The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman - Essay Example

Why I agree with "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman The book The World is Flat was written by Mr. Friedman (Friedman, 2005) as eye opener to the American Community. Due to the advent of the internet and the invention of the jet planes, people can travel faster from one corner of the world to another country. People can now offer their services and products and at the same be paid just by their using the internet. The essay below explains in detail why I agree with Thomas Friedman’s impression that due to the borderless economy we are in now, the World in Flat. The Japanese, Chinese and Indians or Hindus are part and parcel of this World is Flat economy. According the Thomas Friedman, the recent series of technological and economic factors have been pooled together since the year 2000 with the improved organizational and personal capacities plus the additional of more new players (nations) in the worldwide economic playing field has created a huge impact on the American economic Community like a tsunami. This Tidal wave will continue to change the lives of many Americans for more than a decade. The Friedman book is a wake up call for Americans to adjust otherwise; they will be overcome, economically by Japan, China and India. The world is flat simply means, according to Friedman, that new world order will be such that old hierarchies and power arrangements will be swept aside and the economic playing field will be leveled FLAT so that there will be more players coming from far away places, including marginal or third world countries. The third world countries can now take advantage of the benefits of HIGH advances in technology and productivity. A very good example of the FLAT world concept of Friedman is the DOT-COM bubble. Dot-com is the onset of the internet age. A person can now talk, some call it chat, with other persons and receive and send information from one corner of the world to the farthest point thru the internet. Some quarters say that the internet age has resulted to the BUST of some American companies. This is true because now that the world is FLAT, economic players from China and India can compete for the manufacture of amenrican products. Due to the high wages and other operating costs of maintaining factory producing American goods, the American businessmen can now put up its offices in China and India where wages are ten times or more lower than the average American worker’s earnings. For the American employees, this is a bust because it will add their unemployment situation. For the American businessmen, they will generate huge profits from the low labor wage and low costs of operating a factory in China or India. For the Chinese and Hindu nation, they are the winners in this bust situation because they are now hired and paid wages that are very much higher than the average Chinese or Hindu wage. The pride of working in a Multinational company is such a ego boosting to the Chinese and Hindus. A good example of his THE WORLD IS FLAT philosophy is Mr Friedman’s stories of many foreign companies that cropped up to provide the technological services to American enterprises is the case of An American Income tax company outsourcing its basic income tax return filings to companies based in India. The National language of India is English where communication is not a problem. The Indian employees are paid around ten times lesser than the average American worker. This cost savings for the American company will result to lower American selling prices and / or increased company profit. This only shows that workers in the third world countries, including china can be trained to produce goods and service that is at par or even better than the ones produced by the American workforce. This is made possible by the internet and other improvements in technology. This clearly shows that the American industrial footing as the “big dog on the block” has been successfully questioned by the third world countries in terms of quality and speed and the most important criteria which is COST. This is a wake up call for the American public. The Americans must now double their efforts to prevent the economic takeover of the third world countries of their market share. They must outperform the Hindus and Chinese. The Americans are, according to Mr Friedman, now being humbled by the hardworking but lowly paid Hindus of India and the Chinese. His theory that the world is flat means, according to Mr. Friedman, that there must be global economic cooperation among nations. He even sets a worst case scenario where the Indians and Chinese will dominate the Americans in some economic arenas. In order to decrease, if it can not be eradicated, this worst case scenario, We, Americans, must get our act together. He further states that the American’s dominating force in the International Basketball Scene has been deminished in our present time. Mr. Freidman hopes for the future date when the GLORY DAYS when the American worker and workplace was number one will return. In this FLAT world, Mr. Friedman states that the American workforce and the American companies themselves must be at its tip top shape since it must play to win the economic race with foreign companies. The American must win at all cost or else be losers for life. The Americans must not rest. For the incoming Third world goods is world reknown to be cheaper and sometimes of better quality than the American competiting goods and services. If we take for example the car industry, Japanese companies, like Toyota and others, have put up its car assembling factories in the United States. The Japanese cars are far more cheaper than their American competitors because Japanese cars are smaller and therefore their total gasoline expenses are lesser than their American counterparts per mile. Because of this FLAT world, Americans must now do everything in its power in order to maintain its number one position in the economic world. There will be more sleepless nights and each work must be done with the intention of continually improving its quality and speed must be its priority so that more products will be made and sold. Mr. Friedman even mentions that the Europeans have more holidays with a possibility that lesser products are produced as compared to American companies with fewer holidays. In short, Globalization is about competitive efficiency. Mr. Friedman espouses that Life is more than efficiency. The world needs spices so that life to keep away boredom. The downsides and the stresses of globalization is one of those beautiful spices of American economic life. The complexities of this world where it is FLAT, according to Mr. Friedman, has created a big BORDERLESS economy. In this FLAT world, Mr. Friedman states that the United states must also be selfsufficient. He believes that the world economy is affected by the presence political system more than the economic system. He also said that at times, the FLAT world that we are in is also affected by countries that do not have political systems. He emphasizes that the United States must be self sufficient. This self sufficiency includes the self reliance on its own fossil oil and the reduction of importing oil and other goods from other nations. He reiterates that the American society must double or even triple its efforts in the field of science and technology in order to maintain its number position as supplier of goods and services to the world, including its inhabitants. According to Mr. Friedman, for those people who can not catch up with the game of modern technology due to the fast paced transfer of goods and services ( Jet planes can now deliver these goods and services from one far corner of the globe to the other farthest point in lesser time