“America and the Flat World”, discusses the implications globalization have on Americans both now and in the near to distant future.

i want you to paraphrase this context in 3 hours. the work should be perfect. i will give more money if i liked the work after its done.

the context is to write a report about a book. and here is the sample that i want you to paraphrase so we have new report:

“Hu 1 Stanley Hu Dr. Dat-Dao Nguyen IS 431 20 April 2013 The World Is Flat The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century is an award winning book and international bestseller authored by The New York Times’ foreign affairs columnist and three times Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas L. Friedman. The World Is Flat analyzes the rapid technological advancement and globalization of the world in the early 21st century and describes the root drivers of this flattening effect as well as its ramifications on various entities ranging from entire countries, to corporations, and down to the individual. Friedman also offers solid advice for dealing with the ensuing flattening of the world. “Flat” in this book’s context refers to the progressively level playing field the world is experiencing of late when it comes to commerce and opportunities in the global market. The book is organized into several major sections. The first of which, titled “How the World Became Flat”, defines ten influencing factors of globalization, or “flatteners” as Friedman calls it, and explains a phenomenon known as convergence. These factors include both technological as well as business oriented drivers that are flattening the world as we speak. As its name suggests, the next section of the book, “America and the Flat World”, discusses the implications globalization have on Americans both now and in the near to distant future. The following sections, “Companies and the Flat World” and “You and the Flat World” tackles the many challenges that corporations and individuals must face in our modern globalized era respectively. This book is actually the third iteration of this title Friedman has published, hence being dubbed “Release 3.0”, which includes more content regarding education as well as two additional chapters that focus on political activism, social entrepreneurship, and managing reputations in our globalized world; topics that Friedman determined were lacking in his previous editions.      Friedman presents many technologies driving the rapid flattening of the world. One of the first technology drivers he mentions is Netscape, released on August 9, 1995, and the web in general, which brought the internet to the masses. This is listed as the second of the Ten Forces that Friedman describes, also known as flattener #2. From then on, the internet became more of a public service than a communication medium for the tech savvy. With the internet came all the common protocols we see today, such as FTP, HTTP, HTML, SSL, SMTP, POP, and TCP/IP. Another important piece of technology that is helping globalization is the third of the Ten Forces: Work Flow Software or flattener #3. This refers to software that allows for automation and the ability for machines to communicate with each other. Work Flow Software helps lessen dependency on human labor and thus reduces time, costs, and mistakes commonly associated with using people instead of machines. The next force, flattener #4 or Uploading, is a phenomenon that Friedman considers “the most disruptive force of all”. Uploading is when data and information is uploaded onto the internet, making it public for everyone who has internet access. This is common in online communities, but other examples include Wikipedia, blogs, and open source software. Information that was once relatively secret or cost prohibitive are now publicly available and free. This would indeed level the playing field, no matter the subject.

Hu 2 Next, we skip to flattener #9, In-forming. Here, Friedman refers to how people today have the ability to look up and search for information they would not have thought possible yesterday. All it takes is a minute of one’s time on Google and more often than not, you’ve found what you were looking for. This is not limited to Google of course, but all search engines and archives of knowledge such as Wikipedia. The point is information is vastly more accessible than it has ever been, and will likely continue on this trend. The last of the Ten Forces, flattener #10, is called “The Steroids”. Of course Friedman doesn’t mean steroids literally, but rather he is talking about mobile devices such as smart phones and iPods and technologies that are making communication more and more convenient, such as instant messaging and VoIP. Friedman calls it steroids because, its amplifying the flattening effect on top of all the other flatteners mentioned earlier. It takes existing technologies and makes it more convenient and accessible to the masses. It is also important to note the rapid rate in which these technologies are evolving. For example, when you buy a smart phone, chances are if it’s not obsolete by the time you buy it, it will be within the next three months or so. The same goes for any other piece of hardware nowadays. Even if companies were practicing planned obsolescence for the money, technology is simply advancing too rapidly for the average person to fully utilize.      Besides the technology drivers flattening the world, there are also business drivers at work as well. These factors are less concrete but just as influential in globalization, if not more so. The first one of these factors that Friedman mentions is also the first of the Ten Forces, flattener #1 also known as the collapse of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. This event marked the end of the Cold War and the beginning of a new economic era, at least for those on the other side of the wall. With it came a whole slew of business opportunities for those involved and affected by the Berlin Wall that were simply not possible before. People east of the wall could finally go shopping west of the wall. Goods that were once considered unobtainable luxuries became mere commodities almost overnight. The third world was seemingly brought into the first world. The population on the east suddenly became like equals of the west. Of course there were still complications but it was a huge step forward nonetheless. The next business driver on the list is flattener #5 or outsourcing. Outsourcing is a strategy practiced by many companies around the world today, especially here in the States. This is when a company decides to have an outside third party, usually based in a foreign country, perform a certain function that the company would normally do themselves. This is most often done for the sake of cost effectiveness and efficiency, since it is almost always cheaper to employ foreign workers than to hire domestic ones. For instance, many domestic companies outsource their telemarketing or accounting functions to India or other countries because they are willing to work for much less. However, the disadvantage to outsourcing is that money leaves the country and is spent paying foreign entities. This may be fine from the perspective of a single firm, but from a national standpoint, our finances suffer and the USD loses strength. Next on the list of Ten Forces is flattener #6: Offshoring. Offshoring is much like outsourcing, but deals with entire manufacturing processes instead of just a mere component or function of a company. Basically, it is when a company decides to manufacture their products in a different country for monetary or legal reasons instead of building their facility in the States. The consequences of offshoring are much like outsourcing, but it is also harder to justify since more is at stake. Of course, from the foreign countries’ point of view, outsourcing and offshoring are like opportunities for them and not consequences since it provides their people with jobs and some financial security. This is a prime example of how the world is becoming more flat. Subsequently, Friedman discusses a topic called Supply-Chaining, which is flattener #7. While this is indeed a business tactic, it

