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Similarly, Chapter Eight, "This Is Not a Test," is a must read for every CEO, manager and government official. In this chapter, Friedman has highlighted that "lifetime employment is a form of fat that a flat world simply cannot sustain any longer" (p. 284) (Jones, 2005). He argued for a policy of "lifetime employability," which is a kind of social agreement between government and business and the people that, in its simplest terms, give assurance "that government and companies will focus on giving you the tools to make you more lifetime employable." Further he also argued in support of the universal portability of pensions and health care (Zakaria, 2005).
Conclusion
The most impressive thing about this book was the stories author narrates of individuals who are making a difference in the flat world. For example, the Harvard business grads set up a company in Cambodia to conduct data entry, while another one as a businessman in India set up a school for the Untouchables. When Friedman asked the second grade children of the Untouchables as what would they like to be when they grow up, they replied "an astronaut, a doctor," etc. (p. 468). These examples should be enough reason for us to look at our own roles in the world and question ourselves, if we doing enough good, in terms of giving enough back to our nation, to our world?
However, there are few questions which...
These are:
1. When should countries realize and do what profit the global economy, and when should they seek for their own interests? (Such as protectionism, taxes, quotas, etc.)
2. What are the cultural values or absence thereof are contributing to the West's loss of education, productivity and excellence like morality, truth and religion?
3. How will further globalization effect cultural distinctions? (Are we heading towards a universal melting pot?)
4. What will a 'flat world' mean environmentally - mainly for those countries which are on the edge of an economic explosion?
To conclude, this book is really a guidebook to survive in the age of computer. It offers detailed steps for not only to individuals but also to companies and poor nations in order to adapt to a "flat world" (Jones, 2005).
Works Cited
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century by Thomas L. Friedman. A Review by Fareed Zakaria. Sunday Book Review. The New York Times. May 1, 2005. www.nytimes.com
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century by Thomas L. Friedman.
A whole new scale of togetherness. A Review by Clayton Jones. Review- A- Day. The Christian Science Monitor. Powell's. Com. April 18th, 2005. www.powells.com
Book Report
Works Cited
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century by Thomas L. Friedman. A Review by Fareed Zakaria. Sunday Book Review. The New York Times. May 1, 2005. www.nytimes.com
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century by Thomas L. Friedman.
A whole new scale of togetherness. A Review by Clayton Jones. Review- A- Day. The Christian Science Monitor. Powell's. Com. April 18th, 2005. www.powells.com
Book Report
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