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This topic was triggered by my reading of "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman. I believe this may be one of the very best books I have read in the last three years. Friedman spends a lot of time describing the extent to which globalization has spread throughout the business community. He then explores the causes of this phenomenon. This is followed by a description of the implications for the future for individuals, businesses, governments and social institutions. His ability to relate anecdotal illustrations to the observable trends makes this a very enjoyable read.Personally, I have always struggled a bit with the balance between benefits and problems brought on by globalization. For instance, buying a foreign car may put US workers out of jobs but if the foreign car is a better value at a cheaper price where is my responsibility. Taken to the limit, if they give me the foreign car, shouldn't I take it? The problem becomes even more abstract when one considers the supply chain for various manufacturers. US manufacturers buy parts from suppliers in other countries and frequently complete assembly in some other country. At the same time, both Toyota and Honda buy some parts from American suppliers and do final assembly of some models in The US. And so it goes. It is even difficult to make an arguement for "Buy American" when we really cannot be sure at any given time just what companies are US companies. For instance, ADT, the alarm company, seems very American until a little research finds it owned by Tyco, an off shore organization. Friedman has other examples that bring this cost benefit arguement home especially where governments choose to outsource for the benefit of taxpayers but at the cost to displaced workers. The fact of the matter is, globalization is a fact of life and will continue. In Friedmans words, the world will continue to get flatter. But, what are the drivers and why is it happening so fast? Over the past few years there is evidence of a seachange brought about by continued lowered costs and improved bandwidth of communication, meteoric development of computer capacity, and the willingness and capability of people to collaborate. Downsizing is happening because it can be effective to outsource. Downsizing just for the attempt to dump the savings down to the bottom line is not a good reason. Down sizing so that effective and efficient effective outsourcing can be achieved is a good reason. In fact, there are many examples where outsourcing has been followed by increasing payrolls, employees working in higher skilled, more challanging rolls, and significant business growth. But wherefore the evils? Do they exist anymore? Well, from my standpoint, there are some problems, most having to do with wasted resources. I think artificially low transportation costs promote the shipment of goods that need not be shipped. Why, for instance, should we make watermelons available in Minnesota during January? To me, it is a waste of oil just as it is wasteful to trans ship many of the products in our various supply chains.

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