Module 5

Megan Flinders
Module 5

Triple Convergence is the culmination of the flattened, global playing field which allowed many more individuals to pitch in on process improvement and efficiencies, the subsequent result of horizontal value creation instead of vertical means, and the previously untapped resources of individuals from China, India and the former Soviet Union.  In the book, Friedman divides Triple Convergence up into three categories to fully define his mode of thinking.
The first convergence was the availability of resources (hardware, software, individual empowerment) that simply allowed more people to voice their opinions to improve processes.  Friedman gives the example of Southwest and their online booking and check-in process which is meant to illustrate how customers are no longer dependent on people and systems for each step of the process.  Once who has access to a PC which is connected to the web can now technically do a lot of work, in this case for the airline, in booking, checking-in and printing boarding passes (or now having the pass on their phone).  This ultimately saves consumers time and reduces overhead.  The end results, improved efficiencies and happier parties on both sides!
The second convergence can be summed up on one word, “horizontalization”.  Simply put, many of the flatteners have been around for some time.  But when you are introducing revolutionary ideas, it takes time to bring all aspects of the movement into play.  The production piece is only a part.  Often consumers also have to change habits and mindsets.  As more and more people and business become involved, however, these new trends become the new norms.
The last, or third convergence, was basically the broadening of the playing field which allowed billions of more people to join in on the globalization of process change and improvement.  The goal is to have the best and brightest making systems and products which everyone can use.  With the proper tools for communication and collaboration in place, we continue to see massive improvements across all sectors.
Friedman fully admits that in the story of India and Indiana, it is hard to determine who the exploiter is really and who is being exploited.  He mentions that it could be the Indian Engineers who are exploiting the people of Indiana by revamping their governmental unemployment system for cheap.  Or it could be the Indian engineers themselves who are being exploited for being paid less for the specific contract.  It could also be the Indian’s in general are being exploited by the big firms for which they are paid relatively well in terms of the standard of living in India
I believe that the latter is true.  The companies that outsource for the sole purpose of lowering wages are the true exploiters.  It is one thing to build factories in low cost areas or have people working remotely as part of the broader, global footprint with an aim to reduce overhead costs.  It is another to hire and train those individuals, and then transplant them to the new location on a lower pay scale.  Companies are focused on the bottom line, and will often pay their employees what they “need” to pay them to stay.
Intellectual property is the sum of resources, ideas, and know-how related to a product or process.  The idea is very important for companies because they want to keep all of the financial benefits of innovation.  Once these “top secret” ideas become common knowledge, products can easily be duplicated for cheap and the intellectual property is far less valuable.  On the flip side, however, intellectual property is also the catalyst behind faster and more efficient innovation.  Barriers of entry, of walls to information need to be set at a proper level to allow for global innovation, but also allow companies to gain profits and reap the rewards of their efforts.

Module 4

Megan Flinders

Module 4

 

Can You Hear Me Now?

 

                For this assignment I researched cybersecurity jobs and interviewed my husband who works in the field (he is responsible for helping clients at his work who run into issues with all sorts of fraud and identity theft related incidents).  I also chose this specific topic due to the several recent stories in the news about big companies with cybersecurity incidents including Target and Home Depot.  What I found in reading several articles on the topic was a central theme of people being defrauded.  Sometimes companies had system vulnerabilities or weaknesses that went unnoticed for long periods of time, and many customer’s information was unintentionally shared.  Other times individuals did not know the party with which they were communicating was in fact the fraudster.  In the end, Verizon’s catchy theme of “Can you hear me now?” all of the sudden had a new meaning to me.  With whom are we really communicating, and are these the parties with which we want to share our confidential information?

                In my research I came across several types of cyber security jobs.  The jobs ranged from Security Analysts and Engineers who asses the vulnerabilities of software, hardware, and networks and engage in forensic analysis to detect security incidents (which is what my husband deals with), to those of Cryptanalysts and Cryptographers who analyze and break malicious code to determine the intent of the program or build programs which use complex algorithms to encrypt information.  There are also Chief Information Officers who are responsible for the entire Information Security operation all the way down to very specialized analysts who work directly with specific systems or issues.

