...------------------------------------------------- Fall 2013 – Mini project “The World Is Flat” November 18, 2013 Part I “The World Is Flat” The Triple Convergence The ten world flatteners mentioned in chapter two of the book “The World is Flat” together shaped a new global platform and embraced a new workflow system. This new platform permitted the world to join forces and interconnect in ways it had never interconnected before. Thanks to this new platform, geography, time, or distance was no longer a barrier for different sides of the world to collaborate. Due to the creation of “complementary software, the internet, and political factors” (Friedman) countries like China, Russia, India and Latin America, opened their borders and led to the fast pace of globalization mentioned by Friedman. Even though these flatteners were created in the 90’s, as they came together, they had to spread, take root, and connect in order to create this flattening. It didn’t just happen overnight. Friedman mentioned in the opening of chapter two talking about his Southwest experience with them giving people the ability to print their own tickets. And then there were multiple companies developing machines that print, fax, scan, email, and make copies. Needless to say these ten factors (flatteners) that were apparently unconnected came together and create a new global platform. This new global platform (web-enabled platform) is a major part of the lives of the people in the...
Words: 3472 - Pages: 14
...2 ICTs AND GLOBAL WORKING IN A NON-FLAT WORLD Geoff Walsham Judge Business School University of Cambridge Cambridge, U.K. Abstract This paper rejects the hypothesis of Thomas Friedman that ICT-enabled globalization is driving us toward a flat world. Instead, it is argued that the world remains uneven, full of seams, culturally heterogeneous, locally specific, inequitable, not well-integrated and constantly changing. This argument is supported by an analysis of three areas of ICT-enabled global working, namely global software outsourcing, global IS roll-out, and global virtual teams. The paper then builds on these analyses to put forward an agenda for future IS research on ICTs and global working based on three research themes: identity and cross-cultural working; globalization, localization and standardization; and power, knowledge, and control. The paper concludes that the area of ICTs and global working offers the IS field a major research opportunity to make a significant contribution to our understanding of a set of crucial issues in our more globalized world. Flat world, globalization, global software outsourcing, global IS roll-out, global virtual teams, IS research agenda, identity, cross-cultural working, standardization, power, knowledge, control Keywords 1 INTRODUCTION The changes taking place in the global economy, including those in the burgeoning services component, are the subject of much debate by a wide range of commentators including journalists, practitioners...
Words: 6849 - Pages: 28
... The international bestselling book The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty First Century by Thomas L. Friedman analyzes globalization in the early 21st century. Throughout the book Friedman helps the reader view the world on a level playing field, where the traditional issues of historical and geographical divisions are becoming irrelevant and all competitors have an equal opportunity. Friedman examines the influences shaping businesses and competition in a technology fueled global environment. Supporting his ideas with interviews, case studies and statistics Friedman sends the message to his readers that they need to be prepared because the flattening world waits for no one. The flattening of the world however is not something that happens over night. In fact this process has been happening over a number of years but has become more noticeable after the turn of the century. Throughout “The World is Flat” you will find Friedman believes are the ten major factors causing the flattening of the world, how the United States should approach the flattening world, and how Friedman comes to his conclusions. Thomas Friedman’s trip to India is where he first notices that the playing field has been leveled and that global knowledge is available to a much larger audience. Friedman argues that the world is “going from size small to size tiny” (10). The flattening of the world entails that we are now connecting all the knowledge centers on the planet together into a single...
Words: 2855 - Pages: 12
...University of the Philippines Lahug, Cebu City The World is Flat Book Review by Thomas Friedman Submitted by: Angelique Kay G. Consular Submitted to: Ms. Mae Claire Jabines Chapter Summaries Chapter One: While I Was Sleeping The first chapter begins by illustrating Friedman's disclosure that the world is flat. It sets forward on his visit to Infosys Technologies Limited in India, where he go on foot with Discovery Times. Friedman is inspired by the grounds' propelled innovation, for example the glass-and-steel edifices and huge even screen Tvs. The organization's CEO, Nandan Nilekani, tells Friedman that the global competitive field seems to be leveled and that that the world is being flattened. From this, we can see that a "flat" world is one in which the "playing field" on which companies contend is presently level. It is one in which companies from different nations can compete with each other on an equivalent basis. Friedman breaks down Globalization into three (3) eras. The first is from 1492-1800, which he calls Globalization 1.0 and it shrink the world from large to medium. Its dynamic force is countries — how much physical strength your country has and how creatively you can move it into action. The second is from 1800-2000, which he calls Globalization 2.0 and creates a small world. It is about the multinational companies. As Friedman argues, we are now in the Globalization 3.0 period where in the world shrinks from small to tiny, flattening to such a...
