Assignment II – Develop Timelines for Friedman “Flatteners” (100 points)

Chad Branum

EDT646 – Globalization

Assignment II

1/30/06

As I have started to read the book entitled, “The World Is Flat” by Thomas Friedman, I find myself being more sucked into every word that he writes. It is very interesting to me how our world is changing so rapidly by the minute (and in some instances…seconds) and a majority of the people in the United States are not even paying attention and realizing that such flattening is occurring!

After reading the first chapters of this book (1-4), I felt that I should not only write a brief summary on the timeline differences, but also document my flattener reflections from each of the flatteners that are defined by Friedman. Also, I decided that it would be easier for me to create a table to help document each of the specific flattener’s along with the description and timeframe to which Friedman defines them in his book. Additionally, I have included a table that outlines my timeline’s as they compare to Friedman’s. This also creates an easy reference table for me to refer back to. I hope that I have understood this particular assignment correctly and provided the information that is expected. If I have not, then please let me know and I will happy to adjust accordingly. I have started with the timelines and they are shown below:

“Flatteners” Timeline (described by Thomas Friedman)

*Flattener*	*Description*	*Timeframe*
Flattener #1	When the Walls Came Down and the Windows Went Up	11/9/89
Flattener #2	When Netscape Went Public	8/9/1995
Flattener #3	Work Flow Software	Mid-1990s
Flattener #4	Open-Sourcing	1989
Flattener #5	Outsourcing	Late-1980s
Flattener #6	Offshoring	12/11/2001
Flattener #7	Supply-Chaining	1983
Flattener #8	Insourcing	1996
Flattener #9	In-forming	Late 1990s
Flattener #10	The Steriods	Late 1990s

My Timeline

*Flattener*	*Description*	*Timeframe*
Flattener #1	When the Walls Came Down and the Windows Went Up	1990 – mid-1990s
Flattener #2	When Netscape Went Public	1996
Flattener #3	Work Flow Software	2001
Flattener #4	Open-Sourcing	2003
Flattener #5	Outsourcing	1996
Flattener #6	Offshoring	2002
Flattener #7	Supply-Chaining	1990
Flattener #8	Insourcing	2005
Flattener #9	In-forming	2002
Flattener #10	The Steriods	2002

Summary

I really enjoyed reading about each of the flatteners that Friedman defines. It certainly has opened my eyes and mind up to what is going on in our world. This has certainly made me aware of a few concerns that I have for our society. For the most part, I believe that my timelines were somewhat similar to Friedman’s. If there were a few year differences in our timelines, it was most likely due to being younger and not having the opportunity, ability or exposure to really engage and become familiar and experienced in those areas. One good example of this is the flattener called “open-sourcing.” Even though the timeframe for “open-sourcing,” according to Friedman, started around 1989, I was not exposed to that type of concept until 2003. That is not good or bad, just the way that it turned out. A second example has to do with “outsourcing” in which our timelines differed (late-1980s vs. 1996). This lag was primarily due to the fact that I was still in school and certainly didn’t consider anything regarding outsourcing (mainly because I didn’t have to) until after I graduated from college. This is when I was “outsourced” by the company that I was working for to various vendors as a PC Technician. Also, there seems to be a descent lag in our “supply-chaining” timeframes. Again, a lot of this has to do with my age and exposure to these processes. Finally, the one that I am mostly in tune with is “the steroids.” This is mainly because I have been involved in the technology field long enough to completely understand what PDAs, wireless technology and file sharing is about and see what they can do for us in our society. Overall, I certainly wish that I was more in tune with what was going on in the world as I was growing up because it doesn’t make me feel good to simply make the statement that I was young and didn’t pay attention. I can tell you that I now make it a point to constantly read and keep up with new technologies and how they impact us now and in the future. I can now also make the statement that Friedman has gotten me charged up about what is going on in our world and the impact that it can have on our global society. As Friedman states at the end of the tenth flattener, “can you hear me now?” The answer is…yes! I am listening!

Flattener Reflections

As I reflect upon the first flattener (“When the Walls Came Down and the Windows Went Up”), Friedman states several reasons as to why the fall of the Berlin Wall was a good thing. Each of these items is shown below:

“The fall of the Berlin Wall help flatten free-market capitalism, unlock enormous pent-up energies for hundreds of millions of people in places like India, Brazil, China, and the former Soviet Empire.”
“It allowed us to think about the world differently – to see it as more of a seamless whole.”
“The fall of the wall did not just open the way for people to tap into one another’s knowledge pools. It also paved the way for the adoption of common standards.”

