The World Is Flat - Review
In his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman talks about the "flattening" of world, in which people all around the world have been granted increasingly equal access to natural resources, technology, markets, etc. According the Friedman, this had begun to develop throughout the latter part of the previous century, when globalization took some unexpected turns. In the flat world entrepreneurship, corporations, employment, information and even culture have gone through radical transformations. Neither developed not developing countries have remained untouched. Friedman then argues that understanding how the flat world works is absolutely essential to achieving success. He isn't just referring to the world of business, but also to professional development and finding solutions to many of our long-standing problems, such as poverty and inequality.
Interesting, informative and easy to read, the book is hard to put down. Even though Friedman uses IT and business jargon from time-to-time, he makes an honest effort to help less informed readers understand by presenting many factual examples of how adapting to the flat world can greatly benefit big and small businesses, individuals and even governments.
Some of the Book's Fascinating Topics
Although The World Is Flat talks about so many companies, individuals and phenomena, there were a few that particularly caught my eye:
1. Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) improving socio-economic conditions in India
2. WalMart's state-of-the-art global inventory system
3. IT businesses in the third world as an alternative to charity
4. International companies as deterrents of war
5. State/government reforms necessary for globalizing a country
Friedman's Biases
Although Friedman presents well-thought-out arguments,
As good as the book may be, however, I still have some reservations about it. For one, Friedman is overtly pro-American. While this is completely understandable on a personal level, it takes away some credibility from his arguments, which are otherwise quite objective. One instance where this is apparent is when he addresses the question, What will happen to the earth's limited resources if the world really does go flat (everybody consumes the same amount of resources)? He falls short of really challenging first-world consumers to consume less, which I find quite disappointing.
In his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman talks about the "flattening" of world, in which people all around the world have been granted increasingly equal access to natural resources, technology, markets, etc. According the Friedman, this had begun to develop throughout the latter part of the previous century, when globalization took some unexpected turns. In the flat world entrepreneurship, corporations, employment, information and even culture have gone through radical transformations. Neither developed not developing countries have remained untouched. Friedman then argues that understanding how the flat world works is absolutely essential to achieving success. He isn't just referring to the world of business, but also to professional development and finding solutions to many of our long-standing problems, such as poverty and inequality.
Interesting, informative and easy to read, the book is hard to put down. Even though Friedman uses IT and business jargon from time-to-time, he makes an honest effort to help less informed readers understand by presenting many factual examples of how adapting to the flat world can greatly benefit big and small businesses, individuals and even governments.
Some of the Book's Fascinating Topics
Although The World Is Flat talks about so many companies, individuals and phenomena, there were a few that particularly caught my eye:
1. Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) improving socio-economic conditions in India
2. WalMart's state-of-the-art global inventory system
3. IT businesses in the third world as an alternative to charity
4. International companies as deterrents of war
5. State/government reforms necessary for globalizing a country
Friedman's Biases
Although Friedman presents well-thought-out arguments,
As good as the book may be, however, I still have some reservations about it. For one, Friedman is overtly pro-American. While this is completely understandable on a personal level, it takes away some credibility from his arguments, which are otherwise quite objective. One instance where this is apparent is when he addresses the question, What will happen to the earth's limited resources if the world really does go flat (everybody consumes the same amount of resources)? He falls short of really challenging first-world consumers to consume less, which I find quite disappointing.
In his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman talks about the "flattening" of world, in which people all around the world have been granted increasingly equal access to natural resources, technology, markets, etc. According the Friedman, this had begun to develop throughout the latter part of the previous century, when globalization took some unexpected turns. In the flat world entrepreneurship, corporations, employment, information and even culture have gone through radical transformations. Neither developed not developing countries have remained untouched. Friedman then argues that understanding how the flat world works is absolutely essential to achieving success. He isn't just referring to the world of business, but also to professional development and finding solutions to many of our long-standing problems, such as poverty and inequality.
Interesting, informative and easy to read, the book is hard to put down. Even though Friedman uses IT and business jargon from time-to-time, he makes an honest effort to help less informed readers understand by presenting many factual examples of how adapting to the flat world can greatly benefit big and small businesses, individuals and even governments.
