Essay 5

Jaquelyn Hernandez

IST

9/30/2012

Essay 5

            In pages 200-259, in The world is Flat, Thomas Friedman talks about what Triple Convergence is, the India and Indiana exploiter and the intellectual property. Friedman uses these subjects to show that the world has become ‘Flatter’. The world has become flatter due to the fact that everywhere in the world things are ending up at the same level. Nearly all countries are obtaining the same information and going to the same playing field.

            The Triple Convergence is a junction of several steps that had made the world flatter. The beginning step was the unite of Technology around the world. By uniting all this technology it flattens the world in a way that it allowed everyone to play on the same level. The second step was allowing all technology to ‘talk’ to each other, all technology was connected. An example of this is using cellphones like computers by being able to check our emails or going on Facebook. As the Triple convergence continues on to the third step, many new people are joining the technological world. Other countries are now joining the playing field with technology. The important of the Triple Convergence is that it is showing the growth of technology and how people use it.

            During the India V.S Indian story in Friedman’s book the Government part of Indiana and the India Company won a special contract. The India company found an approach to give reimbursement unemployment to employees. However, Indiana government did not feel as though they were being demoralized by the Indian company on how the company was acting kind towards other businesses and the community.  

            Friedman also began writing about what Intellectual property is and how it is important. Intellectual property is protection over important ideas or information that is held within a company. Without Intellectual property other companies would take information from other companies, thus meaning that companies will not strive forward do to the fact that every company will become the same because all information will be known. However, this would cause the world to become even flatter if all companies had the same information. It would level the playing field in a very negative way in my opinion. 

IT Job Interview, Essay 4

Jaquelyn Hernandez

Essay 4

IST

IT Job Interview

In my personal Interview with John Wilfred (not his real name) I asked him a varies amount of questions about his job and what his views on technology were. Wilfred works at Weber State University in the tech lab. He had read the book “The world is Flat” by Thomas L. Friedman and as very familiar with it when I began to talk about it.

I asked Wilfred what had gotten him interested in Technology and why he Studied Technology. Wilfred explained that he had gotten into Technology because of his father around the age of five years old. His father bought a computer and had allowed his son to play and connect with it. His father even had a stack of computer parts and would allow Wilfred to tinker with them.  As a result Technology became a big part of Wilfred’s life.

Do to the fact that Wilfred’s father had allowed is son to become interested in Technology, Wilfred had developed a natural ability to work with programing and computer software.  He enjoys seeing the result that computers have for people. He enjoys seeing how computers help people become successful. He hopes to work in the business of computer programing and make a different in how things happen.

When I asked Wilfred’s opinion about what he thought about “The world is Flat” by Thomas L. Friedman he said that he greatly believed that Friedman was right on the mark. He believes that the world is becoming flatter. He believes that the 3.0 world (the tiniest of worlds is Friedman’s book) has caused the world to nearly become completely flat. Wilfred states that the internet is bringing people together in a way that we are all going to be at the same level. Wilfred said that most likely, “the only thing that separates people now is the language barriers”.

Even then, Google is creating a new section to their system. This new section is the Google translator, however, they are attempting to gather people to answer telephones and translate languages for costumers. The original Google translator only has typing ability and at times gives an incorrect translation. However, Wilfred also expresses how he fears for people’s ability to entertain themselves without a computer or a gaming system. He strongly hopes that technology will take us to a better place without us forgetting our natural strengths. 

Essay 3, The world is flat

Jaquelyn Hernandez

9/16/2012

IST

Essay 3, The world is flat

In pages 136-199 of The world is flat By Tomas L Friedman, Friedman begins these pages by discussing how most contraries business offshore to China or other poor countries that offer cheap labor. Friedman then begins to talk about what a supply chain is and how Wal-Mart (one of America’s largest well known grocery store) uses theirs to their advantage. We also learn in these pages how Google affects businesses.

            In 2001, China joined the World Trade Organization. A little later did businesses begin to offshore their companies to China. Offshoring is when a company is moved overseas into a new country that offers cheaper labor. While one may become confused about the different’s in the definitions of Offshoring and Outsourcing they do have a bit of a large different’s. Offshoring is moving a company to another country or place, while Outsourcing is giving work out to another organization. Outsourcing is similar to giving out products to other places, while offshoring is moving the production of the product somewhere else to be built.

Offshoring then created the idea of a supply chain. A supply chain is a system of organization of people, activities, and resources to create the ability of a product to come from the supplier to the customer. When a company is finished with making their product then they will set up a chain with another company that will sell that product. An example of this is Wal-Mart’s supply chain. Wal-Mart uses their Supply chain to their advantage. The moment that you buy something in Wal-Mart the supplier of that something already know that they need to resupply Wal-Mart with that object. Wal-Mart is constantly restocked 24/7 and had a flow in which they never run out of objects or best seller’s.

Google has come to affect nearly all businesses. When you type something into Google’s look-up bar advertisements from hundreds of companies show up. Links to companies of anyone’s interest are setting up webpages, sending out advertisements and Google is supporting them on its pages and pull ups. Google has improved the ability to find companies; it helps companies succeed in ways that companies have never succeeded.  

Over all in these pages, we covered what offshoring is and how it is different from outsourcing. Offshoring is when a company is moved to a location with cheaper labor or just a different location all together. While outsourcing is giving a product to a different company. We have covered what supply chain is and how it helps large companies like Wal-Mart succeed. We also learned how Google has affected how many people find businesses. 

