Author: Thomas Friedman

Presented by: Kim Alwood, Cathy Freeman, Bobbie Russel

The World is Flat

How the World Became Flat

The Ten Forces That Flattened the World Collapse of Berlin Wall--11/89: 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. (11/09/1989)

Netscape: Netscape and the Web broadened the audience for the Internet from its roots as a communications medium used primarily by 'early adopters and geeks' to something that made the Internet accessible to everyone from five-year-olds to eighty-five-year olds. (8/9/1995)

Work Flow Software: The ability of machines to talk to other machines with no humans involved. Friedman believes these first three forces have become a “crude foundation of a whole new global platform for collaboration.”

Uploading: Communities uploading and collaborating on online projects. Examples include open source software, blogs, and Wikipedia. Friedman considers the phenomenon "the most disruptive force of all."

Outsourcing: Friedman argues that outsourcing has allowed companies to split service and manufacturing activities into components, with each component performed in most efficient, cost-effective way.

Forces Continued

Offshoring: Manufacturing's version of outsourcing.

Supply-Chaining: Friedman compares the modern retail supply chain to a river, and points to Wal-Mart as the best example of a company using technology to streamline item sales, distribution, and shipping.

Insourcing: Friedman uses UPS as a prime example for insourcing, in which the company's employees perform services--beyond shipping--for another company. For example, UPS itself repairs Toshiba computers on behalf of Toshiba. The work is done at the UPS hub, by UPS employees.

In-forming: Google and other search engines are the prime example. "Never before in the history of the planet have so many people-on their own-had the ability to find so much information about so many things and about so many other people", writes Friedman.

"The Steroids": Personal digital devices like mobile phones, iPods, personal digital assistants, instant messaging, and voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

The Triple Convergence

The Perfect Storm Complementary software, internet, political

factors are the triple convergence As China, Russia, India, and Latin America

opening their borders this lead to the rapid-fire pace of globalization.

For the first time in history talent is more important than geography in determining a person’s opportunity in life.

The Great Sorting Out

Compares the Industrial Revolution to the current IT Revolution.

The traditional roles of consumer, employee, citizen, taxpayer, and shareholder have become blurred and intertwined.

India-Indiana story from 2003. Indian company outsourced to update

Indiana’s unemployment computer system.

America and Free Trade

Encouraging better education and training, as Americans now compete not only with other Americans, but with the most brilliant minds around the globe for positions.

Fear stimulates change (that is a good thing)

The Untouchables

Friedman suggest we must make ourselves “untouchable”

The flatter that the world gets the more digitized, automated, or outsourced things become.

Three broad categories of workers. Synthesizers=Putting together disparate things

that you would not think of as going together. Explainers= Explain the complexity of bringing

disparate things together but explain with simplicity.

Leveragers= Technology to compete with cheaper foreign labor.

The Right Stuff

Friedman stresses the importance of the Right Stuff: Liberal Arts Right Brain Passion and Curiosity

For Job, success, hobby are so much more important than ever before

Navigation Navigate the virtual world

Learning How to Learn. New ways to do old things New ways to do new things.

The Quiet Crisis

Lack of highly skilled scientists and engineers, disinterest in math and science by younger population, lack of ambition as television and video games take over.

Outdated educational system, lack of funding for research, lack of infrastructure while we focus on war and others focus on developing sustainable and innovative business.

Slow process but it is happening as we idolize Pop Stars and other countries idolize Bill Gates

This is Not a Test

Can’t do the same old way. What leadership will shove

political barriers aside and lead us to the forefront of this new globalization.

Training and upgrading to employees, increasing their own productivity and bottom line.

The Virgin of Guadalupe

Chinese manufacture of statues of “The Virgin of Guadalupe”

China replaced Mexico as the U.S’s number 2 importer in 2003

Point : Countries must put policies in place to create the right environment for their companies and entrepreneurs to succeed in a flat world

How Companies Cope

Fadi Ghandor, cofounder and CEO of Aramex, a home-grown package delivery service

Web-based global network cut costs and allowed him to compete with the biggest in the business and come out ahead

Starbucks – Learning from their costumers to use soy milk in the their coffees

How Companies Grow

Companies willing to collaborate and focus on niche markets – staying in front of customers and outsourcing the rest

Point : Best companies use outsourcing as a method of growth, not to shrink their workforce.

The Unflat World

The world is not yet flat – some factors are preventing globalization from occurring in some people/some places

Disempowered people who live in areas touched by the flattening of the world but lack the means, knowledge, and infrastructure to benefit from it – India.

The Unflat World

Warns of a potential threat lurking in the not too distant future : a depletion of our natural resources as people compete to have more and better

Point : The unflat world means different societies and cultures are coming into contact with each other frequently and more quickly than ever before

The Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention

Two countries invested in a business together are less likely to go to war

Asia, as opposed to much of the Middle East has become more stable because they are part of many supply chains

Darker side – Al Qaeda form mutant supply chains for the purpose of destruction

The Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention

Point : We must examine our abilities to derail terrorism by using our capabilities to disrupt the terrorist supply chain

11/9 Verses 9/11

11/9 – Destruction of the Berlin Wall – Door Opening

9/11 – Destruction – Snap shut against outside threat

Point : Technology cannot protect us; we must harness that technology and decide how it will be used.

Globalization of the Local

New forms of communication and innovation create a global platform for the sharing of work, entertainment, and opinion

Enrich and preserve culture? Destroy it? Point : As humanitarians and

business connect online to share ideas, so will terrorist and predators

Closure

We are called to remember who we are to avoid losing our identity in a flat world.

Question : How do you think “The World is Flat” relates to public education?

Activity : Number Heads Together