Some of the Book's Fascinating Topics
Although The World Is Flat talks about so many companies, individuals and phenomena, there were a few that particularly caught my eye:
1. Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) improving socio-economic conditions in India
2. WalMart's state-of-the-art global inventory system
3. IT businesses in the third world as an alternative to charity
4. International companies as deterrents of war
5. State/government reforms necessary for globalizing a country
Friedman's Biases
Although Friedman presents well-thought-out arguments,
As good as the book may be, however, I still have some reservations about it. For one, Friedman is overtly pro-American. While this is completely understandable on a personal level, it takes away some credibility from his arguments, which are otherwise quite objective. One instance where this is apparent is when he addresses the question, What will happen to the earth's limited resources if the world really does go flat (everybody consumes the same amount of resources)? He falls short of really challenging first-world consumers to consume less, which I find quite disappointing.
In his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman talks about the "flattening" of world, in which people all around the world have been granted increasingly equal access to natural resources, technology, markets, etc. According the Friedman, this had begun to develop throughout the latter part of the previous century, when globalization took some unexpected turns. In the flat world entrepreneurship, corporations, employment, information and even culture have gone through radical transformations. Neither developed not developing countries have remained untouched. Friedman then argues that understanding how the flat world works is absolutely essential to achieving success. He isn't just referring to the world of business, but also to professional development and finding solutions to many of our long-standing problems, such as poverty and inequality.
Interesting, informative and easy to read, the book is hard to put down. Even though Friedman uses IT and business jargon from time-to-time, he makes an honest effort to help less informed readers understand by presenting many factual examples of how adapting to the flat world can greatly benefit big and small businesses, individuals and even governments.
Some of the Book's Fascinating Topics
Although The World Is Flat talks about so many companies, individuals and phenomena, there were a few that particularly caught my eye:
1. Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) improving socio-economic conditions in India
2. WalMart's state-of-the-art global inventory system
3. IT businesses in the third world as an alternative to charity
4. International companies as deterrents of war
5. State/government reforms necessary for globalizing a country
Friedman's Biases
Although Friedman presents well-thought-out arguments,
As good as the book may be, however, I still have some reservations about it. For one, Friedman is overtly pro-American. While this is completely understandable on a personal level, it takes away some credibility from his arguments, which are otherwise quite objective. One instance where this is apparent is when he addresses the question, What will happen to the earth's limited resources if the world really does go flat (everybody consumes the same amount of resources)? He falls short of really challenging first-world consumers to consume less, which I find quite disappointing.
In his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman talks about the "flattening" of world, in which people all around the world have been granted increasingly equal access to natural resources, technology, markets, etc. According the Friedman, this had begun to develop throughout the latter part of the previous century, when globalization took some unexpected turns. In the flat world entrepreneurship, corporations, employment, information and even culture have gone through radical transformations. Neither developed not developing countries have remained untouched. Friedman then argues that understanding how the flat world works is absolutely essential to achieving success. He isn't just referring to the world of business, but also to professional development and finding solutions to many of our long-standing problems, such as poverty and inequality.
Interesting, informative and easy to read, the book is hard to put down. Even though Friedman uses IT and business jargon from time-to-time, he makes an honest effort to help less informed readers understand by presenting many factual examples of how adapting to the flat world can greatly benefit big and small businesses, individuals and even governments.
Some of the Book's Fascinating Topics
Although The World Is Flat talks about so many companies, individuals and phenomena, there were a few that particularly caught my eye:
1. Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) improving socio-economic conditions in India
2. WalMart's state-of-the-art global inventory system
3. IT businesses in the third world as an alternative to charity
4. International companies as deterrents of war
5. State/government reforms necessary for globalizing a country
Friedman's Biases
Although Friedman presents well-thought-out arguments,
As good as the book may be, however, I still have some reservations about it. For one, Friedman is overtly pro-American. While this is completely understandable on a personal level, it takes away some credibility from his arguments, which are otherwise quite objective. One instance where this is apparent is when he addresses the question, What will happen to the earth's limited resources if the world really does go flat (everybody consumes the same amount of resources)? He falls short of really challenging first-world consumers to consume less, which I find quite disappointing.
In his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman talks about the "flattening" of world, in which people all around the world have been granted increasingly equal access to natural resources, technology, markets, etc. According the Friedman, this had begun to develop throughout the latter part of the previous century, when globalization took some unexpected turns. In the flat world entrepreneurship, corporations, employment, information and even culture have gone through radical transformations. Neither developed not developing countries have remained untouched. Friedman then argues that understanding how the flat world works is absolutely essential to achieving success. He isn't just referring to the world of business, but also to professional development and finding solutions to many of our long-standing problems, such as poverty and inequality.
