The World is Flat

The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman explains many of the changes that the world is going through as a result of globalization in the 21st century. The world is changing so fast I don't think Mr. Friedman can even keep up with it in his book. Markets are changing at such a rapid pace it's only the businesses capable of adapting that will succeed in this new global marketplace. We see this with Microsoft needing to buy Yahoo in order to maintain competitive with Google in online ad-based revenue. Outsourcing is a wake up call for people in America that have been dependent on the same old business practices for such a long time. In order to stay on top of all of this innovation we need to continue to invest in education.

Open source software is changing the way businesses work. People are only beginning to realize that media, software and new technology can't be locked down to the point where users have to pay a fee every time they want access to it. Companies like Microsoft have benefited from piracy in that it has given their software a greater share of the market. There are also some serious drawbacks for businesses in a flat world. If a company doesn't stay on top of the latest innovations in its' area of business in many cases the entire company can be replaced by a cheaper version of itself. We see this happening in China all the time. A company will set up business there to sell products to the developed western countries. A cheap clone company will set up right next to it to reverse engineer their product and do business with the developing countries where patent and trademark laws are less stringent. This simply follows rule #1 of what companies live by, "When the world is flat, whatever can be done will be done. The only question is whether it will be done by you or to you."

I enjoyed reading the book and it gives a taste of what to expect with business in the 21st century. I think it's important not to get all caught up in what's the newest thing in technology and to let it take over our lives. Outsourcing is usually beneficial to the countries in which it takes place. For example the Harvard students that started a business in Cambodia provided jobs that are twice the minimum wage there as well as scholarships and an opportunity to learn English. No matter how much the way of doing business changes the basic necessities in life will always be the same like food, shelter and having meaningful relationships.