Metaphor For The Word Flat Summary

825 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Negative effects of globalization

It is hard to disagree that the world today is incredibly globalized. Doing business between countries, transfer of funds, financial and capital investments are quite easy and uncomplicated. As a consequence, globalization seems to be the inevitable force. Every big company wants to go international to increase their presence worldwide for a bigger growth potential.
In his book Thomas L. Friedman argues that advances in technology and connectivity had leaded businesses to be powerful. He has stated that every company in the globe is at the ‘level playing field’ metaphor for the word ‘flat’. Thus Friedman suggests that every company operating in today’s competitive world along with countries and individuals requires a change in order to survive or be prepared to be swept by the waves of globalization.
In criticism to Friedman’s ideas, Joseph E. Stiglitz (2006) in his famous book “Making globalization work” argued that despite the radical amendment in the global landscape, not only the world was not flat; in fact in many facets the world …show more content…

No matter the level of globalization, national boundaries can never be ignored at today’s extent of globalization. Coming from a foreign country with a different culture, language and geography as well as a different application and understanding of democracy, I know from firsthand experience how things are different on the other side of the world. I know for example, BestBuy has closed its stores within 3 years of entering the market mainly because of the complex and rigid local construction zoning and building codes. Dunkin Donuts, as another example, has halted their operations in my country just because local people are not used to eating sweet donuts and prefer cheaper local salty

Show More
Related

  • The Post American World, by Fareed Zakaria and The World is Flat, by Thomas Friedman

    806 Words  | 2 Pages

    As Americans we have to start to comprehend that the world around us is changing technologically, politically, and economically. In “The Last Superpower” an excerpt from the book The Post American World by Fareed Zakaria published in 2008. Zakaria emphasizes on these changes. Thomas Friedman the author of “The World is Flat” a piece from the book The World is Flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century published in 2005 also emphasizes on the same changes currently happening in the world. Zakaria and Friedman define these changes as globalization. The obvious common ground shared by both authors is their representation of globalization and the effects that it has and will continue to have on modern life. In contrast to sharing the same main topic both authors take a drastically different approach on how the relay their information to the audience. The differences displayed are mainly due to their personal and educational backgrounds, definitions of globalization as well as the individual writing styles of each author.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat

    1329 Words  | 3 Pages

    Is the world actually flat? According to Thomas Friedman’s book it is. He explored this notion when he took a trip to India, where he noticed the competition for global knowledge. Throughout his book “The World is Flat” he argues that there are ten forces that flattened the world, claimed the best interest for the United States’ is free trade, acknowledged what actions developing countries ought to implement, analyzed how flattening could flounder, and highlights the challenging framework of creativity developing across the globe today.

    Read More

  • Arguments For And Against The Idea That The World Has Become Flat In Recent Years

    853 Words  | 2 Pages

    The world is ever changing and has been that way even before humans dominated Earth. However, what we are interested in for this topic is in the last few decades where globalization has had an impact in the early 21st century, making the world "flat". The phrase that the world has become flat is a metaphor for viewing the world level in terms of commerce and competition, meaning a level playing field where everyone has an equal opportunity. However, opinions are divided on how much globalization has actually impacted the world as a whole. Critics argue that Friedman’s term "flat" is grossly exaggerated as his view is from an American perspective. This paper investigates major arguments for both sides.

    Read More

  • Education in Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat

    1161 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mirgani, Suzi. "Thomas L. Friedman Lectures on the World Is Flat 3.0." Center for International and Regional Studies -. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.

    Read More

  • The World is Flat -Chapters 7 & 8

    2161 Words  | 5 Pages

    Constant change and a flat, global competitive market landscape were described by Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat, as triple convergence and was a result of the ten flatteners. Friedman also stated that in “Globalization 1.0, countries had to think globally. In Globalization 2.0, companies had to think globally to thrive, or at least survive. In Globalization 3.0, individuals have to think globally to thrive, or at least survive.” (Friedman, 2007) The concept of needing individuals to think globally and thrive in the market led Friedman to travel and report on various educational cultures across the world. Friedman was determined to find “the right stuff” to make the youth in future generations competitive globally.

    Read More

  • Fedex Macroenvironment Study

    1556 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nowadays, Globalization is a main trend for the world economic. The world’s economy has become fully integrated. There are no barriers and borders to trade around the world.

