Chad Branum

EDT646

Assignment VI – Compassionate Flatism

03/17/06

Introduction

”I believe we possess all the resources and talents necessary, but the facts of the matter are that we have never made the national decisions or marshaled the national resources required for such leadership. We have never specified long-range goals on an urgent time schedule, or managed our resources and our time so as to ensure their fulfillment,” said President Kennedy (pg. 279). It is interesting to me to reflect on these words that were stated back in 1961 by President Kennedy. Only someone that had a true vision and understanding of the world around them could make such comments. It is also equally as interesting that President Kennedy was correct in his assumption that we need to prepare our individuals to work and grow in technology related fields as well as other field areas so that we can keep up in our global society. I certainly agree with these statements and fully believe that our nation must find a way to better prepare our students of today early on in their educational careers. This is going to take massive commitments from our government to not only provide adequate funding, but to also develop programs and initiatives so that we have a path and/or method to gain the knowledge and expertise in science, math and technology related fields in order to be competitive. Without having a national emphasis, we will not be able to keep up in the long run. The risk that we take by not being proactive at this point is being left behind by other countries as they flourish in the flattening world.

Categories of Action

As I review chapter eight of The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman, “compassionate flatism” is defined as “a policy built around five broad categories of action for the age of flat: leadership, muscle building, cushioning, social activism, and parenting” (pg. 280). I have defined and reviewed each of the categories below in the order of most importance to the least importance. I feel that the most important category that is defined by Thomas Friedman is “leadership.” Ultimately, I feel that there is a top down approach that is extremely important for our nation to realize. In order to create change and implement the measures that need to be in place to develop, grow and prepare long-term as a society, it has to come from our key policy makers. Without these key policy makers lobbying for change and developing a long-term vision, we will never put our country in a position to establish a national direction and/or vision. The next category of importance is “parenting.” I cannot stress enough how important it is that parents take their responsibilities seriously and help to develop the discipline and work ethic that their children should have. A parent has to aid their child in developing a solid foundation so that they can ultimately become productive citizens in the future. The third category of importance is “muscle building.” The main reason that I put this ahead of “social activism” is the fact of life-long learning. I do feel that it is essential that our leaders establish a means to guarantee some form of minimum college education for every child. If we do not, then we risk our long-term workforce and their place in our flattening society. The fourth category of importance is “social activism.” One thing that I strive for in my work place is communication and collaboration. Everyone must collectively work together in order to create value and/or product. If we do not, then we cannot be as productive. This concept is only enhanced when it comes to corporations and individual interest groups. If we can find a way for consumers and corporations to collaborate effectively, the impact on our country and the world can be huge. The final category of importance is “cushioning.” While I do value the concept of “wage insurance,” I did place this category last simply because I feel the other categories are more important. However, I do hope that we can find a way in the future to create a method to allow individuals to continue to grow and learn without the undue stress of a major reduction of their wages.

Leadership

The most compelling statement that came to me for this particular category is the following statement:

“It is hard to have an American national strategy for dealing with flatism if people won’t even acknowledge that there is an education gap emerging and that there is an ambition gap emerging and that we are in a quiet crisis” (pg. 281).

Obviously, I agree with this statement because I come across people everyday that simply do not understand how vulnerable we really are in our educational environment. I can tell you that I am extremely alarmed that our current students are not being properly challenged in their daily education. This is resulting in students not performing up to their abilities and not being interested in math and science. To go along with this, I feel that the students’ parents have become complacent and are not properly helping to establish the point of discipline and hard work that is necessary for their children to grow and learn effectively. Another good point that is made talks about the effectiveness of politicians and their role in our society. It is mentioned that “politicians not only need to explain to people the flat world, they need to inspire them to rise to the challenge of it” (pg. 283). The point is that if we expect to lobby our policy makers to allocate sufficient funding and make major policy changes in our long-term educational strategies, those same politicians that help to make those decisions have to understand what global flattening is and what our current education gaps are. The biggest challenge that we face is finding a way to better educate all of the key players that are involved in the decision making process and ensure that they step up to the plate and become what I call “aware leaders.” An “aware leader,” both government and business, would begin to utilize his/her knowledge, skill and expertise to work collectively with individuals from around the country and world to better understand what is going on in the fields of math, science and technology and how those are affecting its stakeholders. Also, these “aware leaders” would collaborate with other stakeholders from across all disciplines to ultimately create strategies necessary to implement the types of programs and incentives that are needed to impact our students today so that we are prepared for tomorrow. This has to come from the top down and made a priority!

