the.world.is.flat-第39部分

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Dom：　（Long　pause）　Bizhub？　
VO：　（Over　an　animated　graphic　of　bizhub　illustrating　its　multiple　functions）　Amazing　
versatility　and　affordable　color。　That's　bizhub；　from　Konica　Minolta。　
（Cut　to　Dom　alone　at　the　bizhub　machine；　trying　to　see　if　it　will　also　dispense　coffee　
into　his　mug。）　
Southwest　was　able　to　offer　its　at…home　ticketing；　and　Konica　Minolta　could　offer　
bizhub；　because　of　what　I　call　the　triple　convergence。　What　are　the　components　of　
this　triple　convergence？　The　short　answer　is　this：　First；　right　around　the　year　2000；　
all　ten　of　the　flatteners　discussed　in　the　previous　chapter　started　to　converge　and　
work　together　in　ways　that　created　a　new；　flatter；　global　playing　field。　As　this　new　
playing　field　became　established；　both　businesses　and　individuals　began　to　adopt　new　
habits；　skills；　and　processes　to　get　the　most　out　of　it。　They　moved　from　largely　
vertical　means　of　creating　value　to　more　horizontal　ones。　The　merger　of　this　new　
playing　field　for　doing　business　with　the　new　ways　of　doing　business　was　the　second　
convergence；　and　it　actually　helped　to　flatten　the　world　even　further。　Finally；　just　
when　all　of　this　flattening　was　happening；　a　whole　new　group　of　people；　several　billion；　
in　fact；　walked　out　onto　the　playing　field　from　China；　India；　and　the　former　Soviet　
Empire。　Thanks　to　the　new　flat　world；　and　its　new　tools；　some　of　them　were　quickly　
able　to　collaborate　and　compete　directly　with　everyone　else。　This　was　the　third　
convergence。　Now　let's　look　at　each　in　detail。　
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Convergence　I　
All　ten　flatteners　discussed　in　the　previous　chapter　have　been　around；　we　know；　since　
the　1990s；　if　not　earlier。　But　they　had　to　spread　and　take　root　and　connect　with　one　
another　to　work　their　magic　on　the　world。　For　instance；　at　some　point　around　2003；　
Southwest　Airlines　realized　that　there　were　enough　PCs　around；　enough　bandwidth；　
enough　computer　storage；　enough　Internet…comfortable　customers；　and　enough　software　
know…how　for　Southwest　to　create　a　work　flow　system　that　empowered　its　customers　to　
download　and　print　out　their　own　boarding　passes　at　home；　as　easily　as　downloading　
a　piece　of　e…mail。　Southwest　could　collaborate　with　its　customers　and　they　with　
Southwest　in　a　new　way。　And　somewhere　around　the　same　time；　the　work　flow　software　
and　hardware　converged　in　a　way　that　enabled　Konica　Minolta　to　offer　scanning；　
e…mailing；　printing；　faxing；　and　copying　all　from　the　same　machine。　This　is　the　first　


convergence。　
As　Stanford　University　economist　Paul　Romer　pointed　out；　economists　have　known　for　
a　long　time　that　〃there　are　goods　that　are　complementary…whereby　good　A　is　a　lot　more　
valuable　if　you　also　have　good　B。　It　was　good　to　have　paper　and　then　it　was　good　to　
have　pencils；　and　soon　as　you　got　more　of　one　you　got　more　of　the　other；　and　as　you　
got　a　better　quality　of　one　and　better　quality　of　the　other；　your　productivity　improved。　
This　is　known　as　the　simultaneous　improvement　of　complementary　goods。〃
It　is　my　contention　that　the　opening　of　the　Berlin　Wall；　Netscape；　work　flow；
outsourcing；　offshoring；　open…sourcing；　insourcing；　supply…chaining；　in…forming；
and　the　steroids　amplifying　them　all　reinforced　one　another；　like　complementary　goods。
They　just　needed　time　to　converge　and　start　to　work　together　in　a　complementary；
mutually　enhancing　fashion。　That　tipping　point　arrived　sometime　around　the　year　2000。
The　net　result　of　this　convergence　was　the　creation　of　a　global；　Web…enabled　playing　
field　that　allows　for　multiple　forms　of　collaboration…the　sharing　of　knowledge　and　
work…in　real　time；　without　regard　to　geography；　distance；　or；　in　the　near　future；　
even　language。　No；　not　everyone　has　access　yet　to　this　platform；　this　playing　field；　
but　it　is　open　today　to　more　people　in　more　places　on　more　days　in　more　ways　than
anything　like　it　ever　before


