1. IT & S OCIETY

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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)

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

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