•   Solving the problem involves the application of a series of state transformations that will eliminate the gap
•   Analysis: use data to make decisions depends on an organizations ability to collect, organize, and otherwise transform data into information that can be used to make decisions
•  Algorithmic Solution: problems solved with a series of actions
•    Heuristic Solution: solved by using reasoning built on knowledge and experience, and trial and error
• most problems require a combination of the two solutions

•  

• Identify the Problem
• Understand the Problem
• Identify alternative ways to solve the problem
• Select the best way to solve the problem from the list of alternative solutions
• List instructions needed to solve the problem using selected solution
• Evaluate solution

• Ideal for complex and time-consuming algorithmic solutions
• Solution: the list of instructions that produce the best result (outcome)
• Program: the set of instructions to produce the result; coded in a particular computer language

• People are not taught how to solve problems
• Decision making is a personal decision
• People are afraid of making decisions
• The problem solving process takes time and practice to perfect
• Defining the solution requires discipline

• Starting in Bangalore, India Friedman sees many advertisments such as Pizza Hut, Epson, HP etc. that are all traditionally AMerican companies
• Infosys Technologies created a massive conferencing system that allows people from around the globe to congregate and collaborate in one giant room via satellite and teleconferencing
• Friedman meets Jaithrith "Jerry" Rao, an outsourced businessman in India 
• Through him we learn about the process of information exchange online and the effect it has on business to perform various duties from remote locations with everything from tax preperations to hair appointment scheduling to hospital booking(examples of outsourcing)

The World is Flat: The Ten Forces That Flattened The World; Flattener #1 ( Collapse of the Berlin Wall)

• Fall of the Berlin Wall; not nly symbolized the end of the Cold War; it allowed people from the other side of the wall to join the economic mainstream
• Windows OS introduced 5 months later
• the basic platform for the revolution to follow was created

• 8/09/95
• The New age of Connectivity: when the Web went around and Netscape went public
• Netscape was one of the first browsers available; after Mosaic

• the ability of machines to talk to other machines without human involvement
• emergence of software protocol(html)
• People can work with other people on more stuff than ever before
• Created a global platform for multiple forms of collaboration 

• Harnessing the power of communities; communities collaborating on online projects
• Ex: open source software, blogs, wikipedia
• Friedman considers the phenomenon "the most disruptive force"

• Outsourcing (Y2K) has allowed companies to split service and manufacturing activities into components, which can be subcontracted and performed in the most efficient, cost-effective way
• This process became easier with the mass distribution of fiber optic cables during the introduction of the world wide web

• the internal relocation of a company's manufacturing or other processes to a foreign land to take advantage of less costly operations there
• China's entrance into the WTO allowed for greater competition in the playing field

• Eating sushi in Arkansas
• Doesn't matter where you are ypu will get the best product available
• Wal-Mart: if Wal-Mart was a country it would be the biggest trading partner with China
• Wal-Mart uses technology to streamline item sales, distribution, and shipping
• Friedman compares the modern retail supply chain to a river

• Friedman uses UPS as a prime example of insourcing, in which the company's employees perform services- beyond shipping- for another company
• ex. UPS repairs Toshiba computers on behalf of Toshiba

• Digital, mobile, personal, virtual
• All analog content and processes can be digitized and therefore shaped, manipulated, and transmitted
•  virtual- these processes can be done at high speed with total ease
• mobile- can be done anywhere, anytime by anyone
• personal- can be done by you

• Friedman explains that each of the 10 factors came together, spread and took root to create the environment rich for flattening
• he credits the spread, creation of complementary software, the internet, and political factors that caused several developing countries, including China, Russia, India and Latin America, to open their borders at this time with the creation of the perfect storm that lead to the rapid pace of globalization
• Through interviews with the U.S Embassy, we explore the desperation of Chinese students to study and work in America;for the first time talent has become more important than geograohy in determining a person's opportunities in life
• We follow the path of a boeing jet; as components of manufacture are outsourced to Russia and India, allowing for cheaper development of more planes; Friedman demonstrates the need for individuals and businesses to be able to compete in a global marketplace

