Its a Flat World Critique - Essay Example

Globalization 1.0 presents countries globalizing, globalization 2.0 presents companies globalizing and globalization 3.0 entails individuals and small groups globalizing. Fried’s argument is based on two major tenets: the ten flatteners of the 1990s and the triple convergence in 2000. Friedman presents the collapse of the Berlin wall, Netscape, workflow software, open sourcing, outsourcing, offshoring, supply chaining, insourcing, and in-forming and the steroids as the ten forces that flattened the world. Friedman further argues that when the ten forces converged in 200, the product was a flat world.

Similarly, in Hans Rosling’s lecture “Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The Joy of Stats”, he explores the development of the world in the past present as well as future using massive quantities of public data. Rosling presents to his audience the tale of the world focusing on 200 countries in 200 years by use of 120,000 numbers within 4 minutes. Rosling also conveys the concept of technological advancement spurring globalization when he issues an example of a technology in San Francisco that keeps the entire city under police watch and helps curb crime. He asserts that statistics is the basis through which human confusion is eliminated and brings out a vivid picture of how the world was, is and will be.

A flat world impacts international businesses in various ways. First, it leads to an increased level of competition because firms can easily get access to new markets across the flat world. Second, it leads to an increase in business opportunities. Finally, it gives rise to multi-national and cross-cultural management, which is a big challenge to managers. Both Rosling and Friedman present how globalization has flattened the world over time. The world has become one level playing field for multinational businesses.