resources, it is harder to compete with countries that have the wealth and development to progress. However, if a country which is disadvantaged in some aspects, could still offer resources that could be helpful for other countries in exchange for money or equipment. I felt that disadvantaged countries could not prosper more than an MEDC because they lack some resources, however if they are efficient and strategic with the bare minimum that they have, they could make more money than the countries with more advantages. An example of this would be Tomi’s group as they had very little at first and once they had a pair of scissors, they managed to manufacture a steady supply of a certain simple shape which was their strategy to success and they managed to make the most money from a simple but efficient plan.
- How do you think the world trading system could be changed to make it fairer? What do we mean by ‘fairer’? What sort of things would a ‘fair’ trading system prioritise/achieve do you think? How does your understanding of ‘fair’ compare to the person next to you?
I feel like a fair trading system would include equal communication methods with different countries as well as mutual knowledge on the worth of different items so as to avoid unfair trading. This would allow trading to be more equal and balanced so as to allow countries which are disadvantaged to still communicate and establish their needs and what they have to trade for those needs. The main priority of trading is the equality of the exposure each area is given in the trading world as all the countries should have equal opportunities to offer what they have in order to develop effectively and sustainably.