Interesting, informative and easy to read, the book is hard to put down. Even though Friedman uses IT and business jargon from time-to-time, he makes an honest effort to help less informed readers understand by presenting many factual examples of how adapting to the flat world can greatly benefit big and small businesses, individuals and even governments.
Some of the Book's Fascinating Topics
Although The World Is Flat talks about so many companies, individuals and phenomena, there were a few that particularly caught my eye:
1. Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) improving socio-economic conditions in India
2. WalMart's state-of-the-art global inventory system
3. IT businesses in the third world as an alternative to charity
4. International companies as deterrents of war
5. State/government reforms necessary for globalizing a country
Friedman's Biases
Although Friedman presents well-thought-out arguments,
As good as the book may be, however, I still have some reservations about it. For one, Friedman is overtly pro-American. While this is completely understandable on a personal level, it takes away some credibility from his arguments, which are otherwise quite objective. One instance where this is apparent is when he addresses the question, What will happen to the earth's limited resources if the world really does go flat (everybody consumes the same amount of resources)? He falls short of really challenging first-world consumers to consume less, which I find quite disappointing.
In his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman talks about the "flattening" of world, in which people all around the world have been granted increasingly equal access to natural resources, technology, markets, etc. According the Friedman, this had begun to develop throughout the latter part of the previous century, when globalization took some unexpected turns. In the flat world entrepreneurship, corporations, employment, information and even culture have gone through radical transformations. Neither developed not developing countries have remained untouched. Friedman then argues that understanding how the flat world works is absolutely essential to achieving success. He isn't just referring to the world of business, but also to professional development and finding solutions to many of our long-standing problems, such as poverty and inequality.
Interesting, informative and easy to read, the book is hard to put down. Even though Friedman uses IT and business jargon from time-to-time, he makes an honest effort to help less informed readers understand by presenting many factual examples of how adapting to the flat world can greatly benefit big and small businesses, individuals and even governments.
Some of the Book's Fascinating Topics
Although The World Is Flat talks about so many companies, individuals and phenomena, there were a few that particularly caught my eye:
1. Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) improving socio-economic conditions in India
2. WalMart's state-of-the-art global inventory system
3. IT businesses in the third world as an alternative to charity
4. International companies as deterrents of war
5. State/government reforms necessary for globalizing a country
Friedman's Biases
Although Friedman presents well-thought-out arguments,
As good as the book may be, however, I still have some reservations about it. For one, Friedman is overtly pro-American. While this is completely understandable on a personal level, it takes away some credibility from his arguments, which are otherwise quite objective. One instance where this is apparent is when he addresses the question, What will happen to the earth's limited resources if the world really does go flat (everybody consumes the same amount of resources)? He falls short of really challenging first-world consumers to consume less, which I find quite disappointing.
In his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman talks about the "flattening" of world, in which people all around the world have been granted increasingly equal access to natural resources, technology, markets, etc. According the Friedman, this had begun to develop throughout the latter part of the previous century, when globalization took some unexpected turns. In the flat world entrepreneurship, corporations, employment, information and even culture have gone through radical transformations. Neither developed not developing countries have remained untouched. Friedman then argues that understanding how the flat world works is absolutely essential to achieving success. He isn't just referring to the world of business, but also to professional development and finding solutions to many of our long-standing problems, such as poverty and inequality.
Interesting, informative and easy to read, the book is hard to put down. Even though Friedman uses IT and business jargon from time-to-time, he makes an honest effort to help less informed readers understand by presenting many factual examples of how adapting to the flat world can greatly benefit big and small businesses, individuals and even governments.
Some of the Book's Fascinating Topics
Although The World Is Flat talks about so many companies, individuals and phenomena, there were a few that particularly caught my eye:
1. Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) improving socio-economic conditions in India
2. WalMart's state-of-the-art global inventory system
3. IT businesses in the third world as an alternative to charity
4. International companies as deterrents of war
5. State/government reforms necessary for globalizing a country
Friedman's Biases
Although Friedman presents well-thought-out arguments,
As good as the book may be, however, I still have some reservations about it. For one, Friedman is overtly pro-American. While this is completely understandable on a personal level, it takes away some credibility from his arguments, which are otherwise quite objective. One instance where this is apparent is when he addresses the question, What will happen to the earth's limited resources if the world really does go flat (everybody consumes the same amount of resources)? He falls short of really challenging first-world consumers to consume less, which I find quite disappointing.
