As all these human needs are connected with each other, it is not surprising then, that the human need to connect is inherently connected with the human need for knowledge. In 11/9/89, the Berlin Wall fell because it prevented people from physically knowing and hearing about worlds that existed beyond the wall. In 8/9/95, Netscape was launced and made public because it would not only connect people with each other, but its usage would generate "more incentive…to create content and applications and tools" (64). Work Flow Software, Uploading, and In-forming were further developments that negotiated people's need for knowledge -- whether they are free and readily available or not. Work Flow Software satisfied people's need for knowledge as it allowed information to travel seamlessly through integrated networks. Uploading and In-forming, however, paved the way for (selected) new media technologies to remain "open" and continuously expanding, respectively. Uploading allowed users to treat information not just as a simple commodity, but actually as a social capital that must be shared and improved on. It also brought people together ("online communities"), uniting them in achieving a common goal, which was to keep the Internet an open venue where applications, programs, and other tools can be accessed and used for free, as in the case of the developers/programmers of Apache and Linux (101, 107). In-forming gave power to users as they can easily use and manipulate information, just as it was easy for them to access this information. This flattener made ever-expanding knowledge "at your fingertips" a reality, as more and more individuals and groups used different applications and programs to upload information, for information's sake. These flatteners are breakthroughs in that they changed the way businesses manipulated technology and information for profit, while individuals and small groups became empowered simply by their ability to influence, and consequently, empower others, through information. Free sofware and applications leveled the field at which businesses and individuals can use and manipulate information, and share or sell it to others.
Businesses use and patronize technologies that they know would make their operations more efficient -- that is, make their work easier and faster...
Friedman considers insourcing to be flattener number eight, because it allows small companies to compete like major supply-chain companies. Insourcing refers to hiring another company to handle a company's supply chain. UPS is the major supplier for insourcing services in the United States. Friedman believes that insourcing flattens in three ways: by letting little companies compete in the global market; by dissolving barriers between companies; and by standardizing business
World Is Flat by Tom Friedman From the term "The World is flat," Tom Friedman means the international competitive ground is being leveled. It is now possible for individuals to work together and contend directly with others on different types of work from different sides of the globe and on an equivalent ground than in the world history. Friedman considers that this "flattening" around the globe is the result of ten
World is Flat" is taken from a metaphorical point-of-view to highlight the development and advancement of technology in the world. The author, Thomas Friedman, asserts that the world has become flatter because technology together with other factors has turned the world into a smaller place. The author describes the manner in which technology has made the world become more competitive and elucidates what is necessary to compete in this
Outsourcing has shown that the quality of work does not diminish even if someone who lives at the side of the world does the work. This situation is largely dependent on the amount and quality of investment in enriching human capital in the developing world, i.e. through a more relevant curriculum, which matches the needs of the labor market. Off shoring, on the hand, works differently. Friedman noted that off
There, they get the work done their way, with their tools and in their own space, but with much lower costs that in their native country. Friedman is a firm believer in offshoring and states that such a process is a strong stimulant for fair and international competition. He criticizes the countries that did not yet adopt it saying that all countries should be members of the international market, regardless
" The final force of collaboration, which Freidman (2006) calls "informing"-which are search engines like Yahoo, Google, MSN, etc., which has facilitated "Internetizer technologies" to work together with limitless information all by itself (Freidman, 2006). Therefore, the initial three flatteners formed the novel stage for cooperation, and the subsequent six have been the novel shapes of cooperation that flattened the world. The last flattener is referred to as "the steroids," and
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