I also came across all sorts of fraud that occurs due to the vast network of computers and information.  We have been reading and discussing in “The World is Flat” all of the different ways globalization has flattened information barriers and increased the connectivity of people.  Most of the discussion revolves around the positives of information sharing and popular technological enhancements such as online libraries for music, photo libraries, and mass storage.  However, with all of the positives come some negatives.  There are those people who not only want to share productive forms of information and entertainment, but those who wish to spread viruses, malware and other harmful, and mostly unwanted products.  This is where cybersecurity comes to the forefront.

                Most companies have an IT department that focuses on the security of their company’s network.  My husband described in my interview the fact that this goes above and beyond simply anti-virus software and computer firewalls.  He mentioned that his work often goes through testing scenarios to detect certain vulnerabilities in their systems and to also fortify the policies and procedures to protect their employees and clients from acts of fraud.  The difficult part, he said, not only keeping up with the new trends and hacking attempts, but trying to be one step ahead.  He mentioned that his work has dedicated teams that focus on all areas of cybersecurity prevention and remediation.

                Several resources are available for everyday people to educate themselves on the different forms of fraud and how to protect oneself from becoming a victim.  OnGuardeOnline.gov is a site my husband directed me to that aims to educate about cybersecurity.  It lists ways to avoid scams, protect your kids online, and securing your computer to name a few.  I think for most people my age and younger, most of this stuff is pretty inherent.  My parent’s generation may not be quite as savvy though, so these broad-based tips would help them greatly.  I did, however, find information and articles that were even helpful to me in explaining how to properly secure a network and computer.  After all, the last thing I want is to be giving my credit card number or other personal information to a fraudster through a phishing scheme or virus of some sort.

                In the end, cybersecurity is only going to continue to increase in importance as more people and their devices become interconnected through our ever flattening world.  It is vital to stay up to date on the latest prevention techniques and to be sure our information is secure with all those whom we are communicating.

Module 3

There are those words in the English language which create immediate reactions; one of those is outsourcing.  A somewhat related, yet I would argue less frequently used term, is offshoring.  Friedman describes outsourcing as, “taking some specific, but limited, function that your company was doing in-house – such as research, call centers, or accounts receivable – and having another company perform that exact same function for you and then reintegrating their work back into your overall operation.  Offshoring, by contrast, is when a company takes one of its factories that it is operating in Canton, Ohio, and moves the whole factory offshore to Canton, China.  There it produces the same product in the very same way, only with cheaper labor, lower taxes, subsidized energy, and lower health-care costs.” (Friedman, 2007, pp. 137-138) China joining the WTO took the world to a whole new level of offshoring just as Y2K boosted India’s prospects of outsourcing and made the country a relevant and dynamic player in the global workplace.

While reading the text, I gained a greater appreciation of the concept of offshoring when Friedman described China’s demographic of over 160 cities with a population over 1 million.  This concept alone allows companies to offshore factories and manufacturing as never before due to the sheer size of its workforce.  It is no wonder it seems that a large majority of products are “made in China”.

A great illustration from the book outlines the fact that companies must alter their vision and forget about competing with China and treating them as the enemy.  Instead, you should give a good internal look at your business model to determine which part of the business you would like to do in China, which part you would like to sell to China, and which part you want to buy from China. This just shows how flat the world has truly become since as China becomes a more important player due to offshoring, other similar countries emerge as potential offshoring destinations.

Another flattening topic introduced is that of logistical efficiencies.  A supply chain is the mechanism used to allow products to flow downstream from a manufacturer/supplier to customer.  Wal-Mart has used their supply chain to their advantage by driving a hard bargain with manufacturers, but also by creating a super-efficient process and technological web with the companies whose product they sale, and in turn with their own stores which are spread across the nation. In effect, Wal-Mart does not create any products.  However, they are such a dominant force in the retail world because of their expansive reach (in terms of store locations, products offered, and low costs) and overall efficiencies in technology (which allows them to quickly forecast and restock stores to ensure customer demand is fulfilled).  As noted in the text, the goal of an efficient supply chain is to be the overall lowest cost.  Not always, however, can you find a low cost leader that offers high quality products, delivery, and customer service in every facet.  So while price is important, the overall efficiency and low cost leader is what Wal-Mart has done to gain its competitive advantage.