Hu 3 should be noted that it would not be possible without the modern technologies and infrastructure in place today. The supply chain is where and things come from and how they end up at the retail level. Typically, a product is manufactured in a facility somewhere, which is then distributed to a warehouse somewhere before finally arriving at a retail store. Obviously, this is easier said than done. The logistics of managing the supply chain is quite complex and if not for the advanced software and technologies being utilized in the industry would be very inefficient. Friedman points out Wal-Mart as an excellent example of a company using technology to streamline item sales, distribution, and shipping. Finally, Friedman brings up flattener #8: Insourcing. This is like the opposite of outsourcing. UPS is used as an example to illustrate this practice. Toshiba insources its repair services to UPS. In other words, UPS and its employees perform the repairs on computers on Toshiba’s behalf. It is like outsourcing except that instead of using a foreign company, a domestic one is chosen instead. Much like outsourcing, this is done to save money and resources. All these practices mentioned here help blur the boundaries between various countries, companies, and its people, bringing them closer in a sense. As the world progressively becomes flatter and more globalized, entire nations, especially America, must consider how to react and adapt to the inherent changes this brings. Luckily, Friedman elaborates on some of these points. Some American policy makers suggest banning outsourcing altogether in order to protect our workers, however, Friedman strongly advises against such action, stating that it would be detrimental and counterproductive to close ourselves off to the world at large. Instead, we must learn to compete on the global market with the rest of the world. Friedman mentions that a policy of free trade is required but would not be sufficient by itself. Our country should promote higher education in order to facilitate modern job requirements as we transition to this new flat world. However, not just any higher education will do, it must be in subjects and professions that can compete in the new global market. Of course the situation is quite different for developing countries. They should embrace all the opportunities coming their way. Specifically, developing countries need to focus on infrastructure, education, and policies that allow for open trade and commerce in the flat world. This is the only way for them to escape poverty and progress towards becoming a first world nation. In many cases, it would not be possible without considerable reform. Whether we are talking about America, or some far off developing country of the third world, every nation must be aware of the impending change that is necessary due to globalization.      Corporations are no exception to the rapid flattening of the world. In fact, it is arguable that they are the most affect by globalization. Companies around the world must cope with these changes or risk being put out of business or bankruptcy. Friedman explains seven rules companies should follow in order to survive in the new flat world. Rule #1: “When the world goes flat — and you are feeling flattened — reach for a shovel and dig inside yourself. Don’t try to build walls.” Put simply, a company should focus on its core competencies and not simply stick with old traditional methods. Rule #2: “And the small shall act big…..One way small companies flourish in the flat world is by learning to act really big. And the key to being small and acting big is being quick to take advantage of all the new tools for collaboration to reach farther, faster, wider, and deeper.” This rule advises small business to embrace the changes and take advantage of new technologies in order to better communicate and collaborate with the rest of the world. Rule #3: “And the big shall act small….. One way that big companies learn to flourish in the flat world is by learning how to act really small by enabling their customers to act really big.” This rule tells big companies to keep in touch with their customers and offer them the