in　the　history　of　the　world。　This　is　what　I　mean　when　I　say　the　world　has　been　flattened。
It　is　the　complementary　convergence　of　the　ten　flatteners；　creating　this　new　global
playing　field　for　multiple　forms　of　collaboration。
Convergence　II　
Great；　you　say；　but　why　is　it　only　in　the　past　few　years　that　we　started　to　see　in　
the　United　States　the　big　surges　in　productivity　that　should　be　associated　with　such
a　technological　leap？　Answer：　Because　it　always　takes　time　for　all　the　flanking　
technologies；　and　the　business　processes　and　habits　needed　to　get　the　most　out　of　
them；　to　converge　and　create　that　next　productivity　breakthrough。
Introducing　new　technology　alone　is　never　enough。　The　big　spurts　in　productivity　come　
when　a　new　technology　is　combined　with　new　ways　of　doing　business。　Wal…Mart　got　big
productivity　boosts　when　it　combined　big　box　stores…where　people　could　buy　soap
supplies　for　six　months…with　new；　horizontal　supply…chain　management　systems　that
allowed　Wal…Mart　instantly　to　connect　what　a　consumer　took　off　the　shelf　from　a　
Wal…Mart　in　Kansas　City　with　what　a　Wal…Mart　supplier　in　coastal　China　would　produce。　
When　computers　were　first　introduced　into　offices；　everyone　expected　a　big　boost　in　
productivity。　But　that　did　not　happen　right　away；　and　it　sparked　both　disappointment　
and　a　little　confusion。　The　noted　economist　Robert　Solow　quipped　that　computers　are　
everywhere…　except　〃in　the　productivity　statistics。〃
In　a　pathbreaking　1989　essay；　〃Computer　and　Dynamo：　The　Modern　Productivity　Paradox　
in　a　Not…Too　Distant　Mirror；〃　the　economic　historian　Paul　A。　David　explained　such　
a　lag　by　pointing　to　a　historical　precedent。　He　noted　that　while　the　lightbulb　was
invented　in　1879；　it　took　several　decades　for　electrification　to　kick　in　and　have　
a　big　economic　and　productivity　impact。　Why？　Because　it　was　not　enough　just　to　install
electric　motors　and　scrap　the　old　technology…steam　engines。　The　whole　way　of　doing