Friedman also states that there were several other major contributing factors that helped to put an end to this way of life during the same time period. “The diffusion of personal computers, fax machines, Windows, and dial-up modems connected to a global telephone network all came together in the late 1980s and early 1990s to create the basic platform that started the global information revolution.” What did this mean? It meant that for the first time, because of these new technologies, people had the ability to be more productive and in some instances, “connect” with people outside of their own little world by using dial-up modems, e-mail and the very first versions of the Internet. This particular timeframe (11/9/89 – mid-1990s) was interesting for me to reflect on because I grew up as a young child right through these events. While I certainly would hear and learn about the fall of the Berlin Wall in school, I certainly didn’t have a concept of what it was truly about and the impacts that it had on society. As I grew older, I only then truly understood the issues that it played on our world. Regarding the new technologies that were developed during this time, I never had a chance to utilize any form of computer until I was an older child in middle school. The very first computer that my parents purchased for me to use at home was a Commodore 64 that consisted of a TV/monitor, keyboard and a 5 ¼ floppy drive. Boy, was that a machine or what! It is funny to think about how far we have come in such a short period of time and to think about how we use to consider 16MG of disk space extremely large and all that we would ever need. Overall, Friedman’s timeline and my timeline for this time period are consistent. But if I was a little older during this time, I could have better understood and really used the new technologies that started to emerge. I guess that I can say that I have been fortunate enough to grow up in a time period where the computer age was developed and started pushing our society towards global communication.

Flattener number two, “When Netscape Went Public,” was a huge springboard to where we are today with our global society and our use of the Internet, Windows operating systems, PCs and open standards. It is hard to believe that the Internet is only roughly 10 years old! Obviously, there is more to the story during this time period than just the development of a web browser. You have to look at the development, advancement and maturation of the Windows operating system (Windows 95), implementation of fiber-optic cabling along with the growing dependence and use of PCs by the public. When you combine these factors along with the timing and creation of the web browser, you have just opened a huge door for individuals and corporations to collaborate and tap into a wealth of information from all over the world. Friedman states, “Once the PC-Windows revolution demonstrated to everyone the value of being able to digitize information and manipulate it on computers and word processors, and once the browser brought the Internet alive and made Web pages sing and dance and display, everyone wanted everything digitized as much as possible so they could send it to someone else down the Internet pipes.” I can just imagine the enthusiasm and brainstorming that occurred during this time. Regarding my actual use of PCs and a web browser, I actually really didn’t start using a web browser of any kind until about 1996. I started to use Windows 95 and starting using Internet Explorer once it became available as an add-on. For some reason, I have never really used Netscape and have always preferred using Internet Explorer. Maybe that is because that is what I was used to and just didn’t branch out using other web browsers during this time period. However, this is certainly not the case today with the development of other web browsers such as FireFox, Opera, and Safari. I tend to explore more and use a variety of web browsers for various functions. There is certainly no question that the Internet has become a power tool that everyone across the globe uses today. It has opened the door to so many possibilities and I certainly envision using this technology for a very long time. I am extremely interested in where it will go from here. I believe that the future of the Internet will migrate towards something called the “Semantic Web.”

Flattener number three, “Work Flow Software,” is a very intriguing one for me. The main reason is that I have been working with my specific school board for several years (starting in 2001) now to adopt what is called Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) for our school district. This standard is based upon XML and allows the interoperability of data amongst disparate systems. The good news is that we have actually had SIF implemented for about a year now and it has provided great value for stakeholders. It is interesting to see that XML started to be leveraged in the mid-1990s. I had not realized that it had been around for that long. It really makes me wish that the K-12 arena would have been more proactive and realized its value sooner and started writing more applications that are SIF compliant so that we could take advantage of this technology. Needless to say, I am extremely happy for the work flow software development that has emerged over the years. I am a very strong proponent of seamless interoperability of systems. I certainly have my own vision for where I would like to see these standards heading and I hope that we can continue to leverage and use work flow standards effectively in the K-12 environment. As Friedman states, “when you add this unprecedented new level of people-to-people communication to all these Web-based application-to-application work flow programs, you end up with a whole new global platform for multiple forms of collaboration.” I couldn’t agree more.