Hu 4 freedom and service they deserve. Rule #4: “The best companies are the best collaborators. In the flat world, more and more business will be done through collaboration within and between companies, for a very simple reason: The next layers of value creation—whether in technology, marketing, biomedicine, or manufacturing—are becoming so complex that no single firm or department is going to be able to master them alone.” This basically states that we have come to an age where so many goods and services have become commonplace that the only way to move forward is to cooperate and collaborate with each other. Rule #5: “In a flat world, the best companies stay healthy by getting regular chest X-rays and then selling the results to their clients.” In short, this rule tells companies to seek a third party to analyze the company’s strengths or weaknesses, in order to gain better understanding of themselves. Rule #6: “The best companies outsource to win, not to shrink. They outsource to innovate faster and more cheaply in order to grow larger, gain market share, and hire more and different specialists—not to save money by firing people.” This rule suggests that outsourcing is justified only if long term goals are prioritized. Rule #7: “Outsourcing isn’t just for Benedict Arnolds. It’s also for idealists.” The final rule implies that a company can outsource in order to benefit not just itself, but others as well.      Since the global market is changing at an alarming rate, middle-class jobs that were once thought to be secure are now being outsourced to other countries. Therefore, people here in the States must learn how to adapt and compete in a globalized environment. This would require us to become something Friedman calls “Untouchables”, which is someone who cannot be outsourced, digitized, or automated. Friedman theorizes what the new jobs of the flat world will be and divides them into eight categories. The first category is called “Great Collaborators and Orchestrators”, which consist of jobs in sales, marketing, maintenance, and management. They are able to bring the services of a large company down to a local level. Next are “The Great Synthesizers”, who are good at putting various parts together into a useful solution. They are not necessarily good at designing or manufacturing anything, but instead turn premade components into a more valuable whole. Then there are “The Great Explainers”, who are managers, writers, teachers, producers, journalists, and editors. As the name suggests, they take complicated topics and explains them in layman terms. The fourth group is “The Great Leveragers”, who design computer programs and software that help other be more productive. The fifth group is “The Great Adapters”, who are also known as versatilists. They are highly skilled but also flexible and adept at improvising, thus being able to apply themselves in a variety of situations. Then there are “The Green People”, which are the eco-friendly and environmentally conscious folk that will no doubt play an important role in the near future. The seventh category is “The Passionate Personalizers”, which include people that add a personal touch to their otherwise mundane or common work. It’s hard to describe, but their products or services will never be found elsewhere due to the uniqueness of these people. Lastly, there are “The Great Localizers”, which consist of small businesses and individuals at the local level who are able to compete with the global market because they embrace new technologies and innovative practices. Another important point Friedman makes is that we must “learn how to learn” because most of what we know now will be outdated tomorrow. In conclusion, while the world is not yet completely flat, it is only a matter of time. Globalization is inevitable, especially considering the technological and business driven forces at work around the world. Whether we are talking about entire nations, corporations, or a mere individual, we must all adapt to the global changes at hand. It’s safe to say that Thomas L.

Hu 5 Friedman has done his homework and is undoubtedly an expert when it comes to the topic of globalization. Nobody is unaffected by the ongoing flattening of the world at large”.

 

*HERE IS THE LINK FOR THE PAPER*

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xc6453otuxfb408/Stanley%20H1.docx?dl=0

 

Another Sample:

“Alkadi 1

Ahmed Alkadi

Dr. Dat-Dao Nguyen

IS 431

19 November 2015

The World Is Flat

After Thomas L. Friedman visit to a factory in Bangalore, India, he was heavily

influenced by what he had seen in term of technological advancement and globalization.

He started thinking about those two factors and realized that the world is flat. Friedman

defined “flat” as “the new net result of this convergence was the creation of a global,

web-enabled playing field that allows for multiple forms of collaboration – the sharing of

knowledge and work – in real time, without regard to geography, distance or in the near

future, even language. No, not everyone has access yet to this platform, this playing field,

but it is open today to more people in more places on more days in more ways than

anything like it ever before in the history of the world”. (Friedman 176)

The World Is Flat is a book written by Thomas L. Friedman which talks how new

technological advancement and globalization historically affected the people and the

world. The book describes details and forces that led to flat the world and gives a detail

description and causes of the new technological advancement and globalization and how

it became embed in our lives and routines. The author looks at the effect of those factors

on individuals, entities and government cluster. Furthermore, the author provide his own

opinion and the best solutions to deal with the consequences of flatting the world.

The book consist of fifteen different sections compromising six major sections.

