I love perspective-changing experiences. This trip is certainly doing that for me. My personal awareness and knowledge of the world has expanded and it just got a bit smaller for me. I am also currently reading Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat. It’s about globalization. In the first chapter he describes the first period of globalization from 1492 and the discovery of the New World until 1800 when countries were colonizing. Phase two Friedman puts from 1800-2000, a period when companies went multi-national. Phase three is the period we are in now where technology has leveled the playing field allowing individuals to collaborate and compete globally.I mentioned the tourism ads on CNN previously. Today I noticed more ads for Croatia, Kazakhstan, India, and South Africa. Most of the tourism ads I see at home are for Alabama and Kentucky.
1 comment:
Since, you are just into reading "The world is flat" by Friedman, maybe it is a good idea, in case you cant complete the 600 page tome by him, to read a counterperspective to this bbok of his.
It is a small, but interesting book, by Aronica and Ramdoo, "The World is Flat? A Critical Analysis of Thomas Friedman's New York Times Bestseller."
Interestingly enough, the book written about two years back, discusses in the following chapters,
"Debt and Financialization of America"
"America"s Former Middle Class"
"A Paradigm Shift for America" with prescriptions for the future
the debt ridden American society, deregulated financial institutions, mortgage crisis and other related issues, with clear pointers to the economic crisis gripping US today. For more information regarding the same, check this out: mkpress.com/FlatExcerpts.pdf
This book is aimed at the common man and students alike. As popular as the book may be, some reviewers assert that by what it leaves out, Friedman's book is dangerous. The authors point to the fact that there isn't a single table or data footnote in Friedman's entire book.
"Globalization is the greatest reorganization of the world since the Industrial Revolution," says Aronica. Aronica and Ramdoo conclude by listing over twenty action items that point the way forward, and they provide a comprehensive, yet concise, framework for understanding the critical issues of globalization.
You may want to see www.mkpress.com/flat
and watch www.mkpress.com/flatoverview.html
for an interesting counterperspective on Friedman's
"The World is Flat".
Also a really interesting 6 min wake-up call: Shift Happens! www.mkpress.com/ShiftExtreme.html
There is also a companion book listed: Extreme Competition: Innovation and the Great 21st Century Business Reformation
www.mkpress.com/extreme
http://www.mkpress.com/Extreme11minWMV.html
Post a Comment