The World Is Flat

Historically, the world has been known to be round. However, with the advancement in technology as well as the development of the globalization concept, some authors have come to perceive the world as “flat.” The world is flat in the sense that through technological advancement as well as globalization, the globe is viewed as a village where there are no geographical or technical limitations that were experienced in the past. In the present world, people from all corners of the globe can interact in real time through the use of the internet and can access unlimited information via their mobile phones. This transformation has also impacted the business sector where presently companies have adopted the new technologies of conducting business. In this paper, the writer shall discuss Friedman’s (2005) views on how the globe turned flat due to developments in technology as well as globalization, the ten flatteners’ agents that caused the flattening as well as how this flattening has impacted the business.
Keywords: Globalization, Technology, flat, business
The World Is Flat
Friedman (2005) explains that lately there has been an enormous investment in technology. In his interview with Nilekani, the Infosys CEO, the interviewee expressed that countries have used funds to create broad bands as well as undersea cables. He further stated that computers have become cheaper as well as widespread and an explosion of software buildings such as search engines and emails. These technological developments have created a platform in which intellectual work and capital could be produced, delivered, distributed and assembled back together anywhere in the world.

This has resulted in freedom in the way individuals work globally. Therefore, the playing field is being leveled, and nations such as India and Singapore can compete for global technological knowledge and work just like the industrialized states (Friedman, 2005). As a result, the world has become leveled “flat” since technological advancement has made more individuals worldwide to collaborate and compete in real time with one another on an equal footing than the past times through the utilization of computers, the internet, fiber-optic and teleconferencing (Friedman, 2005).
He proceeds to discuss the forces that have made the world flat. He cites ten flatteners beginning with the age of creativity in which the fall of Berlin wall caused propagation of capitalism in which economy is directed by people’s interests and aspirations leading to creativity (Friedman, 2005). Secondly, the age of connectivity where computers and the internet were discovered that allowed people to share information as well as the spread of commercial websites. Thirdly, the workflows software in which individuals have created software that enables them to work together from all around the globe. They enable individuals to design, display as well as manage data that were in the past handled manually. Fourth, the author talks of uploading flattener where some technologically savvy communities design and create software then upload to the web for all to use (Friedman, 2005). These people collaborate and also offer ideas and opinions to improve technological advancement. They form sites such as Wikipedia. Further, outsourcing is another flattener where states and companies have been importing technologically savvy individuals to develop their technologies. The companies benefit from the pool of ideas as well as technological knowledge. The author has also cited off sourcing and in sourcing as flatteners (Friedman, 2005). In off sourcing the companies have been moving to states where they can produce cheaply, and in sourcing, small corporations have been made to act big while bigger ones turned small thus leveling the playing field (Friedman, 2005). The world has also been flattened by the supply chain because it forces the corporations to adopt common standards. The search engines such as Google also are flattening agents since they make information available equally to all (informing) and the Personal computers, as well as cell phones, have increased accessibility to the internet (the steroids) (Friedman, 2005).
Friedman (2005) explains that the ten flatteners caused a greater effect in the business world through what he termed the triple convergence approach. In this approach, he states that the impact can be explained in convergence 1, 2 and 3. In the first convergence, in 2000, the ten flatteners began to congregate to operate jointly in systems which established a new flatter of world playground. As the new playground was establishing itself, businesses, as well as people, started to take on fresh practices, competencies, as well as procedures to reap the benefit of the new global playground. Businesses changed from vertical ways of making value to horizontal ways. He mentions that the union of this new global playground for conducting commerce with the fresh means adopted by people to undertake trade is the 2nd convergence that flattened the globe even more. Lastly, as this flattening was taking place, an entire cluster of millions of individuals moved out of the global playground in India, USSR, and China. However, due to the new flat globe plus its new instruments, these individuals speedily cooperated as well as competed with everybody (the 3rd convergence).
In conclusion, Friedman (2005) recommends ‘that companies to adopt outsourcing approach so as to obtain knowledge capacity to expand their business quickly. From this recommendation, companies should thus, outsource services such as recruitment and training of employees that shall enable it to make the right choice on whom to employ as well as offer proper training focused on its objectives. Further, he recommends collaboration. In my view, employees should be trained to appreciate all cultures since the current business world is characterized by globalization in which people from all cultures collaborate through the internet to work. The big companies must learn to act small and make their clients act big. Therefore, employees should be trained in skills that would get them appreciate customers by creating a stage which permits the client to serve himself in his personal manner, pace and as per his preference.
References
Friedman, T. L. (2005). The world is flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century. Macmillan.