Words: 3616 - Pages: 15
...relationships among data to create useful information requires ______ knowledge 2 _____ are people who create, use, and disseminate knowledge and are usually professionals in science, engineering, business, and other areas. Knowledge workers 3 Data that can be used for a variety of purposes is said to be ______. Flexible 4 In information systems, _____ is used to make changes to input or processing activities. Feedback 5 ____ consists of computer programs that govern the operation of the computer. Software 6 An _____ is a network based on Web technologies that allows only selected outsiders, such as business partners and customers, to access authorized resources of a company’s intranet. Extranet 7 ____ is (are) considered to be the most important element in a computer-based information system. People 8 ___ involves using information systems and the Internet to acquire parts and supplies. e-procurement 9 A set of integrated programs that manages vital business operations for an entire multisite, global organization. enterprise resource planning system 10 A(n) _____ is an organized collection of people, procedures, software, databases, and devices that support problem-specific decision making. DSS 11 The ______ is an organized collection of people, procedures, software, databases, and devices to create, store, share, and use the organization’s knowledge and experience. knowledge management system 12 _____ is a branch of artificial intelligence...
Words: 535 - Pages: 3
...Journal of Economic Literature Vol. XLV (March 2007), pp. 83–126 A Flat World, a Level Playing Field, a Small World After All, or None of the Above? A Review of Thomas L. Friedman’s The World is Flat EDWARD E. LEAMER∗ Geography, flat or not, creates special relationships between buyers and sellers who reside in the same neighborhoods, but Friedman turns this metaphor inside-out by using The World is Flat to warn us of the perils of a relationship-free world in which every economic transaction is contested globally. In his “flat” world, your wages are set in Shanghai. In fact, most of the footloose relationship-free jobs in apparel and footwear and consumer electronics departed the United States several decades ago, and few U.S. workers today feel the force of Chinese and Indian competition, notwithstanding the alarming anecdotes about the outsourcing of intellectual services. Of course, standardization, mechanization, and computerization all work to increase the number of footloose tasks, but innovation and education work in the opposite direction, creating relationship-based activities—like the writing of this review. It may only be personal conceit, but I imagine there is a reason why the Journal of Economic Literature asked me to do this review. 1. Prologue hen the Journal of Economic Literature asked me to write a review of The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 2005) by Thomas Friedman, I responded with enthusiasm,...
Words: 25516 - Pages: 103
...opposed to doing it themselves. The primary benefits are that companies can become more efficient and cost-effective by doing so. Initially, these may be the primary motivators to outsource, but additional benefits could include better operation control, staffing flexibility, continuity and risk management, and the development of internal staff by temporarily subcontracting new people into the company who could eventually work next to existing employees and train them with a new skill set (operationstech.about.com). The first company, Teleradiology Solutions, which began in 2002, transmits images such as CT’s (computed tomography), MRI’s (magnetic resonance imaging), and x-rays from their home base in Bangalore, India to other parts of the world, particularly the United States, Europe, and Singapore. The company is looking to expand to other places such as Africa. They specialize in elective or subspecialty imaging and the turnaround for reports is generally within 30 minutes. Teleradiology Solutions uses a unique radiology workflow intelligence system called RADSpa ™ (telradsol.com). The second company, ScanCafe, started out as a class project at the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. They scan and enhance old photographs. Increasingly, they are hiring high-end designers to design photo books. Originally, they had planned on doing the work from their offices in San Francisco, but they found the $1.00 per photo enhancement to be cost prohibitive. ScanCafe...