The first section is called “How the World Became Flat”, which provides ten forces that

influenced that flattened the world and explains the three convergence. Next section talks

about “America and the Flat World”. It is a synapsis about the consequences of the new

globalization on Americans historically and the future. Next, “Companies and the Flat

World” which discuss the impact on larger cluster which is companies. After that, the

author provide a narrower cause and effect on individuals in the “You and the Flat

World” section. The fourth section is “Geopolitics and the Flat World,” which expands

the scope by looking at what could go wrong when the world is flattened. The last section

of this book talks about how different imaginations could compete with each other in the

modern world.

According to Friedman, there are ten forces that influenced the world to be

flattened. The political event of “fall of Berlin wall” that is described in flattener#1 refer

Alkadi 2

to the abuse of power all over the world and the development of a new so called

“economic era”. He demonstrated how people on both sides of the wall can easily have

access to each side. This is an obvious example of how the world is flattened in the

author eyes. Moreover, the rapid development of technology has fast pace flattening of

the world. Netscape for example was a boom in the industry and considered to be the

spark that forced the world to be flattened. In other words, it transformed the internet

from a communication channel to more of friendly environment that people can use to

benefit. One of the most important forces is “Work Flow Software” or flattener #3. It is

described as the software that helps people achieve activities faster and more efficient

and eventually saves money and time. The fourth Flattener is ‘Uploading” which is

referred to the use of internet to upload information to be accessible worldwide. It

increased the power of individuals and organizations by giving a new prospective on

handling information. Flattener #5 is ‘Outsourcing” which means take a portion of the

business functions and give to a third-part company to minimize some costs or improve

efficiency as the company might not focus in such function. Flattener #6 is offshoring

which means manufacturing the exact same product in another country just for the

purpose of reducing costs. Flattener #7 is “Supply Chaining” which means the

collaboration of supplier, retailers and customer to create more value and increase

efficiency. Flattener #8 is “Insourcing” which means that some small enterprises may sell

their products globally and vice versa for large enterprises. Flattener #9 is “Informing”

which means that knowledge is accessible by anyone and it is easy to be found with just

few clicks. Search engines have made it easy for anyone to search for information or

anything that comes to the mind. It is really interesting as day by day, the amount of the

information is really getting bigger and would increase in the future. Flattener #10 is

“The Steroids” which includes smart phones and other new technologies that caused fast

growth in knowledge and enhanced the accessibility of information. The author used

steroids because this flattener is giving more magnitude to the other flatteners.

There is a need for competition on the global level especially that such level of

competition can be facilitated by the policy of free trade along with higher conditions

which might lead the market. There is a need for more professionals with specialized

knowledge. Without any doubts, naturally, with change comes a need for survival. This

means adapting to such situations and making yourself invulnerable to the change or else

you will become extinct therefore as the globe is becoming more and more leveled, all

the nations including United States must learn and settle in with the changes. In an aspect

the American policy makers have proposed a ban on outsourcing, which have been

opposed by the author as according to him, closing your doors to the outside world will

lead to offset productivity. This might give the opposite required outcome as it would

Alkadi 3

reverse what have been achieved so far and in the sometime will disturb the new order

and might bankrupt other third world countries.

Despite the whole globalization effect, things are a little different for third world

or developing countries. For them there is a need to clinch all sorts of opportunities that

are possibly there and work on their policies regarding development of infrastructure and

education. Some countries are on the run, while some need a complete transformation

through reforms. However, the fact remains the same that whether it is America or some

underdeveloped country of the third world, there is an imminent need to adapt in order to

survive with the continuous change.

It is not just the nations or countries of the world that has been affected by the

globalization. However, the organizations and individuals have also been effected by the

rapid flattening effect. The law of survival applies to corporations as well, who need to

cope, more than ever with the advancements all around the world, whether it may be

technological, or any other aspect. The organizations need to be in the competition or else

they will have to confront obsoleteness or losing their profits, accordingly ending up as

bankrupts .now comes a list of seven rules for the organizations presented by Friedman,

in array of surviving the implications of flat world. Rule no. 1 as recommended by

Friedman is that the company should not stubbornly sick to aged and old practices,

instead it should pay attention to its basic and true competencies. Friedman explained it

rhetorically as the company should “take a shovel and dig inside”. The second rule of

Friedman proposes the companies to openly accept the upcoming changes, including the

change in technologies and processes. In this way, companies can completely utilize the

new technologies to enhance its communication worldwide. According to author, in this

way, companies can reach around the globe farther, faster and deeper.

