The Rational Outsourcing Blog

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Know thy enemy and you may find he is your friend

I only bought Release 3.0 of Tom Friedman’s “The World Is Flat” because he mentions me and my company in this release. After all, I already have the two earlier releases of the same book. However, once I read the book, I was really glad I bought it. There are two excellent new chapters and one of the stories is a must read:

Mr. Friedman highlights the Flat Classroom Project where American and Bangadeshi 10th and 11th grade Computer Science and IT students collaborated with each other on joint projects leveraging a plethora of web-based collaboration tools. In the book, the two educators who started the project state “Students are hungering for meaningful connections with one another. They want to understand if the stereotypes portrayed by much of the mass media are true and they want to connect and decide for themselves…”

Much of mainstream media is telling 10th grade American students studying Computer Science that their jobs are being “stolen” by the developing world. It is critically important that they interact with their peers in the developing world and make up their own mind. I believe such projects are a big step in the right direction and look forward to more projects of this type. The plug from Tom Friedman doesn’t hurt this trend either.

posted by Arijit | DIGG this

27 Comments:

  • Couldn't agree more Apu. One of my close friends owns an online training business (FMEdge.com.au) which is drawing mature age students from Australia and India. The learning process that you describe in younger students is also apparent in older students too. Good things come from facilitating 'global' learning - especially in terms of helping people to understand different cultures and people.

    Cheers
    Steve

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:02 PM  

  • i think this is good. instead of hating the enemy, it would be much better that through this collaboration better ideas will fuse instead of hatred which really can't help the problem instead worsen it.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 2:29 PM  

  • I remember writing something like this as well. I really can't agree with you more. Especially on the part where they really are instilling the mentality that the jobs are being "stolen" by developing countries. It's as if the world doesn't have enough hostility and discrimination already.

    You can check my blog too if you want. :) I'm constantly writing about the trends in offshore outsourcing. And I heard that India is actually playing the same game now. That will be interesting. India giving jobs to Americans, now isn't that just a slap in the face for anti-offshore outsourcing advocates?

    By Blogger Jess, at 8:45 PM  

  • Outsourcing is one of the booming industries globally. But it's the people you need to be careful with. An offshore company may offer you a lot of perks and services but not have qualified people to fill the spots is a major hassle. It's a matter of the right choice.

    By Blogger Kenneth Ragpala, at 8:11 PM  

  • I have seen many sites before and most of them do not look this good.  Thanks for the excellent content.....





    Regards,
    SBL - BPO Services

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:51 PM  

  • Developing nations stealing jobs? I disagree in the strongest possible terms in this idea. Is it better to say that these developing nations produce better individuals that the world is looking for.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:50 AM  

  • Great post, thanks for sharing!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:33 PM  

  • I have heard that before. American do not like IT Courses because they will competing with Asian IT.

    In Asia, IT is now the favorite course of the students.

    By Anonymous Virtual Assistants, at 8:22 AM  

  • Great post. Very informative.

    By Anonymous Business Process Outsourcing, at 1:57 AM  

  • Another thing to think about is to learn how to outsource. It’s really helped my business, but it can be confusing

    at first. I found a free outsourcing mini coarse and I learned a lot from it. It can teach you to hire people for

    $4 per hour to help you. outsourcing strategies

    By Blogger alfie chiong, at 8:00 AM  

  • Interesting text. You have a nice blog. Keep it up!

    By Anonymous RNB Research, at 3:25 AM  

  • Stealing someone else project or work for their own benefit's suck! But you're right, it's better to work with your enemy rather than hate them. @Jess, that's a big slap to the Americans. Especially India is always the target of the American to offshore and outsource their businesses. What goes around, comes around.

    ___
    Alex Perez
    http://www.primeoutsourcing.com

    By Blogger Unknown, at 12:04 PM  

  • The fact that outsourcing exists. And if it exists it has its own reasons for it. So what for to not to like the developing countries?

    Thanks
    Alena

    By Blogger Alena Shechkova, at 6:35 AM  

  • yes you are right steve Good things come from facilitating 'global' learning - especially in terms of helping people to understand different cultures and people.

    By Anonymous Virtual assistant services India, at 6:02 AM  

  • Hey even I think this will work.It can help to build your business and can manage your risks and costs to acceptable levels.
    Regards,
    insurance outsourcing

    By Blogger bineesh, at 10:06 PM  

  • Metaphorically true and to some extent it does inflict a blow on the social aspect of business. Students around the globe are able to absorb all digital and electronic adaptation. It is really great to know positive reinforcement does knack some good sense in young idealism.

    By Anonymous legal process outsourcing, at 3:41 AM  

  • Every region has their time. Currently, the EU is facing a real threat of collapsing under heavy debts. Who knows, professionals from India and Phillipines may be the next expatriates whereby the English will turn into immigrants.

    By Anonymous Outsourcing, at 6:46 AM  

  • Hi..........

    It is very nice post regarding your views regarding your friends which you like very much. One day you see that it was your enemy. You shocked after seeing his character. Keep it up.

    By Anonymous Preeti singh, at 10:35 AM  

  • Outsourcing is capitalism, easy as that. And the job is often done just as well, if not better by people who are not jaded with day-jobs. I think it is a great opportunity to bring employment to other countries. Plus with the infusion of ideas from around the world, we can all strive toward building a more united world together.

    By Anonymous Outsource Graphic Design, at 10:02 PM  

  • I can agree to this. And it's true that students are hungering for meaningful connections with one another. The fact that stereotypes portrayed by much of the mass media, they still wanted to see and understand and decide as well for themselves.

    By Anonymous matthewdome, at 2:24 PM  

  • Large corporations with the latest’s technology used to have a have the competitive advantage. In today’s economy, having the latest technology doesn’t only give us the advantage, it levels the playing field for IT is a necessity for any business to compete in today’s local, yet global economy.

    By Anonymous IT Outsourcing Chicago, at 10:24 AM  

  • good deal without hating :)

    By Anonymous Web Design India, at 2:05 AM  

  • Not to mention, the interaction of these IT students could also provide them with an additional learning resource, as lessons are garnished through the sessions of interaction with each other.

    By Anonymous Andy Rank, at 9:36 AM  

  • good one

    By Anonymous BPO Services India, at 3:34 AM  

  • Thanks for the article.

    By Anonymous Reynaldo, at 7:06 AM  

  • Well-written, I must admit. I faced such situation myself, being told my company "shamelessly invaded local markets". Sounds silly, but the essence is quite a sad thing...
    Thus I don't believe such co-education will solve the problem, the idea is good and the result is certainly worth a try.

    By Anonymous Anton Zaleski, at 2:18 AM  

  • very well said, we should be more open-minded about countless possibilities.

    By Anonymous staff leasing philippines, at 9:17 PM  

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