On a recent visit to the local bookstore, I picked up the 3rd revision in two years (First released 2005) of the book "The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century". Is is a best-selling book by Thomas L. Friedman analyzing the progress of globalization with an emphasis on the early 21st century. Friedman derives his title from the expression "a flat playing field," denoting a competitive environment where both teams compete on equal terms (e.g., on an uneven playing field, one team would have the difficult task of running uphill while the other would have the easier task of running downhill). The book was first released in 2005, was later released as an "updated and expanded" edition in 2006, and yet again released with additional updates in 2007 as "further updated and expanded: Release 3.0."
Friedman recounts on a journey to Bangalore, India, he realized that globalization has changed core economic concepts.[1] Due to this discovery, he suggests that the world is "flat" in the sense that the competitive playing fields between industrial and emerging market countries have been leveled. Friedman recounts many examples of companies based in India and China that, by providing labor from typists and call center operators to accountants and computer programmers, have become integral parts of complex global supply chains for such companies as Dell, AOL, and Microsoft.
He explores the three main time span that rushed in globalization. First was Christopher Columbus' search for the West Indies in 1498 when he accidentally discovered a huge roadblock on his voyage to India, a continent later called the Americas. He aptly named the natives "Indians". Friedman compares his own voyage to India especially in Bangalore, which is the most high tech and wired location in India where Friedman, instead of finding Indians, he found Americanized Hindus trying to cope with the market in their American and European accent, handling inbound and outbound calls for giants like Dell and American Express. These call center representatives even changed their names to western names like "John" or "Tanisha". In search of the true India, he found America !!!
On a recent conversation with a relative in the Philippines, he related too how the Filipinos are riding on these convergence of a flat world. Flatness as Friedman describes it is not about geopolitics. It is about the explosion of access to a "level playing field." My wife recently checked her Northwest Account mileage with a lady from India, while I completed my Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone system with a gentleman from Cebu, Philippines, who respectfully started the call with "Sir, may I call you by your first name?"
Flatness is not complete yet. Outsourcing will be the next big thing in countries like India, Singapore, or the Philippines where labor gives these Western Corporations large and small a big bang for their buck in payroll costs. I cannot say where Friedman is going with his third revision of his book in only two years (now updated version 3.0), but he explained that "he should and was able to" because of the flattening of the "business playing field" in book printing. He further explains that, everybody and anybody could be an author, a content expert, , a publisher, a participant and may become a big player in this new phenomenon, thanks to fiber optics, deep sea internet cable, satellites, and hundreds and thousands of new college educated and well trained labor pool outside of the the G7 (Group of Seven) countries composed of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and the United States).
The leading edge and specialized jobs and research will remain with these big players but eventually, outsourcing whether inbound or outbound will happen to small players like India and the Philippines. As one Hindu pointed out to Friedman, he cannot hand over a steak dinner to a client in America from India, but he can make a reservation thru the phone, give you a choice of a private room, main dining area table, or a quiet nook by the window in any restaurant at any time in the whole world ! And "did you say it was for a party of four?" he added.
Friedman reminds us that in 1992 when President Clinton came into office, email access was only reserved for members of Government and Military. Today, even my six year old niece has a couple of email addresses and a webpage or two. Hundreds and thousands of Filipinos in their early twenties are manning the phone 24/7 in places like Cebu, Bacolod and Manila, and the giant Global Infomation Hub in Bangalore, the most internet wired location in India.
I just started reviewing Friedman's book but he explains it plainly. From Columbus time, the world shrunk from a size Large to a size Medium. From the 1800 to the year 2000, although interrupted by 2 world wars, the world thru industrialization shrunk further from a size Medium to a size Small. Today, with the flat-world-platform thanks to the computer and internet, the world has shrunk further from a size small to a size Tiny. Countries & Monarchies controlled the first one. Big Companies & Industries ruled over the second. In the third flattening which is now, the main driving force is the Individual who can collaborate and compete in the global world market. This is the age of MYSPACE.
Indeed, the world is leveled flat. Where will it go? I cannot tell you because it is happening in a very fast pace. The only advice I can think of is go with the flow. I remember sitting with former Secretary Mina Gabor on his last "Outsourcing Trade Mission" which I attended with fellow journalists in Los Angeles and at how amazed I was that the infrastructure for Information Technology (IT), Software Programming, and Medical Transcriptions are ready and in place back in the Philippines to serve big U.S. Corporations. Her Trade Mission held a series of press conferences in number of major cities in the United States selling the idea of Philippine "outsourcing" to America.
I have to end the review here. I have not yet completed reviewing Friedman's book "The World is Flat 3.0" ; and, I have to place a call to my bank, and who knows, my call may be routed to a friendly representative on the other side of the world, the "nighthawks" they call them; call center representatives who work the grave-yard night shift in the Philippines or India to service the day time hours in the United States at one-fifth the salary of the a U.S. based representative.
My advise to you for now; buy Friedman's book and see "old things in a new way." For me, I have to go; the phone is saying "Your call will be answered in the next five minutes."
(Jay Fermin ppp-usa)