Module 9

Module 9

            Reading the final chapters of The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman explores the different uses of the flattening powers throughout the world with contrasting examples of global supply chains at Dell and Al-Qaeda, and the effects of the Oil industry and how it retards the advancement of oil-rich countries.

A great example of a global supply chain aided by computer technology is the order process that Dell uses at their company.  Your order is entered into Dell’s order management system along with your personal information, shipping address, billing address, and credit card information.   From there, your order gets released to Dell’s production system in one of its six factories around the world.  An email is then sent to the factory your computer will be built at and the parts for your computer are immediately ordered from the supplier logistics center or SLC.  The SLC acts as a huge storage area that Dell keeps full of specific parts so they can be delivered to the Dell factories for fast manufacturing.  A truck will deliver your parts from the SLC to the factory where it is then offloaded and scanned by bar code.  This allows Dell to know where every part in the Dell system is at all times.  In an average day, Dell sells nearly 150,000 computers so it’s important that they keep their supply chain operating smoothly.  This is a process that is aided greatly through the use of computer technology in Dell’s supply chain.

            Although information technology has greatly benefited companies such as Dell throughout the world, this technology is also being put to use by terrorist organizations.  Al-Qaeda has learned to take advantage of this technology to improve their global collaboration in planning their next terrorist attack.  Al-Qaeda uses a global supply chain to raise money, recruit followers, generate ideas, outsource to train recruits, and to distribute the tools to conduct operations. The flat world has made it much easier for terrorists to communicate and transmit their terror.  Technology such as the internet and satellite television has enabled Muslims in one country to sympathize and relate to their brethren in another country.  This also helps Al-Qaeda with recruitment as their voice is more easily heard.  Another aspect that has aided terrorist organizations is the ability to conduct extensive research on a target through the Web.  The application of this practice is seen in Al-Qeada’s training manual that states “using public sources openly and without resorting to illegal means, it is possible to gather at least 80 percent of all information required about the enemy.”  This is proof that the flattening of the world can help any group, no matter their cause, collaborate globally and expand.

            The benefits of the flattening of the world due to technological advancements in computers has been shared many countries throughout the world; however, there are a few countries who do not exploit the advantages of this technology.  Countries that are rich in oil, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, are stuck in an economic stand-still that Friedman refers to as The Curse of Oil.  Because a large percentage of these countries revenue is generated by exporting oil drilled from their own backyards, they will never have to focus on advancing their people to be more marketable to the world.  The rulers of these countries will use oil money to monopolize all aspects of power and never have to introduce power sharing.  Friedman talked earlier about the importance of education that sparks innovation and how critical that would be in moving forward in the flat world.  The Curse of Oil in these countries puts a halt to this innovative education of its people.  As long as there is oil, these countries will never see the need to advance their economy in any other aspect.

            From reading these final chapters, we can see the effects of the flattening of the world on a global scale and some of the different implications this flattening has provided.  There is no doubt that information technology as built the global economy like never before, but it also has its negative aspects such as helping terrorist organizations expand and collaborate.  The era of globalization that we are in now provides unlimited opportunity for not only businesses, but any group of individuals around the world to expand no matter their cause.