It's a Small World...

Thanks to the current economic recession, we're now all competing with our fellow countrymen for the same job. Of course, it's not just them but also other people who come here to find jobs. But now it looks like we're competing with our fellow man all over the world for the same jobs.

Is the World Flat?

Thanks in large part to Web 2.0, the world has been brought closer together via the web. But as people in traditionally poorer countries become better educated, outsourcing has increased in popularity. This means that the unemployment pool is much larger and those of us in Ireland may well be competing against a better qualified foreigner who is prepared to do the same job for less. The difference is that while we're using the Internet for entertainment, our potential rivals are using it to further their employment prospects. We're taking it for granted. Others are not.

How Did This Happen?

It's generally accepted that there have been three stages of globalisation. Th first came stage began with the discovery of America and ended around 1800. At this point we saw the rise of the multi-national companies and up until 2000, their global operations had helped to shrink the world. At the moment, globalisation 3.0 is yet to be defined as it depends on how we the users will decide on our means of interacting with those who live miles and miles away. Web 2.0 is an integral part of the latest stage in globalisation but it may only be the first step.

A Whole New World

Tom Friedman, a foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times, has attempted to identify what he believes are the causes of the phenomenon. In his book, The World is Flat, Friedman outlines the "10 Flatteners"; events in time that he believes shaped globalisation as we know today. These include the fall of the Berlin Wall, the creation of the first web browser and most recently, the influx of digital, mobile and virtual gadgets. More important than those perhaps, is Friedman's concept of the "Triple Convergence". This outlines how the 10 Flatteners are complementing each other, how we're moving from a vertical hierarchy to a horizontal one and the emergence of new powers in the global market such as India and China.

Be Afraid... Be Very Afraid

When China joined the World Trade Organisation in 2001, ASIMCO Technologies – an American auto parts manufacturer in China put the following African proverb on the factory floor:

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning a lion wakes up.
It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn’t matter if you are a lion or a gazelle.
When the sun comes up, you better start running.

Get your Nikes on guys, we've got to catch up...