Parenting

This particular category discusses the true need for parents to understand their role and responsibilities as parents. It is stated that “helping individuals adapt to a flat world is not only the job of governments and companies. It is also the job of parents. They too need to know in what world their kids are growing up and what it will take for them to thrive” (pg. 303). As stated earlier in this review, I feel that the students’ parents have become complacent and are not properly helping to establish the point of discipline and hard work that is necessary for their children to grow and learn effectively. I cannot state enough how important it is for parents to help their own children grow and learn and realize that it has to start early on in their lives. As a parent, I have to ensure that my children learn the value of hard work, discipline and an education in order to become a valuable contributor to society in the future.

Muscle Building

In this particular category, Thomas Friedman defines two things that workers should have. They are “portable benefits and opportunities for life-long learning” (pg. 284). The theory behind “portable benefits” is that by having a flexible benefit, it will allow workers to easily establish programs such as 401K saving programs and be able to maintain these exact same benefits if they were to move to another job. Also, by establishing state-defined health care plans, individuals would have the opportunity to choose their own state plan and it could be carried with them know matter where they were employed. This type of flexibility is what “portable benefits” are all about. In addition to the “portable benefits,” another key component of “muscle building” is putting more of an emphasis on education and life-long learning. I agree with the statement that “tertiary education is more critical the flatter the world gets” (pg. 289). I am a very strong proponent of higher education and obtaining the knowledge necessary to become more skilled and then putting that knowledge gained and skills into the workforce to make an effective difference. There are way too many individuals that do not even consider pursuing an education at a higher level. We have to find a way to establish means for every child to obtain some sort of advanced degree beyond high school. If we actually had the ability to provide the means for every student in America to pursue at least a two-year college degree, that would go a long way towards better educating our country.

Social Activism

This particular category discusses “the relationship between global corporations and their own moral consciences” (pg. 297). A good example that is discussed is that “McDonald’s and Conservation International forged a partnership to use the McDonald’s global supply chain – a behemoth that sucks beef, fish, chicken, pork, bread, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, and potatoes from all four corners of the flat world – to produce not just value but also different values about the environment” (pg. 298). This is a growing trend amongst corporations to collaborate with an appropriate industry to create environment friendly product. Also, other industries such as the computer industry have realized the importance of collaboration. A good example of this collaborative type effort is mentioned when HP-Dell-IBM worked together to establish a “unified code of socially responsible manufacturing practices across the world.” A key concept to understand for this category is the fact that large corporations have money, power and the ability to set global standards. That is why it is so important for these companies to collaborate and establish standards that are equal for the whole and not just themselves. However, it is also important to realize that consumers help drive what product is placed in our society by corporations or where they ultimately put their money. A good way to sum this thought up is that “we should be thinking about how collaboration between consumers and companies can provide an enormous amount of protection against the worst features of the flattening of the world” (pg. 302). I feel strongly that collaboration is a large key to a better future.

Cushioning

This particular category introduces the idea of implementing “wage insurance.” The concept behind “wage insurance” is that a worker would get “compensated for your old specific skills, for a set period of time, while you take a new job and learn new specific skills” (pg. 294). After reading this concept, I like really like this idea. There are so many people that are losing jobs and it is difficult for their families to be put in a bad financial situation. This process would also provide an educational opportunity for the individual to grow and learn new skills in their new job. Ultimately, I feel that this is a winning situation for everyone. It provides a little more financial stability and also provides them the ability to grow and learn in their appropriate field of work.