The world is getting flatter, and that is not necessarily a good thing Essay

The world is getting flatter, and that is not necessarily a good thing - Essay Example The world according to Friedman has been flattened due to major political events, innovations, and companies. He also cites ten flatterers that have shrunk the world. Information technology has definitely brought the world closer and made it interdependent and interconnected, it has resulted in both economic and social integration but this is not necessarily a good thing. Companies have to plan their strategies with special focus on talent management, cross-cultural diversity and the supply chain. Outsourcing and offshoring have affected the way business work today. Networking too has had an impact on services and product offerings. Thus the phenomenon of flat world gives rise to an emergent ‘mess’ of change that confronts us each new day (Weeks, 2007). Flatness is not a new phenomenon. Members of the same industry cluster together inefficiently in the centre of a straight line. This limits competition as it creates a long-term relationship between buyer and seller due to cost-advantage which benefit both (Leamer, 2006). Flatness can increase the scope of relationships but such relationships need to be maintained which is not as simple as it is made out to be. Flatness means taking advantage of the sun-dial model and getting the tasks to be done in other countries while Americans are still in bed. Friedman does not consider the amount of job loss it has caused the US. A flat world would imply that all nations can sell the same goods at more or less the same price and people have the same culture which enhances adaptability. McDonalds have faced problems in selling the same menu everywhere and do have to make local adaptation. It is not possible to change the culture and taste of a nation even after years of flatness. Flatness would means that labor costs or more specifically the costs of production should be the same all over but MNCs start production in developing nations to take advantage of cheap labor. This just means that relationships have shifted