In his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman talks about the "flattening" of world, in which people all around the world have been granted increasingly equal access to natural resources, technology, markets, etc. According the Friedman, this had begun to develop throughout the latter part of the previous century, when globalization took some unexpected turns. In the flat world entrepreneurship, corporations, employment, information and even culture have gone through radical transformations. Neither developed not developing countries have remained untouched. Friedman then argues that understanding how the flat world works is absolutely essential to achieving success. He isn't just referring to the world of business, but also to professional development and finding solutions to many of our long-standing problems, such as poverty and inequality.
Interesting, informative and easy to read, the book is hard to put down. Even though Friedman uses IT and business jargon from time-to-time, he makes an honest effort to help less informed readers understand by presenting many factual examples of how adapting to the flat world can greatly benefit big and small businesses, individuals and even governments.
Some of the Book's Fascinating Topics
Although The World Is Flat talks about so many companies, individuals and phenomena, there were a few that particularly caught my eye:
1. Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) improving socio-economic conditions in India
2. WalMart's state-of-the-art global inventory system
3. IT businesses in the third world as an alternative to charity
4. International companies as deterrents of war
5. State/government reforms necessary for globalizing a country
Friedman's Biases
Although Friedman presents well-thought-out arguments,
As good as the book may be, however, I still have some reservations about it. For one, Friedman is overtly pro-American. While this is completely understandable on a personal level, it takes away some credibility from his arguments, which are otherwise quite objective. One instance where this is apparent is when he addresses the question, What will happen to the earth's limited resources if the world really does go flat (everybody consumes the same amount of resources)? He falls short of really challenging first-world consumers to consume less, which I find quite disappointing.
In his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman talks about the "flattening" of world, in which people all around the world have been granted increasingly equal access to natural resources, technology, markets, etc. According the Friedman, this had begun to develop throughout the latter part of the previous century, when globalization took some unexpected turns. In the flat world entrepreneurship, corporations, employment, information and even culture have gone through radical transformations. Neither developed not developing countries have remained untouched. Friedman then argues that understanding how the flat world works is absolutely essential to achieving success. He isn't just referring to the world of business, but also to professional development and finding solutions to many of our long-standing problems, such as poverty and inequality.
Interesting, informative and easy to read, the book is hard to put down. Even though Friedman uses IT and business jargon from time-to-time, he makes an honest effort to help less informed readers understand by presenting many factual examples of how adapting to the flat world can greatly benefit big and small businesses, individuals and even governments.
Some of the Book's Fascinating Topics
Although The World Is Flat talks about so many companies, individuals and phenomena, there were a few that particularly caught my eye:
1. Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) improving socio-economic conditions in India
2. WalMart's state-of-the-art global inventory system
3. IT businesses in the third world as an alternative to charity
4. International companies as deterrents of war
5. State/government reforms necessary for globalizing a country
Friedman's Biases
Although Friedman presents well-thought-out arguments,
As good as the book may be, however, I still have some reservations about it. For one, Friedman is overtly pro-American. While this is completely understandable on a personal level, it takes away some credibility from his arguments, which are otherwise quite objective. One instance where this is apparent is when he addresses the question, What will happen to the earth's limited resources if the world really does go flat (everybody consumes the same amount of resources)? He falls short of really challenging first-world consumers to consume less, which I find quite disappointing.
In his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman talks about the "flattening" of world, in which people all around the world have been granted increasingly equal access to natural resources, technology, markets, etc. According the Friedman, this had begun to develop throughout the latter part of the previous century, when globalization took some unexpected turns. In the flat world entrepreneurship, corporations, employment, information and even culture have gone through radical transformations. Neither developed not developing countries have remained untouched. Friedman then argues that understanding how the flat world works is absolutely essential to achieving success. He isn't just referring to the world of business, but also to professional development and finding solutions to many of our long-standing problems, such as poverty and inequality.
Interesting, informative and easy to read, the book is hard to put down. Even though Friedman uses IT and business jargon from time-to-time, he makes an honest effort to help less informed readers understand by presenting many factual examples of how adapting to the flat world can greatly benefit big and small businesses, individuals and even governments.
