Chapter One of Thomas Friedman's massive The World is Flat details the world of outsourcing as he himself discovers it. This included plenty of things I didn't know and had never thought about. Friedman focused mainly on Bangalore, India. He claims that the majority of those performing the outsourced jobs are highly motivated and educated. While the pay they receive would seem insubstantial in the United States, in India it provides them with a better living than many other jobs could provide. Most people know from personal experience that many customer service lines are staffed by Indians, but Friedman brings up several other jobs that are now outsourced. One surprising example was fast food order-takers. It's now possible for someone in an entirely different location to take your order, and incredibly, this seems to be more efficient than the traditional approach. Also in Chapter One, Friedman introduces his theory of Globalizations 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0, respectively. Globalization 1.0 was the globalization of nations, 2.0 that of corporations, and 3.0, our current era, that of individuals. This latest stage is largely due to the personal computer. At this point, the author remains fairly neutral. He does not establish whether he believes Globalization 3.0 to be "good" or "bad," but rather maintains that is is "inevitable and unavoidable."
In terms of the writing, The World is Flat is readable without pretending to be something it's not. It is very clearly about delivering information, not entertainment, but it does so in an engaging manner.
No comments:
Post a Comment