Introduction Different scholars have explained the concept of globalization and its effect from different perspectives. Globalization is multi-faceted with a dimension of economic, political-legal, social-cultural, and environmental (Gichira, 2007). Rapid globalization is one of the most significant aspects of the new millennium, particularly since the fast development of information technology (IT) in the 1980s and 1990s (Brown, 1999). However, integration of the economic resources across the globe using trade, financial flows, the advancement of technology, communication of information, movement of people, goods, and services are part of the major challenging factors in some of the developing states. Business organizations need a comprehensive, logical, strategic network and the ability to maximize profit on a global basis. As globalization continues to increase rapidly in the current world, there is a need for academicians, specialists, and professionals to put more effort into identifying the effect of globalization on managerial strategies within and outside the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) structure. Thus, providing an optimum solution will help the respective managers to maintain their organizations as relevant and competitive. Strategic management is a technique that can be used to create a favorable future and help SMEs to prosper through predicting the most desirable upcoming, involvement of their firms.  An essential aspect of controlling the effect of globalization on SMEs is the effective and efficient implementation of the developed strategies by understanding the people communicating and working together (Brown & Weiner, 1985).  The objective of this article is to ascertain the implication of globalization on SMEs and also to ascertain the process by which the implication will be improved. Thus it has to do with an imperative throughout the SMEs, to support the resources for the firms to fulfill its mission.  Concept of Globalization  Globalization is unavoidable to both high and low-profile organizations across the world. However, numerous initiatives and efforts have been made to adapt to it to take the opportunities created from it, to develop organizations, coupled with changes in recent years. Globalization has created numerous opportunities for sharing knowledge, technology, social values, and behavioral norms and promoting development at different levels including individuals, organizations, communities, and societies across different countries and cultures (Ong’ayi, 2013).  Globalization has brought with it effects that have made companies devise means of staying competitive not only in the global market but also in the local market. Companies have been forced to diversify their product portfolio to cope with competition, maintain market share, enter into new markets and seal off any unexplored market segments that foreign competitors may come to exploit.  Effects of Globalization on SMEs ’  There is an increase in international concerns about the negative impacts of globalization on public and private organizations. Various social movements have been initiated against the threats of globalization, particularly in developing countries (Cheng, 2000). Globalization requires companies not only to be multinational and multilingual but also to be multicultural corporations. It is the same belief on the globalization effect on the SMEs. As such, it instigated many SMEs must accept, adapt and blend multicultural aspects in their business processes. The delayering of cultural strata must be a prerequisite before SMEs sign any memorandum of understanding with a host country. There is an emerging global culture that is changing social expectations and understanding. This culture provides a global reality where co-creation and innovation in knowledge-sharing and relationships are flourishing.  Survival and success of an SME occur when the organization creates and maintains a match between its strategy and the environment and also between its internal capability and its strategy. Responses to globalization require SMEs to change their strategy to match the environment and also to redesign their internal capability to match this strategy. If an SME strategy is not matched to its environment, then a strategy gap arises. If it means that internal capabilities are not matched to its strategy, then a capability gap arises (Ong’ayi, 2013).  Porter (1985) affirms that it is essential that organizations be able to shift strategy with changes in the environment and match their capabilities to the selected strategy to survive, succeed and remain relevant. Firms in dynamic industries respond to environmental changes and competitive forces in different ways. Some improve current products, diversify and divest, while others employ techniques that ensure operational effectiveness. To achieve a competitive advantage, the strategy needs to focus on unique activities. Operational effectiveness is necessary but not sufficient for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. Changes in environmental conditions shape a firm’s opportunities and challenges are paramount to the SMEs. A new environment necessitates the formulation of a new strategy best suited to cope with change. Accordingly, in most cases, noisy environments are characterized by unfamiliar rapid, and unpredictable events. Managing the effect of globalization Globalization affected the strategic system of SMEs to a great extent, it is for the lack of the SME’s commitments towards accepting the realities of the current global business trend. Most of these issues happened with SMEs in developing countries like Nigeria. As such, there is a need to engage an effective marketing team to meet the need of their customers who were expanding to other parts of their covering locations other than their home localities. However, this will necessitate the need to develop strategies that would see the SMEs expand to different locations. It is concluded that globalization affected SME’s strategic system as it determined the expansion strategies that have to be adopted by the firms is expanding its services to other business catchment areas.  