Words: 774 - Pages: 4
...Thomas Friedman talks in his book how the world is getting flatter because the new innovation in technologies have made easier for everyone to communicate with anyone around the world. For example you can have a job interview thru Skype with the employer being in another country or in the same city. Even though there is people that disagree with Thomas Friedman because some believe we are not there yet or because it’s not flat but curve everyone has its own opinion. It is true that it could be that not all the country are part of these new era of globalization and innovations of technology but they are being integrated little by little. I personally agree with Thomas Friedman we can see that there is no more barriers between countries anymore. Those countries that haven't being part of these flatter world sooner or later they will be part and it will only make a bigger flatter world. I also agree with Freidman that these flatter world had created a big outsourcing in America. There is more competition between countries than in another times. The potential impact for students looking for jobs it’s big. The internet had open a new horizon and new ways to search for jobs. Technology has made it easier to search a company to see what they offer and what they do in a very specific way which helps a students prepare for an interview with the company. The enlarged database helps students get a better understanding where the places that are recruiting are personal. Students today have...
Words: 579 - Pages: 3
...Summary of The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman LENGTH: 4976 words HEADLINE: It's a Flat World, After All BYLINE: By Thomas L. Friedman. Thomas L. Friedman is the author of ''The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century,'' to be published this week by Farrar, Straus & Giroux and from which this article is adapted. His column appears on the Op-Ed page of The Times, and his television documentary ''Does Europe Hate Us?'' will be shown on the Discovery Channel on April 7 at 8 p.m. BODY: In 1492 Christopher Columbus set sail for India, going west. He had the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. He never did find India, but he called the people he met ''Indians'' and came home and reported to his king and queen: ''The world is round.'' I set off for India 512 years later. I knew just which direction I was going. I went east. I had Lufthansa business class, and I came home and reported only to my wife and only in a whisper: ''The world is flat.'' And therein lies a tale of technology and geoeconomics that is fundamentally reshaping our lives -- much, much more quickly than many people realize. It all happened while we were sleeping, or rather while we were focused on 9/11, the dot-com bust and Enron -- which even prompted some to wonder whether globalization was over. Actually, just the opposite was true, which is why it's time to wake up and prepare ourselves for this flat world, because others already are, and there is no time to waste. I wish I could say I saw...
Words: 5367 - Pages: 22
...relationships among data to create useful information requires ______ knowledge 2 _____ are people who create, use, and disseminate knowledge and are usually professionals in science, engineering, business, and other areas. Knowledge workers 3 Data that can be used for a variety of purposes is said to be ______. Flexible 4 In information systems, _____ is used to make changes to input or processing activities. Feedback 5 ____ consists of computer programs that govern the operation of the computer. Software 6 An _____ is a network based on Web technologies that allows only selected outsiders, such as business partners and customers, to access authorized resources of a company’s intranet. Extranet 7 ____ is (are) considered to be the most important element in a computer-based information system. People 8 ___ involves using information systems and the Internet to acquire parts and supplies. e-procurement 9 A set of integrated programs that manages vital business operations for an entire multisite, global organization. enterprise resource planning system 10 A(n) _____ is an organized collection of people, procedures, software, databases, and devices that support problem-specific decision making. DSS 11 The ______ is an organized collection of people, procedures, software, databases, and devices to create, store, share, and use the organization’s knowledge and experience. knowledge management system 12 _____ is a branch of artificial intelligence that...
Words: 540 - Pages: 3
...Thomas L. Friedman’s book, The World Is Flat, demonstrates how barriers of competition are impacted through globalization in today’s business world. As companies and economies of all sizes are finding, the modernization and globalization of supply chains, production operations through multinational networks and availability of streamlined IT resources have transformed the competitive landscape into a level playing field. Additionally, firms are now presented with a menu of investment opportunities that span the globe. These investments, which include the purchasing of materials from overseas vendors or stocks from foreign corporations to outsourcing labor, demonstrate the positive and negative effects involved in an increased globalized market place. The practice of outsourcing on the part of firms is a “text-book” example of how the limitations of access to resources and labor are not as relevant as they once were, seeing as how today’s firms can sustain or increase their competitiveness simply by implementing cost-effective measures such as purchasing cheaper goods or hiring a cheaper labor force in foreign markets. One of the most notable statements made by Friedman is that any work that can be digitized will flow to those who are best able to do it. This couldn’t be closer to the truth considering the occurrences during the recession of the past two years. As the economic downturn continued, the profitability of many companies decreased, therefore prompting the managers...
