Module 3 Essay

            We know now that outsourcing is when a company employs individuals in a foreign land to complete certain elements of the business.  Offshoring is when a business relocates an entire factory and completes the entire process on foreign soil.  It may be an American company but it is operating solely out of somewhere like China.  Why might companies choose offshoring as opposed to keeping their entire business in the United States?  It’s all because of the bottom line, and the fact of the matter is that if China can produce the same product the same way for less cost and lower taxes, then to China we will go!  Cheaper labor is not the only incentive for businesses however.  Another motivating factor, according to our text, is “to serve that foreign market without having to worry about trade barriers and to gain a dominant foothold there”.  With a market as large as China, why wouldn’t American companies want to be on the front lines for millions of consumers?

            Consumers are the driving force behind all these different companies.  We as consumers are the ones spending our money buying the products that are being manufactured, and it is our opinion that counts.  Companies need to know what it is that we want to buy so they can provide it before we have lost interest or found it elsewhere.  This is where supply-chaining becomes important.  We want the newest and latest and we want it NOW!  If you can’t provide it to us now then there are plenty of your competitors just waiting for our business.  As one of the best supply chain operators of all time, Wal-Mart has pioneered innovations and techniques that keep its inventory stocked and affordable.  Wal-Mart became the biggest retailer in the world because it focused on new technology.  They keep their prices down by purchasing directly from the manufacturers, building their own distribution centers in order to accommodate those manufacturers, and then providing their own delivery vehicles.  Wal-Mart was one of the first companies to introduce computers for tracking inventory and providing that information to suppliers.  Wal-Mart knew that the more efficient it could be in tracking what the customers were buying, the more it could tailor the supply to the consumer’s needs.  With the use of RFID (radio frequency microchips) Wal-Mart is able to monitor every aspect of market activity which gets them that much closer to a complete balance in supply and demand.  As a consumer I am glad to know that if I am ever caught in a hurricane in Florida I know that Wal-Mart will already be one step ahead of me and stocking its stores with beer for the masses.  Who would ever want to be stuck in a hurricane without beer?  Thank you Wal-Mart, we appreciate you keeping an eye on the weather!

            Flattener #9 is In-forming…in other words: GOOGLE.  How did we ever live without Google is what I want to know?  But Google is a double edged sword, because although it is nice to be so informed about anything and everything, this also means that any blemish on our record is not so easily hidden.  As a former wild child I cringe at the thought of my name being googled.  In the digital age NOTHING is forgotten!  It is great for businesses however; they can know almost anything about their employees before they hire them!  Google offers other benefits to companies in the name of advertising and search results.  According to google.com/economicimpact, 97 percent of internet users look online for local products and services.  I know I do!  If Siri does not suggest your business then you and I will never meet! 

Module 2 Essay

         After sailing along through last week’s reading and homework I was feeling awfully confident about this course and what it entailed…and then this week happened!  Suddenly our required text became a terrorizing entity, filled with foreign dialogue which was obviously meant to discombobulate me!  So, after reading each paragraph somewhere between 3 and 10 times each and many texts and SOS calls to my geeky father, I think I have gained at least an elementary comprehension of workflow software and community developed software.  I pretty much already knew enough about outsourcing, phew, although I did not know about the origins of outsourcing being so closely linked with the Y2K fiasco, what a fun walk down memory lane that was!  What came to mind was being 17 and drinking Boones Farm at a New Year’s Eve party with everyone taking a very vigilant pause the moment the clock struck 12.  Fortunately the modern world as we know it did not implode…thank you India!

            I guess this week’s reading was so difficult for me because I never really understood the foundation and basic mechanism of the internet, so all this talk of codes and “footballs” left me feeling a sense of: HUH?  I think that the first step in the development of workflow software was the standardization of the way that material was digitized, in order to produce a seamless digital flow.  An office workplace would all need to be on the same page in other words, with each individual’s software being compatible with the next.  Fortunately somewhere along the way somebody (I wonder who exactly) designated standard, universal languages for computer applications. For example: HTML is the language used for designing and publishing documents.  So when I think of specific examples of workflow software being used I think of amazon.com, where I often shop.  I make the order through my computer, the order is then submitted to the supplier (who sometimes can be a company outside of amazon), my card gets charged and that spurs the merchandise being shipped off to me.  Or, let’s consider a simple visit to the doctor.  In some circumstances your doctor can input your prescription into his tablet, and by the time you arrive at the pharmacy it has already been filled and is ready for pickup!

