. “But Friedman\'s image of a flat earth is profoundly misleading — a view of th
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Question
. “But Friedman's image of a flat earth is profoundly misleading — a view of the world from a seat in business class. Flatness is another way of describing the transnational search by companies for cheap labor, an image that misses the pervasiveness of global inequality and the fact that much of the developing world remains mired in poverty and misery. It also misses the importance of the global geopolitical hierarchy, which guarantees the provision of stability, property rights, and other international public goods. The rise of China and India is less about flatness than it is about dramatic upheavals in the mountains and valleys of the global geopolitical map.”
Question: Do you agree or disagree with this view by a critic, and to what extent? Give reasons and explain your position.
2. “I am working from New Zealand for my company based in Tokyo using Internet, and am also studying at the University of Hawaii for my third masters degree while based in NZ again using Internet. I have to also travel to the Pacific islands for business, but I can email and Skype back to New Zealand to check on my 3 years daughter who is with my husband. With Skype (VoIP) I can make calls to Japan much cheaper than calling from the office in Tokyo. Also my business counterparts, colleagues, friends and family in Japan can make calls to me with domestic calls using Skype. Thus, this book convinced me that I am living in a flat world.”
Question: Give example(s) from your own world (in which you live or work or interact with,) of the world getting flat, how it has affected you, and how your life or work has changed as a result.
3. What qualities enabled India to take center stage when the looming Y2K scenario generated unprecedented demand for programmers? What can other nations learn from India's success in this realm? What are India's greatest vulnerabilities? (Chapter Two, "The World is Flat")
4. In what ways has the Triple Convergence affected your day-to-day life? (Chapter Three, "The World is Flat")
5. Discuss the "Indiana versus India" anecdote, recounted in the second section of Chapter Four, a portion of which is reproduced at the end of this assignment, for your convenience. Which approach benefits Americans more: offshoring state projects and cutting taxpayer expenditures, or paying higher wages to maintain job security at home?
6. Chapter Seven, "The Quiet Crisis," outlines three dirty secrets regarding American dominance: fewer young Americans pursuing careers in math and science, and the demise of both ambition and brainpower among American youth. What accounts for this? What would it take to restore academic rigor and the enthusiasm enjoyed during the "man on the moon" days?
7. Friedman contemplates the cultural traits (such as motivated, educated workers and leaders who don't squander the nation's treasure) that drive a nation's success. He uses this to illustrate why Mexico, despite NAFTA, has become the tortoise while China has become the hare. Does America fit Friedman's cultural profile as a nation poised for prosperity? (Chapter Nine)
Explanation / Answer
1. I agree with the critics point of view that the world is getting flat day by day. Today it is much easier to connect to any part of the world and get the updates from there within a minutes, Today the events from the remote areas also affect the political, economic and social fabric of a hinterland. The new arising world powers, out sourced cheaper labour and skilled man force, wider economic markets and linked geopolitical events only affirm the world getting flatter and flatter.
2. Taking an example from my personal life, i can state very well that the world has become flat. peoples have come very close to each other in terms of connectivity and communication. Using facebook, twitter and other socail media, we can understand the sentiments of people of even other countries for a incident that happens in my country. For example, for the US presidentship election, people all over the world were expressing their views and opinion and it was very easy to monitor and understand which way the wind is blowing. such services and facilities has brought world much closer to its member countries. Today, our decision does not affect only us but a much wider group of peoples.
3. I believe the biggest reason for India's success have been its talented , skilled and english speaking young work force. Majority of India's workforce today is in working age. They speak fluent english, willing to put their knowledge and hardwork into their work and ready to walk extra miles for success. What other countries can learn from India is to be open to learning, being accepting in nature and believing in hard work.
4. The three convergence mentioned in the book are : communication, horizontalisation and globalisation. communication explains how the world has come closer with each other . Horizontalisation describes change in business process based on technology and the globalisation explains the growth and chnage in world economies. Certainly, these convergences have impacted everyones life.Mobile communcation and Internet has become as daily neccessity today. Online marketplace and foreign based companies are a reality in almost all nations. Business process have dramatically became offshore oriented. New economic and business models have completely changed both macro and micro parameters of living.
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