Words: 413 - Pages: 2
...Thomas Friedman discusses how 10 principle concepts, in summary, allow easy transfer of capital and information around the world. His concept, that the “world is flat”, emboldens global competition with the possibilities of an equal ‘playing field’ due to the 10 “flatteners”. Friedman’s main focus was on the equal opportunity for corporate businesses globally, but from a financial market perspective, the ease in which capital flows is also encompassed in the “world is flat” concept. Due to technological advances, the global financial market has been refined with electronic exchanges, networks, institutions, and communications. Each country may have its own financial market, but the world is so closely tied together, causing global affects when one market is prospering or suffering. Currently all eyes are on Europe and the “Euro Crisis” stemming from their uncontrollable debt. There are discussions of a $1 trillion dollar bailout for the 16 “Eurozone” countries, which could ultimately cost and estimated $3 trillion or bankruptcy. Greece and Ireland are in the forefront of the countries in financial ruin. With the media making the entire world aware of these countries financial crisis and their insolvent state, investors are reluctant to continue to buy bonds that may not payoff. These investors are expected to bring in cash flow buy buying bonds so the European country can pay back the bank loans with extremely high interest. European Central Bank, responsible for...
Words: 604 - Pages: 3
...Notes on The World is Flat (Friedman, 2006) Summary and excerpts from Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat (2006) by Bill Altermatt CHAPTER 2: THE TEN FORCES THAT FLATTENED THE WORLD page 1 What Tom Friedman means by the phrase “The World is Flat” is that “the global competitive playing field is being leveled…It is now possible for more people than ever to collaborate and compete in real time with more other people on more different kinds of work from more different corners of the planet and on a more equal footing than at any previous time in the history of the world” (p. 8). Friedman believes that this “flattening” of the world is the result of ten factors, which he outlines in chapter 2 of his book: Flattener #1: “11/9/89, The New Age of Creativity: When the Walls Came Down and the Windows Went Up.” On 11/9/89, the Berlin Wall fell (“the Walls Came Down”) and the citizens of the former Soviet empire were suddenly able to participate in the global economy. Friedman uses the fall of the Berlin Wall as a symbol for a general global shift towards democratic governments and free-market economies (where consumers determine prices based on what they’re willing to pay) and away from authoritarian governments and centrally planned economies (in which prices are set by government officials). India made the conversion from a centrally planned economy to a free-market system two years after the Berlin Wall fell, when its economy was on the brink of collapse. Their annual rate of India’s...
Words: 6157 - Pages: 25
...Definition Globalisierung !!!!!!!!!! Sachtext: Auszüge aus Thomas L. Friedman, The World is Flat The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century is an international bestselling book by Thomas Friedman that analyzes globalization, primarily in the early 21st century. The title is a metaphor for viewing the world as a level playing field in terms of commerce, where all competitors have an equal opportunity. As the first edition cover illustration indicates, the title also alludes to the perceptual shift required for countries, companies and individuals to remain competitive in a global market where historical and geographical divisions are becoming increasingly irrelevant. Friedman himself is a strong advocate of these changes, calling himself a "free-trader" and a "compassionate flatist," and he criticizes societies that resist these changes. He emphasizes the inevitability of a rapid pace of change and the extent to which emerging abilities of individuals and developing countries are creating many pressures on businesses and individuals in the United States; he has special advice for Americans and for the developing world (but says almost nothing about Europe). Friedman's is a popular work based on much personal research, travel, conversation, and reflection. In his characteristic style, he combines in The World Is Flat conceptual analysis accessible to a broad public with personal anecdotes and opinions. Friedman defines ten...
Words: 1895 - Pages: 8
...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...
Words: 2152 - Pages: 9
