World Is Flat: Great Sorting Out
The World is Flat: The Great Sorting Out
Summary
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).” Friedman interviewed Harvard political theorist Michael J. Sandel about the issue of globalization. Sandel tells whether globalization is more like exploitation of international workers. Friedman looks at a situation where an Indiana company outsourced its unemployment computer system to India. It brought the question of whether the people from India were being exploited for their services or they were just given jobs they may not have had. The outsourcing essentially took jobs away from Indiana and gave work to people in India. There, Friedman acknowledges that flattening world could be bad to some people. According to Sandel, a flattening world could be good for business. Labor is cheaper and money can be saved in the process. But it can also hurt individuals and societies, like those in Indiana. They department was to help the people of Indiana from the effects outsourcing and now it was being given to Indians. There is also the situation where companies “stop and start.” Companies will have to adapt to different values in flat world. They will have to “make the most of global opportunities and global resources (Friedman 243)” to compete in a flat world. Friedman takes a look at the relationship between companies and where they are operating. He says that
Summary
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).” Friedman interviewed Harvard political theorist Michael J. Sandel about the issue of globalization. Sandel tells whether globalization is more like exploitation of international workers. Friedman looks at a situation where an Indiana company outsourced its unemployment computer system to India. It brought the question of whether the people from India were being exploited for their services or they were just given jobs they may not have had. The outsourcing essentially took jobs away from Indiana and gave work to people in India. There, Friedman acknowledges that flattening world could be bad to some people. According to Sandel, a flattening world could be good for business. Labor is cheaper and money can be saved in the process. But it can also hurt individuals and societies, like those in Indiana. They department was to help the people of Indiana from the effects outsourcing and now it was being given to Indians. There is also the situation where companies “stop and start.” Companies will have to adapt to different values in flat world. They will have to “make the most of global opportunities and global resources (Friedman 243)” to compete in a flat world. Friedman takes a look at the relationship between companies and where they are operating. He says that