Flattener number four, “Open-Sourcing,” is all about “writing everything from their own software to their own operating systems to their own dictionary to their own recipe for cola – building always from the bottom up rather than accepting formats or content imposed by corporate hierarchies from the top down.” Basically, individuals have the ability to create “source code” and make it available online for free to other people to contribute to. Friedman states the fact that one of the main pioneers (Behlendorf) of “open-sourcing” was first exposed to this concept in 1989. Behlendorf didn’t really start writing source code for several years after that. This is a very interesting concept for me and I was only really first exposed to “open-sourcing” just a few years back. That was mainly due to one of my current network engineers that work for me in my school district. He is a big Linux person and has slowly discussed with me the many benefits and advantages that Linux has. I can tell you that I am on the Linux bandwagon now! Over the past couple of years, he has shared more and more information with me along with some of the source code that he has written and shared with others on the side. He is a very smart individual! Overall, I see great value in leveraging “open-source” products. There seems to be a trend of larger companies utilizing this as well and leveraging their products around “open-source” coding. The best example that I can think of is Novell. Over the past year or so, Novell has geared is vision towards the incorporation of Linux into their infrastructure. My school district is a huge Novell shop so I envision us implementing and using Linux heavily on our backend to enhance our network performance. In addition to that, I am also looking at the possibility of using a Linux desktop for our schools. The main driving force behind this is the cost of maintaining Microsoft products. With the development of products that can compete with Microsoft and do it free of charge, it is hard not to take a long hard look! “Open-sourcing” is going to play a large role in our society for a long time.

Flattener number five, “Outsourcing,” is something I feel the United States should be concerned about. According to Friedman, “the Indian information technology [outsourcing] revolution began with General Electric coming over.” That is pretty scary to think about considering that occurred in the late 1980s. Additionally, the outsourcing concept started to move forward in 1994 when HealthScribe India created a company to provide medical transcription information for American doctors. However, what really started the outsourcing boom was a combination of the installation of fiber-optic cable around the world, Y2K computer crisis and e-commerce. Because of these events, it became quickly realized that “any service, call center, business support operation, or knowledge work that could be digitized could be sourced globally to the cheapest, smartest or most efficient provider.” Regarding how I have been exposed to the “outsourcing” concept, I use to work for a company back in 1996 where I was a PC Technician “outsourced” to various companies throughout the city to assist with technical issues as needed. I was not a direct employee of this company but was a hired hand to simply get the job done. Even though I was not across the Atlantic Ocean, it was still a form of this concept and I guess that I never really thought of it this way until I have reflected on this reading. Additionally, my school district has standardized on Dell for PCs and laptops for about 5 years now. It makes me wonder if my technical staff is actually talking to someone in India or China when they are calling to troubleshoot or purchase a piece of hardware. Overall, I am concerned about the United States and what kind of long-term affects that the “outsourcing” to other foreign countries is going to do. I believe that we have to better train the students of today so that we do not fall behind as world leaders.

Flattener number six, “Offshoring,” is described as “when a company takes one of its factories that is operating in Canton, Ohio, and moves the whole factory offshore to Canton, China. There, it produces the very same product in the very same way, only with cheaper labor, lower taxes, subsidized energy, and lower health-care costs.” This is a concept that for the longest time, I had not considered or thought about because it really didn’t concern me. However, as I have sat back and watched (since about 2002) other companies slowly move their operations out of the United States, it is clear that foreign countries, such as China, currently play a huge role in our global economy…and it concerns me. According to Friedman, “China’s real long-term strategy is to outrace America and the E.U. countries to the top, and the Chinese are off to a good start. What China’s leaders really want is the next generation of underwear or airplane wings to be designed in China as well.” I put this quote in here because I am concerned that the United States is outsourcing and offshoring so much that it is making itself vulnerable. I feel that we are consumed so much with making a profit and trying to serve foreign countries, that we are not spending the time training our youth to be successful in tomorrow’s world. While it is wonderful that we can reach across the globe with product, it is another thing when other countries start to pass us by with the development and implementation of new technologies. While I have never really been directly involved with any kind of “offshoring” event and have merely observed global “offshoring” since about 2002, I would hope that I would focus any business venture that I might have within the United States and utilize all of the wonderful resources that we have available to us.

