Book Review I read the book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman. Freidman makes a lot of interesting points throughout the book that describes the “flattening” of the world. He believes our advancements in technology have brought us to a point in history where individuals can collaborate and compete globally. In chapters 1-4, Friedman, while on a tour of Infosys Technologies Limited in India, is stunned the campus has constructed glass and steel buildings and is equipped with advanced technologies such as large flat-screen televisions. Later that day, Freidman visits an Indian call center filled with 2,500 young people each selling items or providing customer service support over the phone for various companies. Each customer support …show more content…
He discovers McDonalds has a single call center in Colorado that takes orders from customers over the phone for restaurants that operate in three states. Friedman continues to present other evidence that there are multiple “forces” that are flattening the world. The first flattener occurred on November 9, 1989, the fall of the Berlin wall. This event is significant because it allowed knowledge to flow freely in places such as India, Brazil, and China. The second flattener occurred on August 9, 1995, the date that Netscape went public. Friedman describes two components that allowed people to communicate globally, the Internet, a service that allows computers to communicate, and the World Wide Web, which houses larges amounts of information. The third flattener occurred in the mid 1990s, the advent of work flow software. Work flow software allowed people that were geographically separated to collaborate with each other very quickly. Web standards such as HTTP, HTML, XML, and SOAP were developed so businesses and entire continents could speak the same language. The fourth flattener
“Longitudes and Attitudes”, written by Thomas Friedman, is a collection of columns, broken by September 11th’s great catastrophe and including material from his diary. The book displays his outstanding strengths as a commentator along with a few weaknesses.
"Flatland" is a story of depth, and the lack there of. The tale of A. Square's ventures through Pointland, Lineland and Spaceland ultimately reveal to him the possibilities of the seemingly impossible. In this case, the "impossibilities" are the very existence of other dimensions, or worlds.
In 1968, Karl Polanyi argued that ‘ the human economy... is embedded and enmeshed in institutions, economic and noneconomic’. To some extent, this argument can be used to support the issues raised in an article published in ‘the Guardian’. The article was in relation to the slowing down of china’s economy, and the implications that would inevitably affect developing and emerging markets around the world. Polanyi’s argument can assist in understanding why a Chinese slow down has occurred, and the extent in which it will affect global economies. The article raises many questions such as why china’s economy is so important in global economics, and what implications could take place if china’s economy gets worse.
Effectively established a better understanding on how the 21st century impacts the role of women when it comes to caretaking. The article “Families and Elder Care in the Twenty-First Century” by Ann bookman and Delia Kimbrel, explains why work-life balance is so important to the Gen Xers, because there is a large population of the baby boomers that will require caretaking. It is important for originations to understand their employees needs to care for their family member, and provide them with flexibility to do so. Organizations who are reluctant to adapt, will decrease their new hires due to this becoming a motivational need most people will look for, like they look for security today.
In the article "The world as Polder: What does it mean to Us Today" Jared Diamond mentions how life on earth is a system of living up stream and down stream. This is seen when Diamond mentions how Eskimos who are not around chemical manufacture, but instead in remote areas. Tend Suffer the most from toxic chemical poising since they are surrounded by all the toxic chemical waste the first world countries do not dispose of properly. Diamond also mentions how the East Islanders and the Classic Maya society along with other societies could not have known the damage they were causing, since they did not have other societies to learn from. However, our current societies do yet many choose not make a difference in the world if that change will
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.
Milton Friedman’s ideas where thought to be radical, but he was the most authoritative figure in the economics field in the 20th century, (Placeholder2) and was known most for his thoughts on free enterprise, classical liberalism and limited government. (Placeholder3) His views shaped modern capitalism. (Placeholder2) He was against government intervention and favored free markets (Placeholder6).
The phrase: "the world is flat" can be interpreted in many ways. Basically what Friedman means by "flat" is "linked." The falling of trade and political barriers and technical advances have made it possible to do business, instantaneously with billions of other people around the world. It has allowed for parts of the world, which had previously been cut off, like China and India, to successfully compete in the world market. Thus, the playing field is being leveled, and no one nation has an advantage. Friedman could also refer to a "flat world" in a metaphorical sense. In a spherical earth you cannot see around the world and cannot recognize the opportunities far from where you live. If the world were flat you could see it all. There would be no barriers to get in your way. This is the equivalent to a smaller globe which allows one to reach far away opportunities.
