| The author of the book Thomas L. Friedman, | | | | The dot com bust also played an important part in the |
| ingeniously chooses to describe the world as flat, | | | | situation. Companies started cutting costs everywhere |
| attributing his inspiration to an Indian software | | | | possible which made sure the work would travel to |
| executive who explained to him how the entry barriers | | | | cheaper destinations. General Electric had already |
| into the globalized world are being destroyed and that | | | | shown the world how it could be done and in the |
| the economic playing field was being leveled. Any | | | | 1990s most of the companies had realized most Indian |
| individual or company located anywhere in the world | | | | engineers could handle the most technical of jobs at |
| could compete and cooperate globally. | | | | one tenth of the cost. The millennium bug also |
| Complicated Thoughts Turned Easy | | | | hastened the process as armies of cheap software |
| The author of the book The World is Flat, Thomas L. | | | | professionals were needed to recode all the |
| Friedman makes complicated ideas easy with the help | | | | computers. |
| of making the readers travel with him, meet his family | | | | Technological Forces at Work |
| and do various other things that some readers may | | | | A large part of the book discusses the technological |
| find irritating. Take the example of Jerry Rao, an Indian | | | | forces at work in the modern world and the way |
| entrepreneur, whose accounting firm was preparing | | | | businesses are reacting to these developments. The |
| the tax returns for US nationals. He now planned to | | | | way work flow platforms were created which made it |
| join forces with an Israeli company which can transmit | | | | possible to work together for a large group of people |
| CAT scans over the Internet so the US doctors could | | | | sitting anywhere in the world. The way Thomas L. |
| get second opinion from cheaper Indian or Israeli | | | | Friedman does his business reporting is extremely |
| doctors. | | | | entertaining as he would tell you things you didn't know |
| The World Was Wired | | | | and in a way that will surprise you. |
| Thomas L. Friedman says the flat world was created | | | | India and China Form a Large Chunk |
| by the robust performance of technology forces at | | | | India and China form a large chunk of the book The |
| work. The dot com bubble also played a large part in | | | | World is Flat because these two countries are |
| this development. The large telecommunications | | | | benefitting the most from a flat world. A large part of |
| companies got huge amounts of cash from ignorant | | | | the goods imported by Wal-Mart comes from China, |
| investors which they used to wire the world through | | | | and the Indian story is also along similar lines, though it |
| laying fiber optic cables on the ocean floors. The result | | | | remains limited to the services sector. He doesn't say |
| was well connected Bangalore, Beijing and Bangkok | | | | China and India are threats to the world economy, |
| with the most industrialized nations of the world. The | | | | rather he sees them as opportunities as numerous |
| connectivity was now in excess supply and the cost | | | | other consumers are also being added to the world. |
| of Internet connections, data transmissions and phone | | | | According to a Morgan Stanley estimate, the imports |
| calls went down considerably. Many of these | | | | from China have resulted in a saving of close to $600 |
| companies which laid these cables went bust, but the | | | | billion for American people, and the American |
| work was already done. | | | | companies have saved even more money. |
| The Bubble and Bust, Both Helped | | | | |