The World Is Flat !, By Thomas L. Friedman

Globalisation is expressed in transcontinental flows and networks of activity, interaction and power between countries, irrespective of geographic distance. It establishes and maintains economic, political and socio-cultural relations. This interaction helps economies through growth in international trade, investment and capital flows. Some factors that have acted as the driving force of globalisation include technological innovation as it had made transport and communication around the world easier, capitalism and trade have also played an important role in encouraging globalisation. Trade

Globalisation refers to the process of increased integration between different countries and economies and the increased impact of international influences on all aspects of life and economic activity. Since 1978, the Chinese “tiger” economy has embarked on a process of social and economic reform designed to improve the quality of life of the population and open the economy to global integration. These strategies designed to promote economic growth and development include the Five Year Plan, FDI and trade policy, microeconomic reforms, welfare policy, environmental policies and macroeconomic policies.

Globalisation has considerably changed the face of how economies and countries operate in today’s world, enabling the openness of transactions with one another. It is due to the humanistic desires for the pursuit of prosperity that the concept of globalization paves a pathway to which economies can achieve this – facilitating the capacity to strengthen and condition existing relations between these countries.

The world is flat by Thomas Freidman is a very debatable book that is focused around how the world is becoming flat. Thomas uses the metaphor the world is flat to explain how the global competitive field is being leveled. He first realizes this on his trip to Bangalore, India. On his trip he is followed by a discovery channel crew and he interviews Indian businessmen and women working for American companies. He discover that they can communicate with there partners around the world by video conferencing this is where he began his own theory of how the world became flat. After his journey to India we travel to other flattening countries like China, Japan, and of course he investigates our own country and explains to the reader why the U.S.

The process of globalisation in China has been a rapid one. China’s exponential growth since the fall of Mao has lead to increased international influence – with China now operating on an international scale.

In Chapter Two of Thomas Friedman’s book, The World is Flat, Friedman describes ten events and occurrences that have contributed to the world being flat. According to Friedman, a “flattened” world is one where all people and countries have the same opportunities; mainly, that other countries have the resources to challenge America. One of these flatteners is called work flow software, which is technology that has allowed work to become more efficient and productive. This technology utilizes the digital format of documents to make the transfer of the documents easier, as well as allowing more people access to the document. In Danville, work flow software has made a very large impact. In the Danville Area School District, high school students are each given their own Chromebook at no cost, while middle school

Globalization has enhanced speedy economic growth in China. It gives the countries that embrace the phenomenon opportunities for economic growth through increased access to foreign capital, modern technologies, new information and technical skills. Mike Collins in his article, The Pros and Cons of Globalization, points that globalization is an approach aimed at raising the social, economic and political status of both the poor and rich states through a global strategy. The approach, however, has come with its drawbacks that cannot go unnoticed. The most evident negative effect is that it has led to the exploitation of the poor, subjecting them to more poverty conditions, while the rich accumulate more wealth than ever before.

Ghemawat (2007) detailed that globalisation is more than just a powerful economic and political transformation it bound people, countries and market closer. It is a growing network of different companies, groups, and individual. Globalisation has shrunk the world from size small to size tiny and flattened the world.

The economists that support the ideologies of the economic globalization are of a strong assertion that this phenomenon has the power to shape and reshape progression in the economic activities and the economic globalization is hereby regarded positive stimulus that guard and ensure the enhanced excellence of life, a rapid increase in the economic activities but unfortunately this is not the case in all the situations. The unwanted by products of economic liberalization and economic globalization are hard felt in the developed countries like China.

The World Is Flat is a visionary and insightful text written by Thomas L. Friedman. In short, the text brings about the study of globalization at its forefront. Moreover, Friedman analyzes the evolution of business and importance of information with respect not only to the 21st century, but with regards to the history of trade as we know it. It is from this study and understanding that Friedman engages in a detailed thought process as to how an institution, government, or individual can remain competitive in such a progressive environment. In summary, through engaging in the fifteen chapters and recalling the historical events used as evidence, one may arrive at more substantial conclusion as to how certain entities will remain ahead of

Speaker Thomas Friedman speaks at MIT, which is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “He is an American journalist specializing in foreign affairs, global trade, the Middle East, globalization, and environmental issues. “ (Daniel H. Pink) He is talking about the basis of what the book is about and how he understood this new phenomenon. The book is titled “The World Is Flat”. This title refers to “the global economic playing field being leveled.” This is a tremendous achievement that all started with Christopher Columbus discovering North America in 1492. This was the first development of the globalization of the world, which today has taken over economies all over the world. This advancement of technology has led to “accidently making Beijing, Bangalore and Bethesda next-door neighbors”. Mr. Friedman then references in chapter one of his book about all of the encounters he had in India that led him to the conclusion, “The World Is Flat”.

“The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century” is a book written by Thomas L. Friedman. In his book, Friedman analyzes the evolution of globalization and contends that developments in technologies and trade, particularly information and communication technologies, are spreading the benefits of globalization to emerging economies promoting their development and growth. Friedman cautions that in order for the United States to continue to be competitive in the global market, it must inspire its youth to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics professions in order to compensate for the defect in these fields. Additionally, retirement benefits and health insurance should no longer be reliant on an individual’s

Globalization is far reaching in this day and age. Globalization is the worldwide flow of goods, services, money, people, information, and culture. It leads to a greater interdependence and mutual awareness among the people of the world (Tischler, 2011, 2007, p. 430). One non-Western culture that has been impacted by globalization is China. An example of the impact of globalization on China is their economy. Since joining the World Trade Organization, China has transformed from a culture that relied on economic self-sufficiency and shunned the thought of globalization to an economy that is progressively more open to trade and foreign investment.

Globalisation can be defined as the movement toward economic, financial, trade, and communications integration by countries and their populations globally. It is a constant process and it has resulted in the intertwining and generalisation of the needs and wants of people

Today globalization has an impact on all nations. China is a nation that many rely heavily on. This shows an importance with the economical welfare of China. If China has a downturn in its economy other nations are impacted as well. China contributed “19% of the world's economic growth in 2010, and that's expected to increase to 24% this year” (Miller, What If the China Bubble Bursts?). This depicts the impact that china could have on the economical growth of the world. Due to the economical situations within the United States and Europe, China's growing strength is essential for the recovery of U.S. and Europe. A major issue is "if Chinese land prices plummet, there will be less demand for raw materials and a steep decline in world commodity markets and