... The history of the internet takes us back to the pioneering of the network and the development of capable technologies. The explosion of the internet’s popularity in the 1990’s was large and dramatic, boosting our economy and then helping to bring it into a major recession. One can only hope that the explosion becomes organized and slightly standardized in the interest of the general public.
Globalisation can be construed in many ways. Many sociologists describe it as an era in which national sovereignty is disappearing as a result of a technological revolution, causing space and time to be virtually irrelevant. It is an economic revolution, which Roland Robertson refers to in his book ‘Globalisation’ 1992 pg 8, as “the compression of the world and the intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole”. It is argued that globalisation allows the world to become increasingly more united, with people more conscious of ethnic, societal, civilizational and individual aspects of their lives.
“The world is a global village”, is a metaphor that was coined by the Canadian scholar Marshall McLuhan to describe the perceived experience of a smaller world resulting from the effects of modern technology, faster communication and improved transportation, despite geographical boundaries (1). The various processes that have produced this phenomenon can be called globalization. There are many definitions of the term globalization; Delbruck 1993 defined globalization as "a process of denationalization of markets, laws and politics, in the sense of interlacing people and individuals for the sake of common good"(2). Fidler 1996 aptly described globalization as a complex process of, “political and economic intercourse between different sovereign states” on the premise that such interdependence will result in states being better off and as such building stability, peace and order in the international scenario(3). Globalization has resulted in a gradual erosion of the traditional distinction of national and international activities through political, social and economic interaction between different countries, leading to a fusion or overlap of domestic and foreign policies(4). However, globalization differs from internationalization, the latter referring to a process where each country attempts to fulfil their national interest by co-operating with other countries in areas where they are incapable of achieving desired outcomes on their own(3) . Its key points are co-operation between states, while preserving sovereignty. Globalization on the other hand entails co-operation and undermines the sovereignty of nations.
Robert D. Kaplan’s article “The Coming Anarchy," is best summarized by the following quote, which identifies the different factors that he evaluates throughout his article, “To understand the events of the next fifty years, then, one must understand environmental scarcity, cultural and racial clash, geographic destiny, and the transformation of war.” (Kaplan, 1994) This is the framework that he uses to make his supporting arguments and thus this summary will be broken down into these four main parts.
...in the new “flat world” individuals need to figure out how to become “untouchable.” He explains that “untouchables are people whose jobs cannot be outsourced, digitized, or automated” (184). He explains that in a “flat world” there is no longer a job based solely on geographic, but rather in most cases an available job “will go to the best, smartest, most productive or cheapest worker-wherever he or she resides” (183). He goes on to show that companies and individuals have to look at the global picture today in order to succeed (183).
The history of the internet shows that the internet is not a new medium. The internet was initially created in the 1960's to as a way for the United States to stay connected in case of a nuclear fallout due to the possible consequences of the Cold War. F...
First of all, Friedman talks about the different levels of globalization. There are 3 different time periods in which the society has differed and changed, bringing us to where we are today. Globalization 1.0, which took place from 1492 to 1800, was the first step to making the world flatter. The coming to America, and the industrial drive that came along with this is what most characterized globalization 1.0. The industry drive was about things such as manpower and horsepower, and how well we could utilize these in the world market. This caused the world to “shrink” a little bit, and become flatter. With the discovery of a new world, it broadened the area in which business was conducted, but the commonality of rule and trade caused the distance to be spanned more frequently. I think Friedman’s notions regarding globalization 1.0 is very accurate. The world in our terms began in 1492 with the discovery of North America. Once the area began to be inhabited and settled, there was much more worldwide interaction. Communications and trade between the American colonies and England increased, and this began a more stable business of worldwide association. I believe that Friedman’s theory is true, because the discovery of a land across the ocean for th...