Common Definitions of globalization
Economic. Flows of goods and people. People who study this tend to have a more historical perspective of ebbs and flows. Since 1830s, arguments revolve around the benefits of free trade and capital flows versus protectionism.
Trade: Most significant in 19c., both in terms of growth, and as the dominant economic flow. Now it is hard to gauge its significance or even determine the origin of many commodities, because so many goods may cross several borders, as parts are incorporated into new commodities before final sale to consumers.
Investment and capital: Started to grow in 1890s, mostly as stockholders invest in foreign comapnies. Cartels soon emerged. More transnational corporations after 1960, but direct branches and subsidiaries may now be on decline with rise of flexible contracting. Very hard to measure capital flows.
Deregulation. Some people argue that the post-1950 growth in global flows is not the inevitable result of economic growth. In fact, economic growth is not always evident after 1970. Rather, globalization should be understood as the effect of neo-liberal deregulation policies.
"Flexible" Capitalism and Restructuring. Often argued to be a new, post-1973 development linked to deregulation, this refers to the move away from large, bureaucratic firms and factories to more decentered business relations and subcontracting to smaller firms around the world. Very closely linked to deregulation and the opening of borders. Ownership and control is often highly diffused, subject to complex legal and financial arrangements. Increasing profit from licensing, royalties and patents.
Communication
Transportation Costs have declined steadily since 1820. Economists see this as crucial to globalization.
Migration: Peaks of labor migration in 1910s, 1920s and 1990s. But many more high-skilled migrants move now than before. Tourist movement has increased several orders of magnitude over the course of the twentieth century.
Speed and Networking ("Time-space compression") is often crucial to arguments that we are now entering a post-modern or global age, that is reordering our lives and identities away from territorial identification. But communication has been growing quicker since 1800, it has always reshaped the world into new networks and, perhaps most significantly, cities and geographic spaces have grown even more important in terms of economic, business and population distribution since the rise of the "information economy."
Cultural usually with a focus on media.
Homogenization/Cultural Hegemony. McDonalds, Hollywood and CNN, etc. makes the world become more similar, generally in the service of US power.
Fragmentation. A more subtle argument that alternative cultural flows and identities still persist, and are often strengthened, reformed or created anew; as a result of hybridity or resistance. Discussions of the homogenization-fragmentation axis usually are linked to some discussion of networking.
Financial This is probably the most significant (in my opinion) yet most mysterious of post-1973 transformations linked to globalization. In particular, it is a result of the deregulation of currency controls, the growth of massive liquidity and currency reserves, and the rise of floating currencies. The amounts of money flowing beyond state control, engaged in speculation absolutely tremendous. Up to one trillion dollars a day are engaged in currency transactions and derivative trading. No national economy, business, media operation or migrant is isolated from these transactions, yet almost nobody has any significant understanding of how they operate.