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The World Is Flat Summary

In: Computers and Technology

Submitted By mmb0163
Words 2152
Pages 9
Summary
Friedman concludes that the world is flat on a visit to Infosys Technologies Limited in India, where he travels with Discovery Times. Friedman is impressed by the campus’s advanced technology such as the glass-and-steel buildings and large flat-screen televisions. Nandan Nilekani, the company’s CEO, tells Friedman that the playing field has been leveled; now countries like India can compete for global knowledge. Friedman realizes that the world is flat, which fills him with both dread and excitement. Friedman believes there are historically three great eras of globalization. The first was from 1492-1800, which he calls Globalization 1.0; the second was from 1800-2000, which he calls Globalization 2.0. Friedman argues that we are now in the midst of Globalization 3.0 is a period in which the world shrinks from small to tiny, flattening to such a degree that individuals can collaborate and compete globally. Friedman tells the reader that the purpose of this book is to understand how the world became flat as well as the implications of that development. Friedman spends a night in an Indian call center. Twenty-five hundred twenty-somethings work in this multi-floor facility; some are “outbound” operators, selling various items, others are “inbound” operators, tending to the customer-service needs of various companies. Friedman notes that there are about 245,000 Indians working in this industry, which offers them high-paying, high-prestige jobs. Employees are trained how to speak with American, British, or Canadian accents. In India, Friedman visits various technology industries in India and is further convinced that the world is flat and that India is a key player in 21st century global economy. Friedman then visits Japan, where he learns that Dalian, a northeastern port city in China, has become for Japan what India is for the United States--“outsourcing

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