One particular illustration in Wal-Mart’s case is its visibility into each store’s particular needs.  For example, if one particular store is overstocked, Wal-Mart can quickly have excess product orders redirected to stores that may be short on stock.  This ensures the company is not losing the product forecasting battle which often results in sales on excess products.  Wal-Mart in turn allows its suppliers to view how their products are selling through its central databases, all in an effort to have hyper-efficient, just-in-time, inventories and supply chains.

Google is another company that has revolutionized the playing field for businesses.  Google has flattened the information barrier by allowing anyone with an internet connection to search for and find the same overall research information on any given topic.  Google has affected business by allowing the process of “informing.”  Anyone can create the know-how to run a business, outsource, and have an efficient supply chain (through connectivity with globally established companies as Friedman describes in UPS’ case) by simply “googling” the information.  People want, and have, all the information they can digest at their fingertips.  No longer are people spending time searching for the material.  On the contrary, the information is readily available and business owners large and small can focus on ideas and innovation instead of utilizing resources on the information finding.

Module 2

As we continue the discussion of globalization and find examples of a flattening world, we are introduced to the idea of workflow software. Once the playing field was leveled in terms of the accessibility of the internet and connectivity of computers and systems (through physical infrastructure such as fiber optic cables and standardized systems), workflow software standardized the software applications enabling all systems to speak to each other in an efficient manner.  The result was seamless workflows which allowed companies to not focus on the pipes per se, but on the innovation of new products that would make markets more efficient.  The standard of access became the same, but companies still had to produce and innovate to create a compelling product and competitive advantage, all the while aiming to entice customers to use their product over the competition.

An example of the use of workflow software would be the use of the mobile wallet; or more specifically, ISIS.  The electronic payment system in the standard bearer for retail companies, and credit/debit cards are a primary source of transactions.  The mobile wallet has enhanced the speed and potential security of the payment system by allowing consumers to retain their source of funds on the phone.  The workflow software includes the tap technology and card reader that is now in many restaurants and has even spilled over the vending machines.  Payments and quick and efficient for both parties.

Friedman goes on to explain that innovation and software can come to market from a variety of sources, but some may be more effective than others, even when they challenge the status quo.  Open source, or community developed software, is when communities of people collaborate and develop source code (software) that is then uploaded to the web and often made free for downloadable use.  This type of software is important because it continues the idea of flattening the competitive landscape and cuts out the middle man.  It changes the landscape by allowing more people to voice their opinions and share creative ideas and innovation through collaboration and “peer review”. 

Community developed software is basically a more efficient way to streamline software on a broader scale by bypassing the historical hierarchical processes and organizations.  Ultimately the brainpower of a community of thousands of geeks who simply want to create universally functional products is better than a large company’s IT group trying to create a product to sell.  We have seen a mass movement in the past decade of IT companies and their engineers actually joining these groups as they have seen the power of individuals who simply seek to create the best products.  The community forums are not so much about being compensated, but about sharing their ideas and seeing them take off.  Ultimately whoever has the best idea can submit source code which is reviewed by their peers for any bugs before being implemented.  Companies have taken the free code and established proprietary and innovative products based off what the community has built, but ultimately original credit is given to the forum and the idea sharing process continues.

The last major topic discussed is the concept of reaping the highest profits and efficiencies while paying the lowest cost.  The practice known as outsourcing is the cost saving practice of delegating certain functions to lower cost locations.  Outsourcing is important because it connects and flattens the world as never before.  No longer is it required to be physically present in one location to complete tasks.  For example, many back-office type functions that need not be present in high cost locations can be shipped to lower cost centers, such as India.  The key is to find a highly educated and competent work force which can perform these functions without error for a fraction of the cost.  An additional benefit is the time zone effect which allows most of this work to “follow the sun”, meaning it can be completed oversees during the day when the main centers (U.S.) are sleeping.

In summary, workflow software, open source software, and outsourcing are additional proofs of how the world has continued to be flattened. You no longer have to by an Ivy League grad employed by a large corporation to have your ideas input in the programs and products we use every day.  On the contrary, you can be a part-time “geek” who simply shares ideas to the global community from your home computer.  Indeed the world has been flattened and minority voices are now at the forefront of innovation.