Week 5: Is the world really flat?
Reaction to Friedman:
In a true journalistic fashion, Friedman has offered vivid and lively anecdotes about the people creating and riding the technology wave in an easy to read, conversational style. I am enjoying the book immensely. My favorite: Want Fries with Outsourcing? (page 40-41) about a McDonald’s franchise owner’s effort to link his businesses with one call center in Colorado to take drive-thru orders.
I thought it was amazing to note that the fast food orders traversed two states before the customer even reaches the pickup window. We are indeed talking time warp speed!
It also reveals that whether it is ‘insourcing’ or outsourcing,’ there will be a relentless push by corporate America to lower costs and increase efficiency. So either way, with better technology tools, the global job market will see a change in the way we work and how/who we employ.
My only beef with Friedman is the way he makes it sound (at least in the initial chapters, I haven’t read the entire book) that billions of people from India, China and former Soviet Russia are ALL converging as the third force in the level playing field created by the 10 flatteners. I don’t think this is accurate. At least not in India, (where I come from). The playing field may have been leveled, but not all players are equally equipped. Some players, mostly U.S and Europe, have bigger and better technology tools, infrastructure and huge wealth with powerful dollars and Euros. There is no way competition can be equal. What India and China are leveraging is their immense human/labor capital. That’s our only tool. Also, a very important point to note is that India’s English-speaking elite (only 10-15 percent of the population) can actually speak English proficient enough to be employable by the tech boom or afford the very expensive and very competitive education in the elite IITs and IIMs that Friedman mentions. So my point is that the technology has definitely helped jumpstart the economy and the Indian tech market grew 59 percent to $2.3 billion between 2002 and 2003 and Indian call centers currently employ about 160,000 professionals, according to a CNet report.
So the rural majority in India still struggles to make ends meet and there are no safety nets like Social Security or 401K. The divide between the rich and the poor has grown even wider. But I am hopeless optimist and I think some of these economic and technical benefits will filter down. I am hopeful socially-conscious citizens and NRIs will pressure the government to improve the quality of life for everyone. This article I read yesterday is a tiny example of what gives me hope.
Rural India takes a byte of e-smartness [Sunday, October 30, 2005)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1279533,curpg-1.cms
The report talks about the benefits of E-governance and how it is becoming popular in rural India. Villagers in certain Indian states can have access to financial statements of the panchayat (local government), and can learn agriculture management through CDs as well as download applications and get information on house taxes, trade licenses, old age and widow pension schemes and land record maintenance. All this was unthinkable 10 years ago.
Also, a point to note: Indian call centers have a 30-35 percent rate of attrition. This shows that most youngsters use that mindless, grunt job, as a stepping stone. Majority of them use the good money (by Indian standard) to either pay for a better education or learn a new skill during the day. This may take a toll on their health, but I think it is a short-term effect as they move on to more challenging and satisfying jobs.
I have also heard stories about how call center workers unionizing for even better wages and transparency between what their Indian bosses are charging the American/European clients and what they are paying the workers. Anyway, I am glad the call centers are not run like sweat shops and the workers are taken care of.
I recently saw a very interesting documentary about outsourcing and call centers in New Delhi at the recent Independent South Asian Film Festival in Seattle titled “Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night” (Sonali Gulati, New Delhi, India, 2005, DV, 22 min). It raised some pertinent questions about cultural and social costs of outsourcing, but ended on a very hopeful note. If you are interested in this topic, watch it. I have requested KCLS to get a copy.
In a true journalistic fashion, Friedman has offered vivid and lively anecdotes about the people creating and riding the technology wave in an easy to read, conversational style. I am enjoying the book immensely. My favorite: Want Fries with Outsourcing? (page 40-41) about a McDonald’s franchise owner’s effort to link his businesses with one call center in Colorado to take drive-thru orders.
I thought it was amazing to note that the fast food orders traversed two states before the customer even reaches the pickup window. We are indeed talking time warp speed!
It also reveals that whether it is ‘insourcing’ or outsourcing,’ there will be a relentless push by corporate America to lower costs and increase efficiency. So either way, with better technology tools, the global job market will see a change in the way we work and how/who we employ.
My only beef with Friedman is the way he makes it sound (at least in the initial chapters, I haven’t read the entire book) that billions of people from India, China and former Soviet Russia are ALL converging as the third force in the level playing field created by the 10 flatteners. I don’t think this is accurate. At least not in India, (where I come from). The playing field may have been leveled, but not all players are equally equipped. Some players, mostly U.S and Europe, have bigger and better technology tools, infrastructure and huge wealth with powerful dollars and Euros. There is no way competition can be equal. What India and China are leveraging is their immense human/labor capital. That’s our only tool. Also, a very important point to note is that India’s English-speaking elite (only 10-15 percent of the population) can actually speak English proficient enough to be employable by the tech boom or afford the very expensive and very competitive education in the elite IITs and IIMs that Friedman mentions. So my point is that the technology has definitely helped jumpstart the economy and the Indian tech market grew 59 percent to $2.3 billion between 2002 and 2003 and Indian call centers currently employ about 160,000 professionals, according to a CNet report.
So the rural majority in India still struggles to make ends meet and there are no safety nets like Social Security or 401K. The divide between the rich and the poor has grown even wider. But I am hopeless optimist and I think some of these economic and technical benefits will filter down. I am hopeful socially-conscious citizens and NRIs will pressure the government to improve the quality of life for everyone. This article I read yesterday is a tiny example of what gives me hope.
Rural India takes a byte of e-smartness [Sunday, October 30, 2005)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1279533,curpg-1.cms
The report talks about the benefits of E-governance and how it is becoming popular in rural India. Villagers in certain Indian states can have access to financial statements of the panchayat (local government), and can learn agriculture management through CDs as well as download applications and get information on house taxes, trade licenses, old age and widow pension schemes and land record maintenance. All this was unthinkable 10 years ago.
Also, a point to note: Indian call centers have a 30-35 percent rate of attrition. This shows that most youngsters use that mindless, grunt job, as a stepping stone. Majority of them use the good money (by Indian standard) to either pay for a better education or learn a new skill during the day. This may take a toll on their health, but I think it is a short-term effect as they move on to more challenging and satisfying jobs.
I have also heard stories about how call center workers unionizing for even better wages and transparency between what their Indian bosses are charging the American/European clients and what they are paying the workers. Anyway, I am glad the call centers are not run like sweat shops and the workers are taken care of.
I recently saw a very interesting documentary about outsourcing and call centers in New Delhi at the recent Independent South Asian Film Festival in Seattle titled “Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night” (Sonali Gulati, New Delhi, India, 2005, DV, 22 min). It raised some pertinent questions about cultural and social costs of outsourcing, but ended on a very hopeful note. If you are interested in this topic, watch it. I have requested KCLS to get a copy.
posted by sakina | Monday, October 31, 2005
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