than ten years ago) and transfer of information to and from clients, customers, friends and others thru the use of the internet, fax machine, cell phones and the like fall will be grouped under the classification “the world is round”. They are still clinging to the old ways because they do not want change due to one reason or another. In general it is common knowledge that most older people do not want change because change entails study and learning of new methods, ways, procedures and processes of accomplishing assigne tasks. The young generation, in general, want to experiment with a new style, method, process, instruction and the like because this is equivalent to being INDEPENDENT. In the Middle East, according to Mr. Friedman, the government structure curtails freedom to enjoy the new development brought about by this FLAT world. A disadvantage that Mr. Friedman states is that, the FLAT WORLD, that he describes as actually on an ongoing experimental process, terrorism is one of its beneficiaries. There is a story that Bin Ladin’s message indicating he will do his best to defeat the Americans is televised around the world as relevant news. Friedman mentioned that terrorists can contact and even send funds from one secret place to another hiding place for the study and implementation of its plans. Through technology, on September 11, a few years back, some planes were hijacked by terrorist elements and were used to crash the twin towers in New York and a part of the United States government facility. In the Wal-mart and Costco trade war, Mr. Friedman states that Wal-mart was able to lower its selling prices of its products sold through implementation of an efficient work procedure. This efficiency was in conflict with labor rights. This means that if the workers are not efficient enough, they will be replaced or terminated. Lesser employees will result to lesser workers to be paid. Due to the FLAT WORLD situation, Wal-Mart must now make an agreeable guideline between efficiency and workers’ benefits. Wal-Mart policies must be made using global criteria by asking all parties concerned to find a solution to the issue of lack of information, instability and inequality. Thomas, Friedman’s The World is Flat strongly warns the American society that it is greatly at risk of being toppled economically by Japan, China and India. The internet has broken down the border between countries. Everything is a level market place. The companies and people from these three foreign countries can compete for the same American market which is being serviced by American companies. A previous example is the Japanese car. It has been a very big threat to the American cars because it is smaller and priced lower. A smaller car runs on lesser gasoline per mileage resulting to lower gasoline costs. Due to the decrease in trade barriers between countries and lesser labor restrictions, TheAmerican companies are suspensefully on their toes trying to find why this FLAT world has put them in such a big disadvantage. Globalization has brought millions of young professionals from these three countries into the world economy. This is called as the FLATTENING OF THE PLAYING FIELD by Mr. Friedman. This new economic field opens up opportunities for billions of people around the world where they are contracted to used their full professional expertise in various fields like, engineering, accounting, management, consultancy and the like will be fielded together in a level playing field so that the foreign professionals can help in the economic upliftment and fulfillment of the American dream. The inventions and innovations from the third world countries can be harnessed in full advantage by the American consumer. In the same light, all inventions and innovations that American society has developed will be of very good help to the third world economies. The Americans will, over-all, have the net advantage in this FLAT world because their ability to adapt to the new and challenging FLAT world will bring them a bright future economically. The Flattening of the world started in the 1970s and the 1980s. The American companies decided to transfer their labor intensive factories to the third world countries in order to save on wages paid to its workers. The labor wage in India and other countries are ten times lower than the minimum wage put into law in the United States. Calculating taxes and evaluating insurance claims and reading CAT scans and providing powerpoint help were assigned to India, Poland and China where the wages were very much lower and the quality was, in most cases, very much higher than the quality of products produced by American factory workers. Bill Gates stated that they will try to look for professionals and talents Whether from China, India or anywhere and hire them because in this borderless world, work can be transferred from one corner of the globe to another just by the click of the mouse (use of the internet). Today you do not need to stay in the United States to be work in the United States because of Bill Gates’ vision of a one borderless world through the internet. On the other hand also, you do not need to go to a foreign land to work there. You can sit by the beach in Florida, using a laptop, work on a building project for Canada. The American feeling that it once dominated the economic world is coming to an end, unless some drastic attitude and work adjustments will be made. And such adjustment will start in the classrooms, then the community will follow, and finally the entire United States. But anyway, the United States is still superior militarilly. Based on the above data, I agree with Mr. Thomas Friedman because I believe that it is true that by saying the WORLD IS FLAT. He blankly tells us that if American population will not walk up and change its present ways, it will defeated economically by foreign countries like China, Japan, and India. Most of the Jobs have now been outsourced to these countries because of the American companies save so much in terms of labor and total cost to operate a factory. Due to the minimum wage law in the United States and the cost of living here, some businessmen prefer to put up their factory sites in India and China. In turn the American companies can lower their selling prices due to the lower wages paid to these foreign countries. The internet is one of the best inventions of man. Through the internet, American companies and customers can buy and sell their products to or from any part of the globe. The invention of such money equivalents like the Visa card, the Paypal, Western Union Mastercard and debit cards as well as bank wires have put the finishing touches to complete business transaction between one or more countries. Although one disadvantage of the World is Flat scenario of Mr. Friedman is that now there will be lesser jobs available to the American public, American farmers will now compete against the lower priced imported goods, this is compensated by the fact that The American consumers can buy imported products at lower prices. The American consumer can also buy products at lower priced lower than competing brands because the imported products were made at lower labor costs. Another advantage of the World is Flat scenario of Mr. Friedman is that due the internet and the outsourcing of American products to far away China and India, more sales is generated because of the wider consumer base. The products can also be sold in India and China. I agree with that the World is flat because it has improved the lives most Americans. Americans can now buy more goods at lower prices because they are made using low cost labor in China and India. BIBLIOGRAPHY Friedman, T., The World is Flat: a brief history of the twenty first century, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, 2005 Read More