Objective:
The objective of this assignment is to access your understanding of the how globalization may affect organizations and to encourage critical thought into how this will impact your career.
While not everyone agrees with Freidman, Freidman argues that several forces, driven by information technology, are creating a flatter (equal opportunity) business environment. This is bound to have a substantial impact on your career.
Task:
Write a 24 (single spaced) page essay on how the trend of a flatter world will influence your career.
1. Identify and describe the forces that lead to a flattening world (at least 2 paragraphs)
a. Describe how individuals, organizations, societies, or economies are linked together and impact each other through the use and consumption of technology.
b. Consider: What technologies support the connectedness of people and
businesses that lead to a flatter world?
c. You may take a contrarian view if you support it with evidence and address the
points Freidman uses to support his position.
2. Describe how the flattening phenomenon impacts organizations (i.e., business, non-profit organizations or governments) (at least 3 paragraphs)
a. Be descriptive
b. Give examples
c. Consider: how do organizations use the technology to benefit from or protect
itself from a flatter world?
3. Describe how the flattening phenomenon will impact you specifically (at least 3 paragraphs)
a. Identify your major, and your career goals (1 paragraph)
b. Describe how globalization has benefited or hindered professionals in your career
c. How might you be benefited by or hindered by a flatter world. Be specific and
more diverse than just Well lose jobs.
d. Describe a personal plan on what will you do about a flatter world to either
protect yourself from harmful effects or to capitalize on beneficial opportunities. Be specific. Consider what you may need to learn to be more valuable. Consider how you could harness global opportunities. What technologies could you learn or aid you in managing the personal effects of a flatter world?
e. Stating that globalization will not affect you is not a defensible position, because it does or it at least affords you new opportunities.
4. Format the paper for easy reading. Include the following:
a. Title the essay that presents the theme or main idea of your paper. Not just
Globalization Paper or Flatter World Paper.
b. Get the paper proof read and free of grammatical errors, error in word choice,
and spelling errors.
c. Use subheadings to separate the sections of your paper and to signal to the reader
a change in topic. Consider using words related to task items 1, 2, and 3 as your
subheadings. It makes your paper easier to read.
d. Insert Page Numbers on every page
Common Mistakes
Avoid these common mistakes.
1. Little or no mention of the technologies that make the flatteners possible (e.g., fiberoptic cables, Windows operating systems, open source software, highly skilled labor force, English being taught in other countries, Netscape browser, telecommunication, Voice over IP, Google search algorithm, etc.).
2. Focused too much on outsourcing and/or did not discuss other flatteners and forces behind Friedmans claim of a flatter world (i.e., Globalization 1.0, 2.0, 3.0; insourcing, offshoring, open sourcing, etc.)
3. Provided weak explanations of how a flattening phenomenon impacts organizations or did not include examples/facts to support the explanations.
4. Common formatting errors present, which may include: no title or weak title that is not engaging nor forecasts your main point (e.g., Flattening World versus Can an Accountant Protect Ones Self and Capitalize on the Forces Behind Globalization? ) , no page numbers, authors name not present, or no transitions sentence between thoughts that smoothly link one idea to the next (e.g., disjointed thoughts or vomiting words on a page). This portrays lack of attention to detail or demonstrates minimal effort.
5. Please proofread before submitting. There are examples of errors that may include improper grammar, spelling, and improper use of titles, improper word choice, or misspellings.
6. Introduction is weak. Common errors are to jump right into a specific fact or to be too general and boring. Good solutions are to pose a question to the reader, give an example that stimulates thought and interest, or summarize two conflicting ideas that you will resolve in the paper.
7. Your professional goals are not mentioned or are not specific enough to provide evidence that you have a plan with actionable steps.
8. Focused only on negative impacts to ones self, or minimized (i.e., discounted) the opportunities that afford you BECAUSE of a flattening world. What can you specifically do to reduce the negative impacts to yourself AND to capitalize on the new opportunities? Examples could include: earn a professional certificate to make yourself more valuable, earn a Masters degree, learn another language to seek new clients and new colleagues, learn a specific technology to increase your value (i.e., name the technology specifically; e.g., master MS Excel, JavaScript programming, project management techniques, underwater welding, etc.). The whole purpose of this assignment is not to scare you (focus only on negative) but to prepare you (focus on the positive and your circle of influence). See rubric for Criteria: Individual Understands the role, impact, and opportunities of individuals and is prepared to take personal action.
