The world has become flatter
An analysis of "Thomas Friedman ? The world is flat"
by Tim van Rijt
2043501
After listening to the lecture of Thomas Friedman, mixed feelings take control of me. Obviously he has a very interesting point and it would be naïve to say that he is absolutely wrong. Nonetheless I think he overlooked at some, in my opinion, important points.
For starters, he talks about "the 10 flatteners" and when I look at the list, it looks like it refers only to big companies like Nedcar. These companies can operate much more efficient thanks to the 10 flatteners. But are these 10 flatteners important when for example Ford wants to have a type of car built by Nedcar. Of course they help make the process of discussion easier, but the most important thing here is personal contact. That is what decides the choice of these big decisions.
Of course nowadays you can simulate a personal meeting thanks to a webcam and microphone or a videophone, but it still isn't the same. I work at a catering business where clients can rent 4 halls in one beautiful building (Castle Hoensbroek). There is not one client that made the decision of giving a party there without coming to the building first and have a talk with the manager of the catering I work for. How beautiful something can look, people need convincing before they take a decision. Everybody has doubts when they need to make an important decision. Through a videophone, these doubts cannot be taken away very easily. This has to be done by talking a walk together, get a coffee together or something like that. On a phone, every silence is very painful and therefore the conversations are more tense. In real life, these problems can be taken away by a good cup of coffee.
Another import ...