Sign of things to come in the world of work

[trekr5]

I urge my fellow forumers (if there is such a word ) to read Thomas Friedman's "The World Is Flat"

It is a book talking the effect of technology and globalisation on the world and the effect it will have on the future of jobs and work in the developed world.

Essential reading. It will really change the way you think about business, the future, work and what that means for you as an individual in the 21st century

[ahimel]

Second the vote; it is a fantastic read.

Might be worth posting in the "Book Recommendations" thread.

[trekr5]

thx ahimel...

posting now

Did you find it instructive?

[eternomi]

The following book is very good too:

"The Future of Work: How the New Order of Business Will Shape Your Organization, Your Management Style and Your Life (by Thomas W. Malone)"

[ahimel]

I found it insightful. Now that I have words for it, I can see examples of it everywhere. I'm pretty involved in small business right now, and the businesses that do best are the ones that focus on their strength, and recognize that there's no point in trying to do stuff they don't do well..... exactly as Friedman predicts.

As a small business owner, it makes life much easier. Why beat my head against a wall trying to do marketing? I hate marketing, and I'm bad at it. Somewhere out there, there's someone who thinks creating ads for a small computer repair business is a great thing to do on a saturday night. And the internet makes it possible to find them. So let them do it!

So yes, I've found that recognizing the trend of which he speaks is very helpful. When I keep it in mind, the business runs much more smoothly.

[icesar]

Third vote I listened to it in audiobook format and loved it. Though admittedly it's mostly relevant from a first-world perspective and it glosses over some of the globalization issues important to the rest of world.

[ahimel]

Admittedly a book discussing the effects of globalization should cover the effects all over the globe. As a US citizen, I found the discussion of (for example) how Indians view tech support call centers in India fascinating. It was brief, and the Indians probably would have preferred that it get more space. BUT Friedman is from the US, and I think it would have been the height of arrogance for him to attempt detailed analysis of its effect in other parts of the world.

He talked about what happened in other countries to establish the existance of the phenomenon. In discussing the effect of the phenomenon, he spoke only to that of which he had adequate experience; namely, the US.

The world is flat, and there are plenty of smart people in India. Let them write a book discussing flat-world effects in India -- they're far more likely to get it right.