            Open source software is important because it empowers individuals.  I see it as a global collaboration in order to produce the most innovative and efficient software.  As Friedman says in our text: “The primary goal of the free software movement is to get as many people as possible writing, improving, and distributing software for free, out of a conviction that this will empower everyone and free individuals from the grip of global corporations”.  We live in the information age, and because of open source software everyone across the world can fortunately be living in the information age with us privileged Americans.

            Workflow software standardized and compartmentalized the flow of real work, therefore making it easier for companies to outsource some or all of the labor .  When we think of outsourcing I am sure the majority of us think of that very frustrating call that we have all made, trying to set up cable service with some heavy accented foreigner (who we are supposed to believe is named Sunshine) that you just, for the life of you, cannot understand!  Outsourcing vastly reduces the overhead of businesses, and despite the frustrating strain that we as Americans have to make just to stumble through those disheartening phone calls, what matters most to corporate America is the bottom line.  If Sunshine will take a phone job for a fraction of the price that her American counterpart will, well…you get the gist.  But hey, think of all those Indian families that we are feeding by our need to get cable TV set up before the new season of The Walking Dead premieres!  

Module 1 Essay

To prepare myself for this assignment I first looked up the word “globalization” in the dictionary.  Although this wasn’t the first time I had heard the word, it was indeed the first time that I had needed to pay such close attention to its meaning.  The definition that I felt was easiest to keep in mind during my reading was: worldwide integration and development.  NOW I understood the use of the word globalization when discussing Columbus!

In his book The World Is Flat, Thomas Friedman discusses the three great eras of globalization, beginning with Globalization 1.0 which began in 1492 with Columbus setting sail and thus opening up trade between the Old and New Worlds.  This era of globalization was about discovery and laying the threads that would eventually tie the world together.  As Friedman says: “…the dynamic force driving the process of global integration, was how much brawn-how much muscle, how much horsepower, wind power, or, later, steam power-your country had and how creatively you could deploy it.”  To me this was the most exciting era of globalization.  How exciting it must have been to begin discovering new and different lands, tasting their foods and meeting their people.  What an exciting world that must have been to live in.

Globalization 2.0 took place beginning right around the year 1800 and lasting up until the year 2000.  This era was driven by multinational companies that were driving down the costs of first: transportation, followed by the falling costs of telecommunication.  Globalization 3.0 is what has totally leveled the playing field, according to Friedman.  It has done that by empowering individuals with knowledge and access to technology.  Not only is the power in the hands of individuals now, it is in the hands of a much more diverse group of individuals. 

To sum up the difference between the three eras of globalization I would have to say that with each progression into a new era the power trickled down to where it presently is: at the fingertips of ordinary individuals.  In the beginning with Globalization 1.0 the driving force lay in the hands of entire countries and the monarchs who led them.  Fast forward to Globalization 2.0 and you will see that it was multinational companies and the Industrial Revolution responsible for that boom.  Finally arriving at Globalization 3.0 where a 7 year old child in a third world country could possibly gain access to information and technology that his parents never dreamed of having.

The fall of the Berlin wall was a central event that led up to Globalization 3.0.  According to Friedman it “allowed us to think of the world differently-to see it as a seamless whole.” He goes on to say that “before 1989, you could have an Eastern policy or a Western policy, but it was hard to think about having a global policy.”  Without the fall of the Berlin wall we would potentially still be living in the times before Globalization 3.0, so this was an extremely important event to someone like Friedman, who calls himself a “free-trader” and a “compassionate flatist”.

This brings us now to the topic of Netscape. Aaaaah Netscape.  Until now I had completely forgotten about Netscape!  I feel lucky enough to be an age where I was around at the beginning of Globalization 3.0, I remember using Netscape!  My father, who is a computer engineer at BYU, set up my first email account for me at age 12, a rocketmail account that I still have! Oh the nostalgia!  And Netscape plays a huge role in that nostalgia now that I think about it.  Before Netscape what else was there for a young 12 year old immigrant from Africa to enable internet usage?  I precisely remember the day that my best friend back home got email, and can I even explain the excitement of two thirteen year old best friends who were now able to communicate so efficiently across an ocean!?  All in the same day!?  Netscape was responsible for bringing the World Wide Web to everyone.  Before Netscape the internet was a place for computer geeks and scientists to share information.  Netscape, as the world’s first widely popular commercial browser, brought this phenomenon to everyday people far and wide.  I just feel lucky enough to remember this all happening! Wow am I that old?