Some of the Book's Fascinating Topics
Although The World Is Flat talks about so many companies, individuals and phenomena, there were a few that particularly caught my eye:
1. Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) improving socio-economic conditions in India
2. WalMart's state-of-the-art global inventory system
3. IT businesses in the third world as an alternative to charity
4. International companies as deterrents of war
5. State/government reforms necessary for globalizing a country
Friedman's Biases
Although Friedman presents well-thought-out arguments,
As good as the book may be, however, I still have some reservations about it. For one, Friedman is overtly pro-American. While this is completely understandable on a personal level, it takes away some credibility from his arguments, which are otherwise quite objective. One instance where this is apparent is when he addresses the question, What will happen to the earth's limited resources if the world really does go flat (everybody consumes the same amount of resources)? He falls short of really challenging first-world consumers to consume less, which I find quite disappointing.
In his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman talks about the "flattening" of world, in which people all around the world have been granted increasingly equal access to natural resources, technology, markets, etc. According the Friedman, this had begun to develop throughout the latter part of the previous century, when globalization took some unexpected turns. In the flat world entrepreneurship, corporations, employment, information and even culture have gone through radical transformations. Neither developed not developing countries have remained untouched. Friedman then argues that understanding how the flat world works is absolutely essential to achieving success. He isn't just referring to the world of business, but also to professional development and finding solutions to many of our long-standing problems, such as poverty and inequality.
Interesting, informative and easy to read, the book is hard to put down. Even though Friedman uses IT and business jargon from time-to-time, he makes an honest effort to help less informed readers understand by presenting many factual examples of how adapting to the flat world can greatly benefit big and small businesses, individuals and even governments.
Some of the Book's Fascinating Topics
Although The World Is Flat talks about so many companies, individuals and phenomena, there were a few that particularly caught my eye:
1. Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) improving socio-economic conditions in India
2. WalMart's state-of-the-art global inventory system
3. IT businesses in the third world as an alternative to charity
4. International companies as deterrents of war
5. State/government reforms necessary for globalizing a country
Friedman's Biases
Although Friedman presents well-thought-out arguments,
As good as the book may be, however, I still have some reservations about it. For one, Friedman is overtly pro-American. While this is completely understandable on a personal level, it takes away some credibility from his arguments, which are otherwise quite objective. One instance where this is apparent is when he addresses the question, What will happen to the earth's limited resources if the world really does go flat (everybody consumes the same amount of resources)? He falls short of really challenging first-world consumers to consume less, which I find quite disappointing.
In his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman talks about the "flattening" of world, in which people all around the world have been granted increasingly equal access to natural resources, technology, markets, etc. According the Friedman, this had begun to develop throughout the latter part of the previous century, when globalization took some unexpected turns. In the flat world entrepreneurship, corporations, employment, information and even culture have gone through radical transformations. Neither developed not developing countries have remained untouched. Friedman then argues that understanding how the flat world works is absolutely essential to achieving success. He isn't just referring to the world of business, but also to professional development and finding solutions to many of our long-standing problems, such as poverty and inequality.
Interesting, informative and easy to read, the book is hard to put down. Even though Friedman uses IT and business jargon from time-to-time, he makes an honest effort to help less informed readers understand by presenting many factual examples of how adapting to the flat world can greatly benefit big and small businesses, individuals and even governments.
Some of the Book's Fascinating Topics
Although The World Is Flat talks about so many companies, individuals and phenomena, there were a few that particularly caught my eye:
1. Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) improving socio-economic conditions in India
2. WalMart's state-of-the-art global inventory system
3. IT businesses in the third world as an alternative to charity
4. International companies as deterrents of war
5. State/government reforms necessary for globalizing a country
Friedman's Biases
Although Friedman presents well-thought-out arguments,
As good as the book may be, however, I still have some reservations about it. For one, Friedman is overtly pro-American. While this is completely understandable on a personal level, it takes away some credibility from his arguments, which are otherwise quite objective. One instance where this is apparent is when he addresses the question, What will happen to the earth's limited resources if the world really does go flat (everybody consumes the same amount of resources)? He falls short of really challenging first-world consumers to consume less, which I find quite disappointing.
In his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman talks about the "flattening" of world, in which people all around the world have been granted increasingly equal access to natural resources, technology, markets, etc. According the Friedman, this had begun to develop throughout the latter part of the previous century, when globalization took some unexpected turns. In the flat world entrepreneurship, corporations, employment, information and even culture have gone through radical transformations. Neither developed not developing countries have remained untouched. Friedman then argues that understanding how the flat world works is absolutely essential to achieving success. He isn't just referring to the world of business, but also to professional development and finding solutions to many of our long-standing problems, such as poverty and inequality.
