IT & S OCIETY

W HY IS THE WORLD FLAT ACCORDING TO T OM F RIEDMAN ? Opportunities available for everyone connected to participate not necessarily that the economic standards are being flattened

W HAT DOES T HOMAS F RIEDMAN MEANS BY A FLAT WORLD ? More level economic playing field across nations More level economic playing field for firms More level playing field for providers (workers) Elimination of geographic and physical barriers World is smaller & getting more interconnected Globalization is in and it cannot be reversed More dissemination of information More competitiveness and lower prices More people are allowed to participate in the world economy

W HAT DOES IT MEAN TO O RGANIZATIONS THAT THE WORLD IS FLAT ? Horizontal organizations Blur the lines between employees & customers More virtual firms that outsource all its activities

W HAT DOES IT MEAN TO MANAGEMENT IN THE 21 ST CENTURY ? Setting differentiating strategy Creating a culture that is flexible & embraces innovation Setting up resources and creating a framework for evaluating new products & services Forming partnerships with suppliers, employees & customers Hiring & retaining employee

W HAT DOES IT MEAN TO INDIVIDUALS THAT THE WORLD IS FLAT ? More competition for jobs Need to always retrain Need to market ones skills No more life time employment The temporary contracting of skills permeate Need to find a niche or specialization Either become a preferred provider or low cost producer Harder to find a job and harder to keep a job World divided among have (those with marketable skills) and have nots (unspecialized)

I MPACT ON P UBLIC P OLICY More emphasis on education More emphasis on innovation & creativity More coordinated public policy & taxation Creating safety nets for those that can’t play Less emphasis on immigration More power to the people

I MPACT ON WORLD Less cultural differences Less frequency of major wars More in-sink economic cycles More deflation More emphasis on education & differentiation Less centralized control Rise of communities of same interest Decline in power of nation-state

W HAT DOES THE FLAT WORLD MEAN TO THE US? The Negatives: Less immigration Redistribution of wealth No longer a superpower Challenges to education system. Moving people from non-knowledge fields to knowledge fields

W HAT DOES THE FLAT WORLD MEAN TO THE US? The Positives: Flexible workforce Good infrastructure Culture of innovation Acceptance of failure