Flattener number seven, “Supply-Chaining,” is described as “a method of collaborating horizontally – among suppliers, retailers, and customers – to create value.” There is no question that Wal-Mart is a manufacturer that has been on the cutting edge of “supply-chaining.” It basically wrote the book on how to do this efficiently and effectively. Friedman points out that Wal-Mart has built its empire around “buying direct from manufacturers, working with manufacturers to get them to cut their costs as much as possible, working on its supply-chain from those manufacturers, and constantly improving Wal-Mart’s information systems.” I had the opportunity to actually work for Wal-Mart for a year when I was a junior in high school (1990). This is when I was first exposed to the “supply-chain” process and see first hand some of the practices that Wal-Mart already put in place. It was quite impressive back then and I can only image how it is today. If other companies have the unique ability to fine-tune their processes half as much as Wal-Mart, there is no question that they would have the ability to play a special part in our global economy. One comment that Friedman mentions in this flattener is the fact that Wal-Mart focuses its business within the United States and doesn’t want to get involved with offshoring. I admire that!

Flattener number eight, “Insourcing,” is described by Friedman as “a whole new form of collaboration and creating value horizontally, made possible by the flat world and flattening it even more. It is the process of synchronizing your whole company and its interaction with both customers and suppliers. It is interesting to read the UPS has leveraged itself in many ways that I have never thought of. I never would have imaged that they would actually repair a laptop on behalf of Toshiba or be the actual one who processes, routes and deliver the goods that are purchased online from Nike or other vendors. It appears that UPS has really leveraged its creativity along with taking advantage of the technologies that are available to become a global leader in this type of collaboration.” Regarding my experience with “insourcing,” I certainly purchase my share of products online and have been doing so for several years but what intrigued me the most was the automated email that I received over the last Christmas holidays when I purchased a couple of presents for my children online. After I had checked out and paid for the items via the website, I noticed that I automatically received an email notification from UPS stating my tracking number along with the tentative delivery information. Sure enough, later the next week, I received the items that I had paid for over the Internet. After reading this particular flattener, it makes me wonder if this might have been this concept taking place right before my own eyes! It is amazing for me to consider the fact that a third-party company can leverage itself in such a way and provide so many services around the world.

Flattener number nine, “In-forming,” is describer by Friedman as “the individual’s personal analog to open-sourcing, insourcing, supply-chaining, and offshoring. Informing is the ability to build and deploy your own personal supply chain.” It is truly amazing to consider the impact that the various search engines such as Google, Yahoo! And MSN Web Search has had on our society. Think about having the ability to basically tap into a huge knowledge base and being able to pull information that is important to you 24/7 and in many different languages. You are basically “searching for knowledge.” After reading this particular flattener, what I am getting from this concept is that “in-forming” is about having a mechanism that has the ability to collaborate in order to provide an idea, information or product very quickly. I really started using search engines, such as Google, around 2001. It is amazing to consider how far our society has come and it is scary to think about all of the information that we have access to from around the world with just the click of a mouse! There are no boundaries in cyberspace.

Flattener number ten, “The Steriods,” is described by Friedman as “certain new technologies that are amplifying and turbocharging all the other flatteners. They are taking all the forms of collaboration and making it possible to do each and every one of them in a way that is digital, mobile, virtual, and personal.” A good example that applies to me is the integration of a PDA device into my everyday life. Starting back in 2003, I purchased a Dell Axim (Pocket PC) so that I could be more mobile and have the ability to take notes during meetings. However, what I found was that I could apply this type of device in ways I had not thought of before. What it has turned into for me is not just a note taking piece of hardware, but now I use it to connect directly to our wireless network out at schools and gain access to network information such as student data on the fly. This type of access has provided me with real-time access to information that is important to me as well as tapping into valuable resources. Also, I mentioned our wireless network. We have had all of our campuses integrated with wireless for several years already so that we could create a collaborative and unique learning environment for them. When you stop and think about how this type of functionality can apply on a global scale, you ultimately have the possibility of “engines talking to computers, talking to people, talking back to the engines, followed by people talking to people – all done from anywhere to anywhere.” That is powerful stuff!