A well-managed SME must deal effectively with the social, political, and legal dynamics of its environment, as well as the more traditional product and market-focused concerning their economic and technological environment needs. Management must recognize that business is a component of a broader, continually changing social system. Continued success must be “dynamic” to achieve its enduring goals. That is, it must provide continuous advantage despite changes in the environment, regulatory shifts, technological breakthroughs, or competitive markets. Anticipating possible actions by rivals is critical to delivering sustained success. To maintain sustainable

Out of the many technological advances that we have witnessed in recent times, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) need special mention. These technologies have taken the online gaming market, education, entertainment, e-commerce, and many other fields altogether to a different level. All these technologies are known for their enriched experience that brings together a virtual world and the real one with enhanced, 3-D visuals. While VR provides virtual pictures and characters whereas AR is used to provide a real-life experience for the users. Mixed reality (MR) is a virtual environment combined with the real world; interacts with both the real world and a virtual environment. Extended Reality (XR) / is a mix of VR, AR & MR which amalgamates all these technologies and recreates a completely computer-generated virtual reality of a different alternative world. Special types of equipment such as sensors, computers, special gloves, and headsets are required to create a mesmerizing simulation of any place or person dead or alive. It is now possible that a person can travel across the globe or interact with people from the past via XR technology. A virtual 3-D reality world has now been created by tech giants like Facebook (Now Meta), Google, Apple, Microsoft, Tencent, Huawei, Alibaba, TCS, Infosys, etc. which is now better known as Metaverse. Like the internet, no one will have the absolute rights of the Metaverse, but users around the world can log in and visit any place, or interact with any person virtually by paying a price. The word Metaverse was used for the first time in a futuristic science fiction book called Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson in 1992. Metaverse is taken from two words i.e., ‘Meta’ which means after, or beyond, and ‘Verse’ is taken from the universe. Recognizing the immense power of this 3-D social networking highway Disney has pledged to come up with its version of story-telling without borders. No doubt the concept of Metaverse is still in infancy as the hardware and software requirement to boost the potential of real-life experience will require more powerful computer chips and technologies that still do not exist [1]. As of today, we do have a Microsoft Flight Simulator that can handle 2.5 petabytes and provide a virtual replica of the world, and can be updated in real-time. However, handling billion-plus user in real-time in Metaverse is altogether a different challenge. To create a live vibrant virtual 3-D world we require computational efficiency that should be 1,000-more powerful than what we have today. Google is now exploring various algorithms to design more powerful chips, which could move the idea of Metaverse a step forward. Maybe the quantum computer which is supposed to be 100 million times faster than the conventional computer could be the answer. However, it will still take many more years for quantum computers to be commercially available. Though we have 5G technology available, in the future we will require even faster internet connectivity. Without a powerful internet, Metaverse can never become a reality. Once a sci-fi dream Metaverse is now a reality. Strange things have already started happening in this virtual world, one can now invest in Metaverse and buy land or business space [2]. Recently, JPMorgan, one of America’s largest banks, becomes the first major banking giant to establish itself in the Metaverse by opening a lounge in Decentraland, based on blockchain technology [3]. Barbados is opening a diplomatic embassy in the Metaverse [4]. In this captivating digital world, one may soon play, work, do business, and can have disputes. A new virtual new legal system is emerging and is called ‘Metalaw [5].’ A 43-year-old mother from London was brutally abused by several male online avatars after she logged on to Metaverse’s Horizon Worlds online game [6]. This type of behavior will be a common feature as no policing is available in the virtual world. A new stringent protecting system is required to keep Frankenstein’s monsters of the virtual world at bay. The Indian couple Abhijeet-Sansrati got married in Yug Metaverse (made in India metaverse platform), recently. They tied the knot on February 5th, 2022, and became India’s first couple to get married on a 3-D Metaverse [7]. It is very difficult to predict what exactly the Metaverse will be like 50 years from now. Maybe it will be too addictive [8] and along with children, the adults will also get hocked up to the virtual world for a considerable portion of a day. Maybe the future business and entertainment industry will entirely shift to Metaverse. However, the Metaverse is still under construction and there are currently over 100 job openings in the US on Meta’s careers site. Meta is planning to hire over 10,000 people to construct the virtual-reality world. References: Cherney MA. Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse will require computing tech no one knows how to build. Protocol; Feb 14, 2022. https://tinyurl.com/5n9x24rf How to buy land in the Metaverse investment. Business; Feb 14, 2022. https://tinyurl.com/322un3n9 Birch K. JP Morgan is first leading bank to launch in the metaverse. FinTech; Feb 17, 2022. https://tinyurl.com/49vsstyy Wyss J. Barbados Is opening a diplomatic Embassy in the Metaverse. Bloomberg; Dec 14, 2021. https://tinyurl.com/yc2za9v6 McCollum C. Metalaw: the law of the Metaverse. Jan 24, 2022. https://tinyurl.com/36pactkx First rape case in the Metaverse inspires new digital rules. The Node. https://tinyurl.com/ynx7dfa2 Metaverse weddings, tying knot in the time of Corona. IndiaTechDesk. https://tinyurl.com/4x6kuwns Hughes A. Addiction, crime and data breaches: The metaverse could become a wild west if we’re not careful. BBC Science Focus Magazine; Jan 14, 2022. https://tinyurl.com/58s4rk8r   Dr. Sanjoy Kumar Pal is a Professor of Biology in Skyline University Nigeria. He has a PhD. in Animal Genetics from Indian Veterinary Research Institute, India. You can join the conversation on Facebook @SkylineUniversityNG and on Twitter @SkylineUNigeria

Paraphrasing the words of Frederick Douglas “it is better to be true to myself, even at the point of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false.” Within this context, academic integrity is essential to the overall success of our mission as educators. It provides the basis for proper conduct in students’ lives after graduation. Additionally, many students, teachers, and administrators often adopt the principles of academic integrity as a tool within which the goals of teaching, learning, and research are effective. This knowledge update is an attempt to frame academic integrity in ways that are both positive and pragmatic.  Value education has been given priority by Nigerian governments since independence and is expressed in various policy documents. For instance, The National Policy on Education (2004, p. 8) has put in place a framework for national education goals, in part, as “the inculcation of the right type of values and attitudes.” Those who designed the policy believed that the right values are sine-qua-non “for the survival of the individual and the Nigerian society.” Promoters of this policy from time to time lamented that “lack of academic integrity in the system constitutes a major lacuna.”   Education is peculiar to character first, before skills. Without acceptable character, people can easily apply their skills in negative directions that could harm rather than develop society. As a teacher, I have learned over the years that academicians have spent quality time and resources in developing skills and sharpening professional potentials. However, some do not commensurate efforts in developing their character to conform with the acceptable values that will add to the education system for greater productivity. Teaching is a psycho-social business that goes several steps beyond paper qualification with incursions into the personal psychological dispositions in terms of behavioural antecedents and projections.  The inappropriate approach to the basic tools of scientific inquiry in the educational system also has an imprint on honest academic engagement as well as the question of moral value to the pedagogical purity in our discipline. Today, deceit has become the standard for research and learning, which often affects the quality of education in our contemporary society. In this regard, it is imperative to explore the often less academically addressed subject of academic integrity in communication scholarship. Hopefully, in a short time to come, the knowledge gap in this area across countries and continents shall be given priority by scholars to the strengthening of theory, methodology, and general knowledge based on the subject. To achieve this, the fundamental values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage is the key to this problem of an unproductive educational system.  In reality, the qualitative application and systematic involvement of scholars are fundamental to the wellbeing and professional productivity of any institutional development and growth. It safeguards the physiological, psychological, and physical quantitative approach that promotes ethical, objective, and constructive standards, which in turn guarantees free and fair expression of opinions, ideas, and thoughts. Within the academic integrity framework, dishonesty in the system is considered unethical and illegal, especially the one that affects institutional goals, and that of academic misconduct. Arguably, the essence of education is the molding of values first before skills. Without the adequate value of academic integrity, educational institutions are worthless and the products they produce will be disastrous to society (Saa-Aondo, 2018). Therefore, the ability of any institution to achieve its purposes depends upon the quality and integrity of the academic work that its faculty, staff, and students perform. Academic integrity is one step towards cutting-edge research and knowledge transfer. Incidentally, the level at which academic dishonesty is accelerating needs to be addressed in the educational system. It is better to live with trying to solve the problem of academic dishonesty than to live without trying.  References  NPE (2004). The National Policy on Education. (4th Ed.). Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council.   Saa-Aondo, S. A. (2018). Academic integrity: A value orientation project. Obama Publishers.   Mr. Aondover Eric Msughter, is a Lecturer II in the Department of Mass Communication in Skyline University Nigeria. He has obtained a Master of Science Degree (M.Sc) in Mass Communication from Bayero University Kano, Nigeria. You can join the conversation on Facebook @SkylineUniversityNG and on Twitter @SkylineUNigeria