The third rule given by Friedman advices the “big to act small” i.e. it recommends

the large corporations so reach to its customers, and interact with them and give them

more choice which means giving more weight age to customers and their opinions. In this

way, large enterprises can bloom in continuously flattening and changing world.

According to rule no.4 of Friedman, the best companies in today’s world are those, which

are best in collaboration because business is dependent on cooperation between

organizations and inside the organization itself. As proposed by the author, value creation

cannot be won over by any one company alone. Whether it is marketing, medicine, or

technology, their increasing complexity is not easily mastered. Therefore, in order to

move forwards, companies need to interact with each other and move with cooperation.

Although we know ourselves inside out, but sometimes another person can help us

gain a better understanding of ourselves by pointing out the strengths and weaknesses

Alkadi 4

that we might be unaware of. Similarly, authors rule no. 5 also suggests that companies

should make use of third person i.e. professionals of various fields in order to obtain an

enhanced understanding of their core strengths and weaknesses. In the next rule, author

explains the global phenomenon of outsourcing that it is a practice of best companies to

outsource their activities to increase creativity on a faster pace within cheap cost of

production. Through outsourcing, companies can gain larger shares in market, and get

services from specialized people in different fields. In addition, the last rule implies that

companies can not only benefit themselves by outsourcing, but also prove advantage to

others.

The world has become what we call as the “global village” due to startling growth

of globalization fever. The market on global level is changing with ever-increasing rate.

Middle and lower level jobs are being outsourced, leaving the jobs with less or no

security. In this section, the author has introduced the concept of “untouchables.” The

concept implies that a person needs to make his self so competitive that it is just not

possible or too difficult to be outsourced or digitized. More like a prediction, the author

presents a theory of how the jobs will shape up in the new globalized era. Within his

theory, he has categorized those jobs into eight types.

The process on globalization is unstoppable at the pace with which it is increasing.

It is like a reign less horse. Therefore, in order to survive, there is a need for adoption and

adaptation at all levels i.e. national, organizational, and individual. The flattening affect

has not only opened new doors of opportunities, but also paved way for challenges and

dangers, which we need to confront in the coming days for which we better be ready or

we will end up as nothing.

The first category as presented by Friedman is that of “Great Collaborators and

Orchestrators.” This refers to management related jobs including marketing, sales, and

maintenance. These jobs can localize the services of a large corporation. “The great

synthesizers” is the next category. In this category comes the people, who are not very

good at making new designs but they are good at putting together various components

and making something useful and worthy out of it. Another category is that of “the great

explainers” who as the name implies are good are explaining, such jobs will include

managers, teachers, editors etc. the fourth group has been explained as “the great

leverages” these are the people who devise new software and tools to facilitate other

people. Then the author explains a category of more flexible and versatile people called

as “the great adapters.” Along with the high level of skills and knowledge that these

people have, they still have the tendency to proficient at coping, which renders

themselves as better suited for various situations.

Alkadi 5

Friedman suggests that there is an increasing need to “learn” because everything is

changing at such an alarming rate, that what is known today, May not be known

tomorrow. As much as these changes have provided benefits all around the world, the

negative social implications are also undeniable. Millions of people blog everyday as

well as share videos and other stuff on the internet that has raised such social and legal

issues which are now difficult to tackle and put a stop to.

With the increasing technology and the implications on environment, there is a

need for people who still give importance to nature and its components and work for

healthier environment, such eco-friendly people comprise the next category of Friedman

named as “the green people”. In the present world, there exist two extremes at the same

time. One of highly monotonous products and services and then customized ones. In the

present monotonous world, there is a need for some uniqueness, which according to

Friedman is added by these different people also called as “the passionate personalizes”

who add a tint of their creativity and make the product exclusive and matchless. The very

last category is that of “the great Localizers”, which consists of those individuals or

businesses, who by seizing the opportunities and utilizing latest technologies, become a

part of global market and in this way take themselves from the simple local market to the

international market.

In conclusion, Friedman used the world “flat” as a metaphor to describe how close

human became and continue to get closer day by day. The huge emphasis on the word

itself made the reader almost believe that world is actually flat. The more easer it get to

share information or communicate without thinking about the distance is itself an eye

opening to how close the world become. Globalization is a new word that is used to

describe this phenomena which made everyone’s life so much easier. The rapid effect has

implication on all of us without exception, even those who try to be keep a distance from

the new technological envision.

Alkadi 6

References

Friedman, T. L. (2006). The world is flat : A brief history of the twenty-first century.

Macmillan.”