Thomas Friedman has some very interesting thoughts on globalization and in his words, the "flattening" of the earth. His book, "The World is Flat" discusses a number of concepts that pertain to the spread of innovation as well as the globalization of technology and competition.
Wired Magazine has a summary that presents some of the concepts in an article "Why the World is Flat".
What do you think about these concepts?
How do they apply to the subject of "Technological Innovation"?
Is the world becomming flat, or is it already?
Gene A. Wright
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7 comments:
Q1 - Technology has flattened the earth. People in all areas of the globe are becoming more powerful as technology advances.
Q2 - The options that companies have when looking at strategies are limitless, regardless of the product, industry, or service they provide. The technological innovation has increased the wealth of many people on both sides (both suppliers and users).
Q3 - The world is "flat" and getting smaller and an increased sense of "level" is occurring. As technology advances and costs decrease more people will posses it (technology). Cell phones, pda's, wireless networks and local hotspots bring people together. These have all change the structure of the American workplace as we know it.
Overall I thought it was an interesting read. Very good points were made in this interview with Thomas Friedman.
The most striking point Friedman makes in this interview is the mention of how he's not particularly optimistic about the US. He stated, "…the kind of competition our kids will face will be intense and the social implications of not repairing things will be enormous."
When watching the news, it’s always discouraging to hear how schools are underperforming. Also, from several friends who work as teachers, I hear that a lot of the problems are due to kids just not caring about their education. Parents are doing their children a disservice by not promoting education as a top priority.
If we, as a nation, are not competitive in the flattened global market, someone will be there to take our place. That will leave us feeling mightily sore to watch the global economy pass us by.
It was indeed an interesting article. Earlier competition between an entrepreneur was between how fast they are out with the product and on technology but now with the global collaboration now the competition is between how fast one can be global to be successful. Talk about top Healthcare companies like GE, Siemens, Philips, and Toshiba all of their headquarters is outside USA. Today even the financial analysts will be confident in predicting a market is on how global and cross functional is the company. Of course there are many more parameters to than that. But the concept of the world is flat is indeed so true.
I agree with Friedmen, and technological innovation along with time has driven it. However, I disagree with his idea that two countries that trade together won't go to war with each other. There are more factors in this world than commercial trade.
The world is not totally flat yet. If the world was totally flat, then language, governmental, and cultural barriers would be minimal. I'm talking about a world government, but all barriers would be reduced. There would be a common understanding on how to do business throughout the world.
I will be using his quote, "Finish your homework. People in India and China are starving for your job," on my kids. I believe this is very true.
I have two Indian firms that I currently use for engineering, and I am starting to see a dramatic increase in their rates. If this continues, India will no longer be a cost effective region to look to. We have a plant in China, and we are also seeing this happen there. Local workforce competition is fierce. Good for the workforce, but not for the employer. Knowledge Management is a problem for those countries, just as the US. Maybe the country the figures out that problem will rise to, or stay at the top?
I like Adam T. find the quote “Finish you homework. People in India and China are starving for your job,”. This is very true. GE Healthcare is moving many engineering design jobs to India. I only see this increasing and I think someday in the near future they will have my job too.
As for kids today they are going to find it really tough out there. With change happening quickly and all the open doors of communication such as cell phones and the Internet kids will need to change. Soon a high school diploma will be useless. Parents as well as communities need to really start evaluating the school structure and how schools operate. Today’s U.S. kids are not being prepared for what is out there.
RB
Of the ten great levelers selected by Friedman only one is change to a physical location, the remaining are all ideas and concepts that have transformed the way the workplace operates. As we are improving our abilities to communicate with the entire world, the young are believe that they are learning that it won’t take much to accomplish “work” in the future. It is less likely that those in the workforce today feel that they are as entitled as the children who are growing up in our society and are entitled to everything. Hopefully the ones that understand the realities of life and the flatting world will be the smart ones that keep us shining.
akk
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