IST 1100 Module 6

I had never thought of free trade as potentially being something negative before. I figured, free means freedom, and the ability to do things openly without restrictions always allows for greater innovation and accelerated advancements in many markets. Free trade is the unrestricted sale and purchase of goods and services between countries without restraints or restrictions brought about by tariffs, duties and quotas. Reading The World Is Flat has definitely given me a new outlook on free trade and some of its’ pros and cons. The cons boil down to issues like outsourcing with other countries doing American jobs for a cheaper price. So much labor is outsourced to China and India now that it has become a major topic of discussion. Friedman makes some good points though. He says that although there is some negative impact with outsourcing and free trade, overall the impact is very positive. Free trade transforms the world into a global market and a global economy. we increase the knowledge pool and it allows countries to focus on what they can offer and what they do best, competitive advantage, and perfect it.

I feel that free trade is a wonderful thing and that in the big picture everyone benefits. individual countries grow and become wealthier, as well as their citizens. Friedman makes a good point though, for free trade to really work, countries need to step up education levels so that individuals will become more competitive in the flat world. The more open our global trade is, and the more markets that open up, the more demand for goods will increase which will spurn the creation of more jobs and everyone will benefit. The good definitely outweighs the bad.

Friedman talked about “The New Middle” in The World Is Flat. This is an interesting concept that basically illustrates the change in mediocrity, and to survive you have to be more educated and more unique than in previous generations. He uses the example of he and his daughter. He was told as a child to finish his dinner because there were starving kids in China and India. He thought to himself years later while watching his daughter do her homework, “Finish your homework, there are kids in China and India starving for your jobs.” In a flat world we have a lot more competition, a lot more to make us need to step up and be different, be something more than we used to have to be to get by. Friedman lists several skills and personality traits needed to make a “New Middle.”

Great Collaborators and Orchestrators - people who can create interaction with other companies and learn to branch out and work with others. The flat world is all about collaboration and utilizing the technologies that flattened the world.

Great Synthesizers - Individuals who will think outside the box and bring disparate things together in new and inventive ways.

Great Explainers - people who can take the newly synthesized information that may be complex and innovative and be able to simplify it and help others understand it.

This is a few Friedman listed, a few additional characteristics would be people that can innovate while being environmentally conscience. People who are adaptable, also people that are problem solvers. The bottom line is that the new middle is going to require skills and adaptive abilities unlike any other generation

Friedman says that in a flattened world, intelligence, or IQ is still important but he feels that a kid with passion and curiosity will out do a kid without these traits that has a higher IQ. Curious and passionate people are self starters and are motivated and that’s what drives innovation in the world today. I believe that a less intelligent person with drive and ambition will go farther than a lazy intelligent person. Intelligence without drive is all but wasted.