The World is Flat (Summary)

"The global economic playing field is being leveled." No other statement summarizes Thomas Friedman's book, The World is Flat, A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century, better in my opinion. Thomas Friedman's book is formed around specific dates as listed in Friedman's list of ten forces that flattened the world.

(11-9-89) The first force that Friedman lists is the fall of the Berlin Wall. Friedman suggests that the event not only symbolized the end of the Cold war, it allowed people from other side of the wall to join the economic mainstream.

(8-9-95) The second force Friedman writes about is the introduction of Netscape to the world.  The introduction Netscape and the web made the Internet accessible to everyone, not only computer scientists.

The third force is the development of work flow software.  This development allowed for computers to communicate with each other without human assistance.

Friedman mentions that the first three factors helped build a “crude foundation of a whole new global platform for collaboration.” The developments that followed were the bricks that were built on top of this foundation.

Uploading - Making collaboration possible
Outsourcing - Gave companies the ability to be split into components for the most cost effective functioning
Offshoring - Manufacturer's version of outsourcing.
Supply-chaining - Companies using technology to streamline item sales, distribution, and shipping
Insourcing - Performing services other that the main service that a company provides, for an outside company. (Radio Shack - Sales/Repairs/Cell Phone Liaison)
In-forming - The development of search engines such as Google made information available to everyone
"The Steroids" - Personal electronic devices such as smart phones, I-devices, instant messaging....

All these factors collectively, are Friedman's ten forces that flattened the world.

The impact that globalization will have on today's college students is apparent ex. the shrinking job market.  The college degree will be more valuable in terms of the job market as well.  With outsourcing continuing to gain steam, the lower class jobs will take the biggest hit. The middle class will have to fight tooth and nail for their jobs, and the upper class will reap the benefits of cheap labor due to outsourcing.

#3 One of the most powerful concepts about knowledge economy is the law of increasing returns. Discuss what this concept means to a company or any organization.

The law of increasing returns suggests that for each additional variable input added the output will be disproportionately higher. This is the opposite of the law of diminishing returns that states that at some point for every additional unit input the additional output will become less and less.  The law of diminishing returns is a more widely accepted and almost universal understanding, however the law of increasing returns is especially important in terms of technology.

A system striving to fulfill the law of increasing returns would be a system that, when another variable is added,  demonstrates a higher output. Technology gives businesses the ability to network job stations, thus increasing productivity and profitability.  If an organization can successfully use the knowledge systems that are available to them, the law of increasing returns can become more fact than fiction or myth.  The ability to remain technologically innovative and competitive in a free market economy directly relates to the law of increasing returns, such that the law of increasing returns will remain evident if technology is continually refined and streamlined.

#2 Discuss why innovation is critical to stimulating and sustaining economic growth of a society.

The success of a society relies on the societies' want and ability to maintain either stability in the existing infrastructure, or the societies' ability to keep up with successful societies with similar infrastructures.  There is a distinct difference, in my opinion, that separates successful societies with successful "technologically innovative" societies.  Take, for example, an Amish society whose values in terms of technology are vastly different from the values of a society where the economic system leans very heavily on technology.  The Amish society can still be a successful society due to their lack of reliance on technology.  If a society, outside of special circumstances, expects economic growth through technology they must remain innovative and competitive against societies of a similar structure. 

With the globalizing nature of business, a society must be both progressive and innovative to survive.  Corporate powers could care less if their business gets done in Kansas or Kalamazoo, so to the cheapest and most innovative go the spoils. In this case the spoils are economic success.  If a society that does not have the technology to compete against smarter companies, then their product or service needs to be priced so that the technology gap doesn't matter.

#1 Discuss why knowledge and competence are a critical source of competitive advantage.

It's no secret that the right mix of knowledge and competence will make an employee a valuable resource to companies dealing in any business.  Knowledge and competence are crucial to standing out among the competition.  The business world is structured in a way that makes it very easy for a business to establish itself as a business, which leads to having multiple businesses with the same technologies and the same market. The businesses that stand out to the consumer are the ones with the inventive marketing strategies and competent people executing the inventive marketing strategies.  The knowledge that is required to execute a creative and innovative marketing campaign is the crucial aspect that separates knowledgeable and competent companies from the less innovative, more stagnant businesses that display little or no progression.  The businesses that fail to utilize the resources that are readily available due to knowledge delivery systems, are the businesses that will ultimately loose the struggle to stay viable in a cut-throat business world.

A knowledgeable employee is good.  An employee who has both the knowledge and the competence to use that knowledge is a well rounded employee.  A successful company will have leadership that is well rounded.  The leadership of a company will resonate from the top to the lowest member of the organization, and if that member is equally knowledgeable and competent then the organization as a whole will be operating optimally.