The 10 Flatteners Outlined by Friedman - Essay Example

Insights The 10 flatteners outlined by Friedman suggest that the third world countries are enjoying economic enhancement in terms of more number of jobs and inflow of FDI (foreign direct investment). However, the author does not throw much light in these chapters on the perils of postmodernism that these nations might face. India for instance has not passed through the process of industrialization but has jumped into the post-modern period, unlike the developed nations who have their foundations in place.

In order to hold back from the dangers of sudden breakdown, it is important for these nations to insulate themselves properly against the impact of economic downfalls in the US which might trickle down to the regions enjoying so far the benefits of outsourcing. The countries like India and China need to develop a strong base of R&D in order to be self-sufficient in technology instead of having to borrow the knowledge and tools from abroad. The economies need more inventions and innovations in this field in order to preserve originality.

This will help the economies to gain more confidence in them because in flat world sustainability is also an important concern to be addressed. One major problem which often arises is the fact that owing to the difference in the exchange rate (dollar becomes dearer; INR1=USD45 (approx. as on January 22, 2011)). Any invention requiring a patent is more likely to be shelled out to a multinational firm that will buy it expensively rather than an Indian firm. With globalization being so effective over the last decade and the common playing field enabled by triple convergence, Indians are more likely to sell their inventions to a multinational firm especially if it is something related to IT which might help business operations perform more efficiently.

Avoiding this would require a bit of commitment to one’s own nation. Questions Can the horizontal collaboration pose problems since it depends largely on’ automatism’ enabled by IT? What ethical standards can a collaborative playing field bring up in the global business context? In order to enable greater efficiency, is it important to modify the international business standards to make them more protective towards the home country?