The world is flat, Essay 2

Jaquelyn Hernandez

IST 1100

9/8/2012

The World is flat, Essay 2

            In the book “The World is flat” by Thomas Friedman, Friedman speaks about how the creation of Workflow software, Source Software, and Outsourcing had a great impact in how people were able to send things to each other through the internet.  Friedman exclaims these programs helped the world become flatter. What Friedman means by this is that there is a new ability for people all over the world to communicate with each other more easily.

 That Friedman describes how Workflow Software gave machines the ability to talk to other machines without any human involvement. Workflow Is what made communication around the world, and to different companies, possible.  In the 1980’s and early 1990’s, Companies did not run all the same software. Thus meaning, “Work still did not flow digitally, and collaboration did not happen digitally, as easily as it might have.” (page 80)  Everyone needed a system that would let them to e-mail and use software applications inside and outside the company.  Then the Workflow Software was created and everyone was able to see emails and data. This made the world flatter because everyone was now a part of this software.

Friedman begins to show how the world has become flatter due to outsourcing and Uploading. Outsourcing is when a service is given to a person/company from an outside company or provider. A example is ‘Google Chrome’.  The main provider of Google Chrome is Google. They let other companies and people use their program. Google outsourced their internet explorer. Friedman brings up that outsourcing has let companies divided services. It creates a bridge in which all companies can use the same systems, internet, music, etc. Companies or individuals upload (putting information, programs, or photos onto the internet) things that they want to share or that may be useful for other people.

In chapter three in “The world is flat”, Friedman also begins to talk about Open Source Software. Open Source was created in the early 1990’s, it is a software that allows anyone to develop their own, or similar, software. Then they can share it with other people online or even sell their created software. Generally the people creating the new software are programmers who want to make programs evolve. Any person is able to do this, which is why the world became flatter with Open Source.

In Chapter three, we have looked at what Workflow, Outsourcing, and Open source software is. Workflow software was when computers were able to talk to other computers. It was the first sign that the  world was becoming flatter because now you could send information though the internet no matter what software you owned. Outsourcing was when individuals could upload things to the internet. Things like music, photos, information, etc. Open Source was when people were able to create new programs or evolve old programs into more interesting, and into a more modern effectiveness. With all this uploading and downloading and reprograming people were able to get closer together. They were able to work on the same program at once, or know the same information as the guy on the other side of the world does. The world has become flatter due to what the internet has exposed people to. 

The world is flat, chapter 1

Jaquelyn Hernandez

9/2/2012

The world is flat, chapter 1

            In chapter one of The world is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman, Friedman begins his book by discussing the three different Globization's. Friedman also decides to look into how he can prove that the world has flatten by explaining that American companies are reaching out toward European, Asian, and Indian countries to help save money and grow. He then explains that from these actions people in these countries are now starting their own companies that are being used by Americans. The playing levels are becoming equal do to the new technologies.

            The differences between Globalization 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 are by time periods. Globalization 1.0 was about Columbus set sail in 1492, he open a trade between the old world and the new world.  This action shrank the world from a large world into a medium one. 1.0 was about countries strength . The countries were determined by how much horse power, steam power and how creatively the countries can use them. In 2.0 the world shrank once again. This era  was from 1800 to 200, during the Great Depression and World wars 1 and 2.

            "In Globalization 2.0, the key agent of change, the dynamic force driving global integration, was multinational companies. These multinationals went global for markets and labor, spearheaded first by the expansion of the Dutch and English joint-Stock companies and the Industrial Revolution." (page 9). The forces of this time was to breakthrough in hardware. In 3.0, the world had shrunk down from a medium to a tiny small. During this time it is important for people to feel as though they are individuals so they can collaborate and work globally. "The phenomenon that is enabling, empowering, and enjoining individuals and small groups to go global so easily and so seamlessly is what I call the flat-world-platform." (page 10).

             Friedman finds a important meaning to the fall of the Berlin wall. It was a representation that it allowed people from the other side of the wall to join the fast moving world of technology. Technology like windows P.C's , cell phones, and more. The fall of the Berlin wall also showed the end of communism. This is important to Friedman because it shows that more people were added to the flatten world; that more people were added to technology.

            Friedman found that Netscape was important,  the reason for this is because it was the first web browser to be created. It was the first browser that allowed any one to go onto the internet. It was accessible to everyone and it allowed everyone to see films, information, and so on. Netscape help flatten the world even more by allowing everyone around the world to be able to communicate in a new/different way. By using this browser every person was connected in some way or another.

            In chapter 1 of The world is flat, Friedman describes the 3  different Globalizations. Globalization 1.0 is about countries strength's and their creativity on how to use their strengths. Globalization 2.0 was about the breakthrough in hardware, it was the 'key agent of change'. Globalization 3.0 was about how people felt like they should be individuals to collaborate to work globally. The Berlin wall and Netscape contributed in these Globalizations by showing how the world had become flatter. Once the Berlin wall had fallen, people from the other side of the wall were then able to contribute in new technology like the P.C. Netscape was a contribution because it helped everyone be able to browse the internet. Thus creating a flatter world because in a way everyone was connected in a different level, making everyone have the same advantages in knowledge.