World Is Flat

by Thomas L. Friedman

In this book" world is flat" , the author demystifies this brave new world for readers allowing them to make sense of the often bewildering global scene unfolding before their eyes.In the opening chapter author describes why the great challenge of our time will be to absorb these changes in ways that do not overwhelm people but also do not leave them behind.The author researched that there are ten forces that flattened the world.

1. Flattener 1 : When the Berlin wall came down and open the new window.

The fall of the Berlin wall unleashed forces that ultimately liberated all the captive people of the Soviet Empire,but it actually did so much more.It tipped the balance of power across the world towards those advocating democratic,free market oriented governance and away from those advocating centrally planned economies.For some this was unwelcome transformation,because communism was great system for making people equal,author describes by giving various example how the fall of the wall flatten the alternatives to free-market capatalism.This period from 11/9 to the mid-1990s led to huge advance in personal empowerment, even if computer networks were of limited capabilities.

2.Falttener 2: 8/9/1995 When the Netscape went Public

This next phase of flattening was to go from PC based computing to internet based computing.The killer applications that drove this new phase were e-mail and Intenet Browsing .Netscape alongwith PC boom and launch of windows 95,set off an explosion in demand for all things digital and sparked the Internet boom and people began looking
at everything digitized-data,inventories,commerce,books,music,photos. This led to the dot-com stock bubble and massive overinvestment in the fiber optic cable needed to carry all the digital information. It was actually the coincidence of the dot-com boom and the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that launched the fiber optic bubble which allowed local and long distance companies to get into each other's business and enabled all sorts of competition head-to-head.This phase from PC-Windows phase to Netscape Browsing-email phase enabled more people to communicate and intract with each other and changed the way we do business.

3. Flattener 3 : Workflow Software
For the world to get flat, all your internal departments -sales, marketing, R&D, manufacturing, billing and inventory etc, had to become interoperable, no matter what machines or software each of them running and all of your system needs to be interoprable with all other systems of other companies, that is where XML, SOAP, WEBServices and workflow softwares, came as quiet revolution. Author has given various examples like the way PayPal operates, way DELL, IBM does business to
share and exchange information.

4. Flattener 4: Open Sourcing.
Free software movement,emergence of Apache, GNU, Linux, repository like CVS and projects like wikipedia and how it changed the world. Author also described the serious challenges it poses to big global players like Microsoft and others and what their thoughts are about free software with respect to innovation culture.

5. Flattener 5 : Y2K and OutSourcing
In this chapter author described India at length and how America became the buyer of India's brainpower and how outsourcing revolution began with GE coming over to India and later Texas Instruments and how other American companies started to discover that they could draw on India's brainpower right in India itself.Author described how Y2K
fueled it further globalization.

6.Flattener 6 : OffShoring
The author describes that on Dec 2001, with China joining WTO, gave boost to another form of collaboration - Offshoring and how ever since the world started running faster and faster. Offshoring process began in the range of industries -from textiles to consumer electronics to furniture and how other developing countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Ireland, Mexico, Brazil etc joined the offshoring pool and created a process of competitive fattening. The author has given numerous examples from China and Japan and how they are reshaping the flattened world.

7. Flattener 7: Supply-Chaining.example of Wal-mart and how they are shrinking the world.
8.Flattener 8 : Insourcing .Here the example of smart way UPS operates and helps flattened the world.
9. Flattener 9: In-forming Yahoo,web search
10 Flattener 10 :Digital Steroids like wireless, digital audio,video,streaming media on single platform.

The issues like Glocalization -culture issues and adptability to the flattened world is discussed, how companies are coping with it is detailed. Also, the most important the issue of security and challenges of the complex world in flattened world like do we feel secure today that the world in which we are living is as safe and sound as it was before flattening era??