Interesting, informative and easy to read, the book is hard to put down. Even though Friedman uses IT and business jargon from time-to-time, he makes an honest effort to help less informed readers understand by presenting many factual examples of how adapting to the flat world can greatly benefit big and small businesses, individuals and even governments.
Some of the Book's Fascinating Topics
Although The World Is Flat talks about so many companies, individuals and phenomena, there were a few that particularly caught my eye:
1. Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) improving socio-economic conditions in India
2. WalMart's state-of-the-art global inventory system
3. IT businesses in the third world as an alternative to charity
4. International companies as deterrents of war
5. State/government reforms necessary for globalizing a country
Friedman's Biases
Although Friedman presents well-thought-out arguments,
As good as the book may be, however, I still have some reservations about it. For one, Friedman is overtly pro-American. While this is completely understandable on a personal level, it takes away some credibility from his arguments, which are otherwise quite objective. One instance where this is apparent is when he addresses the question, What will happen to the earth's limited resources if the world really does go flat (everybody consumes the same amount of resources)? He falls short of really challenging first-world consumers to consume less, which I find quite disappointing.
In his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman talks about the "flattening" of world, in which people all around the world have been granted increasingly equal access to natural resources, technology, markets, etc. According the Friedman, this had begun to develop throughout the latter part of the previous century, when globalization took some unexpected turns. In the flat world entrepreneurship, corporations, employment, information and even culture have gone through radical transformations. Neither developed not developing countries have remained untouched. Friedman then argues that understanding how the flat world works is absolutely essential to achieving success. He isn't just referring to the world of business, but also to professional development and finding solutions to many of our long-standing problems, such as poverty and inequality.
Interesting, informative and easy to read, the book is hard to put down. Even though Friedman uses IT and business jargon from time-to-time, he makes an honest effort to help less informed readers understand by presenting many factual examples of how adapting to the flat world can greatly benefit big and small businesses, individuals and even governments.
Some of the Book's Fascinating Topics
Although The World Is Flat talks about so many companies, individuals and phenomena, there were a few that particularly caught my eye:
1. Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) improving socio-economic conditions in India
2. WalMart's state-of-the-art global inventory system
3. IT businesses in the third world as an alternative to charity
4. International companies as deterrents of war
5. State/government reforms necessary for globalizing a country
Friedman's Biases
Although Friedman presents well-thought-out arguments,
As good as the book may be, however, I still have some reservations about it. For one, Friedman is overtly pro-American. While this is completely understandable on a personal level, it takes away some credibility from his arguments, which are otherwise quite objective. One instance where this is apparent is when he addresses the question, What will happen to the earth's limited resources if the world really does go flat (everybody consumes the same amount of resources)? He falls short of really challenging first-world consumers to consume less, which I find quite disappointing.
In his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman talks about the "flattening" of world, in which people all around the world have been granted increasingly equal access to natural resources, technology, markets, etc. According the Friedman, this had begun to develop throughout the latter part of the previous century, when globalization took some unexpected turns. In the flat world entrepreneurship, corporations, employment, information and even culture have gone through radical transformations. Neither developed not developing countries have remained untouched. Friedman then argues that understanding how the flat world works is absolutely essential to achieving success. He isn't just referring to the world of business, but also to professional development and finding solutions to many of our long-standing problems, such as poverty and inequality.
Interesting, informative and easy to read, the book is hard to put down. Even though Friedman uses IT and business jargon from time-to-time, he makes an honest effort to help less informed readers understand by presenting many factual examples of how adapting to the flat world can greatly benefit big and small businesses, individuals and even governments.
Some of the Book's Fascinating Topics
Although The World Is Flat talks about so many companies, individuals and phenomena, there were a few that particularly caught my eye:
1. Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) improving socio-economic conditions in India
2. WalMart's state-of-the-art global inventory system
3. IT businesses in the third world as an alternative to charity
4. International companies as deterrents of war
5. State/government reforms necessary for globalizing a country
Friedman's Biases
Although Friedman presents well-thought-out arguments,
As good as the book may be, however, I still have some reservations about it. For one, Friedman is overtly pro-American. While this is completely understandable on a personal level, it takes away some credibility from his arguments, which are otherwise quite objective. One instance where this is apparent is when he addresses the question, What will happen to the earth's limited resources if the world really does go flat (everybody consumes the same amount of resources)? He falls short of really challenging first-world consumers to consume less, which I find quite disappointing.
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