You can succeed from anywhere
About 500 years ago, the Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus proved the Earth was round. Now American author Thomas Friedman tells us the Earth is flat in his bestseller: The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century.
If he is not joking, then why is the world flat? Friedman attributes it to technological forces. Because of the Internet and the World Wide Web, he believes geographical barriers (障礙) are disappearing. Individuals and companies around the world can collaborate (合作) or compete on the same level.
Bill Gates explains the meaning of this transformation best. Thirty years ago, he tells Friedman, if you had to choose between being born a genius in Shanghai and an average person in Poughkeepsie (A city in southeast New York), you would have chosen Poughkeepsie because your chances of living a prosperous life were much greater there. "Now," Gates says, "I would rather be a genius born in China than an average guy born in Poughkeepsie." This shows that success today is determined more by ability than by location.
Globalization 3.0, as he calls it, is driven by ambitious individuals: freelancers (自由撰稿人) and innovative new businesses all over the world, especially in India and China. They can compete not just for low-wage manufacturing but, increasingly, for the highest-end research and design work as well.
Big companies have played another important role in this globalization process. They move their factories from one country to another to cut costs. It's usual now for an engineer in China to be working for an American company. The Internet keeps them in constant touch with their American counterparts (伙伴). People everywhere, from the US to China, have standardized procedures for getting their work done.
The Reuters news agency provides a good example. The company moved its financial operations from London and New York to India. The Indian employees have the necessary technical skills. But the salaries and office rents are less than one-fifth of what they would be in New York or London.
About 500 years ago, the Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus proved the Earth was round. Now American author Thomas Friedman tells us the Earth is flat in his bestseller: The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century.
If he is not joking, then why is the world flat? Friedman attributes it to technological forces. Because of the Internet and the World Wide Web, he believes geographical barriers (障礙) are disappearing. Individuals and companies around the world can collaborate (合作) or compete on the same level.
Bill Gates explains the meaning of this transformation best. Thirty years ago, he tells Friedman, if you had to choose between being born a genius in Shanghai and an average person in Poughkeepsie (A city in southeast New York), you would have chosen Poughkeepsie because your chances of living a prosperous life were much greater there. "Now," Gates says, "I would rather be a genius born in China than an average guy born in Poughkeepsie." This shows that success today is determined more by ability than by location.
Globalization 3.0, as he calls it, is driven by ambitious individuals: freelancers (自由撰稿人) and innovative new businesses all over the world, especially in India and China. They can compete not just for low-wage manufacturing but, increasingly, for the highest-end research and design work as well.
Big companies have played another important role in this globalization process. They move their factories from one country to another to cut costs. It's usual now for an engineer in China to be working for an American company. The Internet keeps them in constant touch with their American counterparts (伙伴). People everywhere, from the US to China, have standardized procedures for getting their work done.
The Reuters news agency provides a good example. The company moved its financial operations from London and New York to India. The Indian employees have the necessary technical skills. But the salaries and office rents are less than one-fifth of what they would be in New York or London.