manufacturing　had　to　be　reconfigured。　In　the　
178　
case　of　electricity；　David　pointed　out；　the　key　breakthrough　was　in　how　buildings；　
and　assembly　lines；　were　redesigned　and　managed。　Factories　in　the　steam　age　tended　
to　be　heavy；　costly　multistory　buildings　designed　to　brace　the　weighty　belts　and　other　
big　transmission　devices　needed　to　drive　steam…powered　systems。　Once　small；　powerful　
electric　motors　were　introduced；　everyone　hoped　for　a　quick　productivity　boost。　It　
took　time；　though。　To　get　all　the　savings；　you　needed　to　redesign　enough　buildings。　
You　needed　to　have　long；　low；　cheaper…to…build　single…story　factories；　with　small　
electric　motors　powering　machines　of　all　sizes。　Only　when　there　was　a　critical　mass　
of　experienced　factory　architects　and　electrical　engineers　and　managers；　who　
understood　the　complementarities　among　the　electric　motor；　the　redesign　of　the　
factory；　and　the　redesign　of　the　production　line；　did　electrification　really　deliver　
the　productivity　breakthrough　in　manufacturing；　David　wrote。　
The　same　thing　is　happening　today　with　the　flattening　of　the　world。　Many　of　the　ten　
flatteners　have　been　around　for　years。　But　for　the　full　flattening　effects　to　be　felt；　
we　needed　not　only　the　ten　flatteners　to　converge　but　also　something　else。　We　needed　
the　emergence　of　a　large　cadre　of　managers；　innovators；　business　consultants；　
business　schools；　designers；　IT　specialists；　CEOs；　and　workers　to　get　comfortable　
with；　and　develop；　the　sorts　of　horizontal　collaboration　and　value…creation　processes　
and　habits　that　could　take　advantage　of　this　new；　flatter　playing　field。　In　short；　
the　convergence　of　the　ten　flatteners　begat　the　convergence　of　a　set　of　business　
practices　and　skills　that　would　get　the　most　out　of　the　flat　world。　And　then　the　two　
began　to　mutually　reinforce　each　other。　
〃When　people　asked；　'Why　didn't　the　IT　revolution　lead　to　more　productivity　right　
away？'　it　was　because　you　needed　more　than　just　new　computers；〃　saidRomer。　〃You　needed　
new　business　processes　and　new　types　of　skills　to　go　with　them。　The　new　way　of　doing　
things　makes　the　information　technologies　more　valuable；　and　the　new　and　better　
information　technologies　make　the　new　ways　of　doing　things　more　possible。〃　
Globalization　2。0　was　really　the　era　of　mainframe　computing；　which　was　very　
vertical…command…and…control　oriented；　with　companies　and　their　individual　
departments　tending　to　be　organized　in　vertical　silos。　Globalization　3。0；　which　is　
built　around　the　convergence　of　the　ten　flat179　
teners；　and　particularly　the　combination　of　the　PC；　the　microprocessor；　the　Internet；　
and　fiber　optics；　flipped　the　playing　field　from　largely　top…down　to　more　side　to　
side。　And　this　naturally　fostered　and　demanded　new　business　practices；　which　were　
less　about　command　and　control　and　more　about　connecting　and　collaborating　
horizontally。　
〃We　have　gone　from　a　vertical　chain　of　command　for　value　creation　to　a　much　more　
horizontal　chain　ofcommand　for　value　creation；〃　explained　Carly　Fiorina。　Innovations　
in　companies　like　HP；　she　said；　now　come　more　and　more　often　from　horizontal　
collaboration　among　different　departments　and　teams　spread　all　across　the　globe。　For　
instance；　HP；　Cisco；　and　Nokia　recently　collaborated　on　the　development　of　a　camera/　


cell　phone　that　beams　its　digitized　pictures　to　an　HP　printer；　which　quickly　prints　
them　out。　Each　company　had　developed　a　very　sophisticated　technological　specialty；　
but　it　could　add　value　only　when　its　specialty　was　horizontally　combined　with　the　
specialties　of　the　other　two　companies。　
〃How　you　collaborate　horizontally　and　manage　horizontally　requires　a　totally　
different　set　of　skills〃　from　traditional　top…down　approaches；　Fiorina　added。　
Let　me　offer　just　a　few　examples。　In　the　past　five　years；　HP　has　gone　from　a　company　
that　had　eighty…seven　different　supply　chains…each　managed　vertically　and　
independently；　with　its　own　hierarchy　of　managers　and　back…office　support…to　a　
company　with　just　five　supply　chains　that　manage　50　billion　in　business；　and　where　
functions　like　accounting；　billing；　and　human　resources　are　handled　through　a　
companywide　system。　
Southwest　Airlines　took　advantage　of　the　convergence　of　the　ten　flat…teners　to　create　
a　system　where　its　customers　can　download　their　boarding　passes　at　home。　But　until　
I　personally　altered　my　ticket…buying　hab