    Read More

  • Benefits Of Toyota

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is interesting and very pleasant to see how people from across the world work together to come up with ideas that make their company the best in what they do. This interconnection among people and places throughout the world which is with increasing level is called globalization. Some people think of it as internationalization where people from different parts of the world work with each other to bring out something quite enjoyable. Before, each country had its own business which didn’t collaborate with anybody else but themselves within the country. Since globalization has spread quite far, there are numerus examples available in our world today. Globalization can be found in economics, blending of cultures, technology,

    Read More

  • The Impact of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) on Developing Countries

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    Stiglitz, Joseph E. Making Globalization Work. New York: Norton & Company, Inc., 2007. Kindle ebook file.

    Read More

  • Impact of Globalization on High School Education

    1520 Words  | 4 Pages

    We are living amidst globalization 3.0, a term coined by New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman ever since the rapid expansion of technology. “New kinds of technologies and advanced transportation have allowed for the rapid formation and reorganization of local and global linkages and networks,” (Clark 86). The world is becoming “flat” in the sense t...

    Read More

  • The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman

    916 Words  | 2 Pages

    First of all, Friedman talks about the different levels of globalization. There are 3 different time periods in which the society has differed and changed, bringing us to where we are today. Globalization 1.0, which took place from 1492 to 1800, was the first step to making the world flatter. The coming to America, and the industrial drive that came along with this is what most characterized globalization 1.0. The industry drive was about things such as manpower and horsepower, and how well we could utilize these in the world market. This caused the world to “shrink” a little bit, and become flatter. With the discovery of a new world, it broadened the area in which business was conducted, but the commonality of rule and trade caused the distance to be spanned more frequently. I think Friedman’s notions regarding globalization 1.0 is very accurate. The world in our terms began in 1492 with the discovery of North America. Once the area began to be inhabited and settled, there was much more worldwide interaction. Communications and trade between the American colonies and England increased, and this began a more stable business of worldwide association. I believe that Friedman’s theory is true, because the discovery of a land across the ocean for th...

    Read More

  • Globalization and Organizational Structure

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    Globalization remains a pivotal topic in many schools of thought, and continues being a topic of controversy even in local economies today. Perhaps the reason for this is integration and competitiveness the world over. Conceivably, even more than integration, is the competitiveness of organizations, has possibly facilitating the fascination and misconception about of globalization. Nevertheless, globalization has brought about a number of effects influencing the design and geographical location of the organization. However, globalization has effectively placed the world in a bubble, or maybe one could equate the changes to being placed in an envelope.

    Read More

  • Negative Effects of Globalization

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...o we can achieve our dreams in life: “we are now living in a world where time and space don’t matter anymore” just like J.Mittleman said. Globalization as we just learned is relative, whether it’s an opportunity or an exploitation depends on where you sit and how you look at the world. Kent, J., Kinetz, E. & Whehrfritz, G. Newsweek. Bottom of the barrel. - The dark side of globalization (2008/March24). David, P. Falling of The Edge, Travels through the Dark Heart of Globalization..Nov 2008. (p62)

    Read More

  • Changes in the twenty first century workplace

    1238 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...in the new “flat world” individuals need to figure out how to become “untouchable.” He explains that “untouchables are people whose jobs cannot be outsourced, digitized, or automated” (184). He explains that in a “flat world” there is no longer a job based solely on geographic, but rather in most cases an available job “will go to the best, smartest, most productive or cheapest worker-wherever he or she resides” (183). He goes on to show that companies and individuals have to look at the global picture today in order to succeed (183).

    Read More

  • Globalization and Technology

    1460 Words  | 3 Pages

    Globalisation is a very complex term with various definitions, in business terms, “globalization describes the increasingly global nature of markets, the tendency for transnational businesses to configure their business activities on a worldwide basis, and to co-ordinate and integrate their strategies and operations across national boundaries” (Stonehouse, Campbell, Hamill and Purdie, 2004, p. 5).

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Globalization

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    Globalization’s history is extremely diversified and began during the beginning of civilization. Now we live in a world that is constantly evolving, demanding people to use resources in locations that are very difficult to obtain certain resources. This could make it completely impossible to operate in these specific parts of the world. However, globalization allows people across the world to acquire much needed resources. Globalization creates the opportunity for businesses to take advantage and exploit the ability to take part of their business to a different country. Nevertheless, globalization is part of today’s society and will be involved in virtually all situations.

    Read More

More about Metaphor For The Word Flat Summary

Open Document