1. What is it about the flat world that both excites Friedman and fills him with dread?…
In this chapter, Thomas Friedman looks at how cultures and societies will have to deal with and adapt to the changes that globalization brings to the way of doing business. It affects whole companies and individuals. He gives the perception of the world is flattening by comparing the Industrial Revolution to the IT Revolution that is happening right now. The flattening process was identified by Karl Marx and Frederich Engels in the Communist Manifesto, published in 1848. Marx’s writings about capitalism state “the inexorable march of technology and capital to remove all barriers, boundaries, frictions, and restraints to global commerce (Friedman 234).”…
The Flatteners The book is about two main themes: The 10 flatteners and the effects of flattening on the world (triple convergence). It describes the journey from Globalization 2.0, spearheaded and dominated by companies to Globalization 3.0 where individuals are…
In his article, “The World is Flat, After All”, Friedman discusses the progression of the world via Globalization. Starting from the initial age of Globalization between 1942 and 1800 when countries were globalizing for resources and imperial conquest, to the secondary age with the corporate revolution (1800-2000), and finally, to today’s era of globalization that is not limited to where you live, what race you are, or how much money you have. Each stage of globalization brought about change by new technologies used in business and everyday life. The article highlights multiple points in history where cutting edge technology further globalized the world, such as the Microsoft Windows operating system, the undersea-underground fiber network, and the use of outsourcing. The most important part of Friedman’s article “The World is Flat, After All” is that the playing field for people, businesses, and countries is being leveled through globalization due to the many technological…
Arguments supporting the “flat world theory” come mainly from Friedman. His argument rests on the assumption of ten flatteners and a triple convergence. Friedman says that the power of new information technology has helped bring the world closer together and has made it more interconnected and interdependent (Friedman, 2005). More people now have access to this technological platform for education, innovation and entrepreneurship (Friedman, 2005). However, Florida (2005, p.51) argues that this flat playing field mainly affects the advanced countries, which see not only manufacturing work but also higher-end jobs. Other developing or undeveloped countries simply do not have the luxury of this connection and are left out of this technological platform. Florida (2005, p.51) contends that “...there are more insidious tensions among the world’s growing peaks, sinking valleys, and shifting hills”. This inequality is growing across the world and within countries.…
Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century is a bestselling book in which he examines an in depth analysis of globalization in today’s world. It is called the world if flat because it is actually a metaphor for looking at the world as a level playing field in terms of business where all of the competitors have equal opportunities. In this book, Friedman talks about ten different factors that play an important role in explaining why exactly the world is flat. The first of these “flatteners” was the collapse of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. He refers to this in the book with the statement, “When the walls came down, and the windows came up”. This event marked the end of the end of the Cold War, which in turn permitted people from the other side of the wall to join the economic mainstream. This date in time also marked the fall of communism and the ever so great impact that Windows PC has had on individuals to be innovative and creative and connect with one another. It was during this time that the standard for all computer platforms was created. The standard included the following: IBM PC, Windows Operating System, a graphical interface for word processing, dial up modems, a standardized tool for communication, and a global phone network. The second “flattener” as stated in the book was “Netscape”. Netscape went public at a price of $28 dollars on August 9, 1995. Netscape and the World Wide Web made it possible for everyone to enjoy the Internet from kids to elderly people and not just computer geeks. The Internet and digitization made it possible for all types of media to be shared all across the world. The third “flattener” is called the Workflow software which he claims to be the “genesis moment of the flat world” because of the standards and technologies that allowed work to flow between people in an extremely seamless manner. The ability of machines being able to…
Technology has also enabled the world to become more interconnected, beyond the economic sphere, with greater access to information and communication which is having a profound impact on societies. The International Labour Organisation has the following view:…
In chapter 15, as the world became flat, some parts of the world remained unflat because they could not participate in the flattening process. The unflat world consisted of developing nations while the flat world consisted of developed nations. Since the unflat world could not participate, it has kept them unadvanced, stagnant, and deprived. Rural Africa, China, India, and Latin America were left behind because their nations were plagued with diseases due to their broken government system being unable to treat and prevent these conditions, which has kept these nations sick, dying, and stuck in poverty. In other parts of rural China, India, and Eastern Europe, where people were healthy but poor and stuck between the unflat and the flat world,…
