Author: Thomas L. Friedman

Publisher: Audio Renaissance; Unabridged edition

Pub. in: April, 2006

ISBN: 1427200157

Pages:  

Measurements: 5.8 x 5.3 x 2.7 inches

Origin of product: USA

Order code: BB00082

Other information:  

The World Is Flat was given the first Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award, a bestseller on Amazon.com Bestseller ranking #21 in books as of December 12, 2006.

A few months before coming to Friedman's The World Is Flat, I watched "Lou Dobbs Tonight" on the CNN television network. Over the course of many broadcasts, Dobbs wove the theme of outsourcing into his nightly presentation, noting the loss of American jobs as various commercial processes moved from the U.S. to other countries. The provision of telephone technical support by companies in India for American-sold computer products is a widely publicized example. Friedman's book provides a counterpoint to Lou Dobbs' reports, not that Friedman denies the existence of outsourcing, but that he recognizes how the practice can empower and improve not only the providers of outsourced services but also the domestic companies that engage in it. He points out that improved companies can then expand and employ additional domestic workers in new and different positions.

Outsourcing practices are, of course, but one aspect of what Friedman describes as a "flat world" in which modern communications technology continues to remove national barriers, both physical and economic. His book does not argue the pros and cons of this global economic interaction but points out that it is here, that it is going to stay, and that it is inevitably going to keep expanding, whether one wishes it to or not. The old "top down" way of doing business, where bosses told essentially powerless workers what to do, is being quickly replaced by empowered workers who can communicate horizontally with other workers throughout the entire world. Such is the power of today's technology. Companies that learn how to benefit from this capability will thrive, while those that do not will inevitably wither. Friedman notes that we cannot stop this trend, so we must learn to manage it to our benefit.

Interestingly, he notes that worldwide communication and coordination benefits equally those who use it for positive ends and those who use it for destruction. Just as a global supply chain brings together the components of your new laptop computer, it also brings together the funds and the recruits who later fly hijacked aircraft into World Trade Center towers. Friedman goes on to examine the changes in philosophy and in action that must occur if the United States is to again export hope and dreams to the rest of the world instead of fear, and it is hopes and dreams, not fear, that will deprive future Al-Qaedas of their "martyrs in waiting."

Friedman's message is an important one, and that makes his book worthy of being read. Still, he has no magic bullets to offer, and some of his observations come across as shallow and even naive. For instance, he notes that the globalization of our economy will indeed force many American workers from their current jobs because those jobs can be performed better (in terms of economics) elsewhere, so to continue to perform them in-house would be to the detriment of the American business. However, his solution, for workers to learn new skills and find new niches in the economy where they will again be the best, disregards the reality of human psychology and, in many cases, limits to individual ability.

In addition to the speciousness of some of his solutions, Friedman makes one assumption throughout the book that I find distasteful, and that is his unquestioned acceptance of profit and financial success as the ultimate goal of the "good life." He projects the image of a pure capitalist who subordinates humanitarian considerations to economic successes. For example, he cites as one example of humanitarianism an American CEO who generously matches, dollar for dollar, worker contributions to the company's employee benefit fund. Considering that CEO's income versus that of his employees, such a contribution is nothing but a pittance, yet Friedman seems to think it a generous example of philanthropy. However, to me this appears to be little more than condescension.

While the text does include many real-life examples to illustrate its points and while it does provide quite a few astounding revelations as to the world-wide supply chains that already tie together many apparently disparate economies, such as those of the U.S. and China, yet I cannot say that Friedman's prose is particularly captivating. As is most "business writing," his text lacks linguistic creativity and has not a whit of inspirational vocabulary to expand the reader's appreciation of the language.

Despite the weakness of Friedman's solutions for displaced workers, despite his capitalistic bias, and despite the rather unimaginative prose in which it is written, his book does examine the extreme and significant changes that technology has recently brought to world economies and, through them, to world cultures and to the need for social adaptation. As such, it is valuable reading for teachers, business managers, and those who persist in the false belief that tariffs and border fences have any place in the modern world.

By the way, most English speakers know what the phrase "nine-eleven," usually written 9/11, stands for, but do you know what 11/9 represents and why its lesson is even more important to the future of the world than that of 9/11? No? Then by all means, please do read Friedman's book! (From quoting William Fuller, USA)

Target readers: Executives, managers, entrepreneurs, government and non-profit leaders, professionals, and MBAs.