1. “But Friedman’s image of a flat earth is profoundly misleading – a view of the world from a seat in business class. Flatness is another way of describing the transnational search by companies for cheap labor, an image that misses the pervasiveness of global inequality and the fact that much of the developing world remains mired in poverty and misery. It also misses the importance of the global geopolitical hierarchy, which guarantees the provision of stability, property rights, and other international public goods. The rise of China and India is less about flatness than it is about dramatic upheavals in the mountains and valleys of the global geopolitical map”…
According to Thomas L. Friedman, the author of The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, the current state of globalization has occurred due to three crucial three eras. The first era is classified as “Globalization 1.0”. It began with the emergence of trade between “the Old World and the New World” marked by Columbus’ exploration in 1492 and lasted until 1800 (Friedman 9). During this period, countries sought to define themselves by the level of manpower and ingenuity they possessed, and how skilled they were at utilizing their resources. The motivating force of globalization among countries was to secure their place in global commerce by finding ways to work with others. This era was significant because countries changed from being self-contained to more…
Mr. Thomas Friedman has a theory that he calls “flat earth” he speaks in many places and too many different people about this theory. No, this man has not lost his mind going around the country telling people that the earth is flat and if you get too close to the edge you will fall off. Mr. Friedman is elaborating on what he means by basically that the world is an even playing field for anyone in it. He is trying to get the point across that we have the same tools as everyone else, and this can help us achieve our goals and put our possible ideas out there and see what can happen.…
2. Friedman mentions that the world has “flattened” in Globalization 3.0. What does “flattening” mean, and what are the key technologies that flattened the world? (3 points)…
2. 2.0 early 1800-2000 corporations globalizing, going global through companies, world going from medium to small…
In Part I, “How the World Became Flat,” Friedman visits India, where he realizes that the playing field has been leveled, meaning that a much larger group of people can compete for global knowledge. He pursues examples of this metaphor in other places, such as Iraq, China, Japan, and the United States. Friedman argues that there are primarily ten forces that flattened the world and describes each of the following “flatteners”: 11/9/89, the fall of the Berlin Wall; 8/9/95, or the date that Netscape went public; work flow software; uploading; outsourcing; offshoring; insourcing; in-forming; and the steroids. Next Friedman explores what he calls “the triple convergence,” or the way the ten flatteners converged to create an even flatter global playing field. The first convergence encompasses how the ten flatteners came together in such a way that they created a global, Web-enabled platform that allows for multiple forms of collaboration. The second convergence is the appearance of a set of business practices and skills that make the most of the ten flatteners, thus enhancing the flatteners’ potential. The third convergence is the entrance of some three billion people onto the playing field. The triple convergence is likely to cause some chaos and confusion. Friedman argues that “the great sorting out” will recalibrate the ceilings, walls, and floors that define us. Some questions that arise during the great sorting out are: what should be the relationship between companies and the communities in which they operate?; how do we navigate our multiple identities as consumers, employees, citizens, taxpayers, and shareholders?; who owns what, particularly in the case of intellectual property?…
The information and communication technology (ICT) revolution, because of its pervasiveness throughout the whole realm of human activity, has brought out a new shape in the economy, society and culture. In the past few decades, ICT has transformed the world. It’s potential for reducing poverty and fostering growth in developing countries has increased rapidly. By connecting people and places, ICT has played a vital role in national, regional and global development. In the last decade, information and communication technologies (ICT) have become the major factors of growth and development throughout the World. ICT is leading the vast technological revolution based on electronic computers, software, microelectronics, the Internet, and mobile telephones3. ICT has formed the core of the new techno-economical paradigm and centered itself to becoming new techno-economical paradigm leader. In 2003, despite the recent dotcom market collapse accompanied by even larger decline in the value of global telecommunication companies, the world’s adoption to ICT is constantly growing. The adoption to ICT and the avoidance of the emergence of digital divide has become critical for both developed and developing world. Finding the ways to make ICT part of the solution rather than part of the problem is challenging the nation states and international organizations4. It is widely believed that ICT carries enormous potential in establishing technical and organizational innovations, to reduce costs and change the quality of capital…