• Reality check as we explore the manner in which countries and societies will cope with and adapt to the dramatic changes that globalization brings to the way we do business, as individuals and entities
• compares the Industrial Revolution to the current IT Revolution 
• In an interview with Harvard political theorist Michael J. Sandel; discuss whether or not exploitation is globalization; are the outsourced people from India being exploited or given opportunity they would otherwise not have had?
• Case study: India-Indiana story; an Indian company was outsourced to upgrade Indiana's unemployment computer system, effectively taking work from people in Indiana to provide more work for people in India
• Examine the blurring boundaries between companies and different groups of workers, as well as the relationship between communities and the businesses that operate within them
• Friedman demonstrate that as little people begin to act big, so too are big people able to connecton the smallest level
• Identities become harder to define which also needs to be soted out; the traditional roles of consumer, employee, citizen, taxpayer and shareholder have all become blurred and intertwined
• Friedman summarizes the chapter with an eamination of intellectual property law and means that must be put in place to protect it, as well as the death of the human bond in the  online world

• the new world wide web
• New ways to use the web
• the Participatory Web:
• web 2.0 means you can read and write on the web
• from static web pages to dynamic interactive ones
• from a one way dialogue to group conversations

• Web 2.0 is a radical democratization of the internet brought about by the development of software that lets ordinary users to participate and express themselves on the web
• Ordinary people can upload their photos, videos, stories etc. and have the community judge tem in the spirit of meritocracy
• Web 2.0 is a social phenomenon
• Links people to people not just information
• Creates connection
• Explosion of growth in social networking
• Web 2.0 is easy to use, has a simple desig, has a low learning curve, and all users can participate, organize, read, write, and play online

• 1) The Web as a platform->web is a platform for bigger things and the connection of the world, platform beats application every time, service gets better as more people use it
• 2) Harnessing collective intelligence-> harness intelligence from around the world providing people with greater knowledge
• 3) Data is the next "Intel Inside"-> user generated content is the real value of their communities, the more people contribute the better the network effecr and the use of collective intelligence
• 4) End of Software Release Cycle -> software no longer has to be released, only updates are made that can be downloaded directly, software is continuously evolving(never a finished product), software can be delivered as a service(patches, upgrades)
• 5) Less is more-> simplicity is efficiency, low learning curve, by designing light adaptable applications, companies are able to respond quickly to market needs
• 6) Syndication-> Sharing, not controlling, RSS(Really Simple Syndication) facilitates the sharing of content
• 7) Design Reusability-> Apllications are designed to be shared, data can be easily accessed from different applications, applications can be combined(mashup) to provide a better service
• 8) Software for more than one device-> users can access the web through multiple devices(Desktops, laptops, cellphones, iPods etc)
• 9)The Long Tail-> of special interest to marketers, consists of the less popular interest of users, adding them up these non mainstream interests far outnumber the popular ones, 25-40% of Amazon sales come form the long tail, serve only popularity but fringe as well
• 10) Social Software-> Web 2.0 is about community and collaboration, any application that supports that is part of social software

• Provide commentary or information on a particular issue, event or topic
• Blog can be maintained by a single person or group of people
• can be biased
• Visitors can comment on the entries in the blog

• Allows users to create individual profiles for themselves on the service
• Users can choose tohave a public or private profile
• Security and privacy is sometimes an issue
• Competition also an issue 
• Users can post photos, videos, music etc

• Collaborative website that anyone within the community of users can contribute or edit
• A wiki can be open to a global audience or can be restricted to a selected community
• Wiki's make it easy to search or browse for information
• Privacy is an issue

• Movement to organize data in the public sphere
• Focus on managing and sharing information
• Can bookmark almost anything
• Organized by users by adding keywords or tags
• Can be incorrectly organized

• Browse using your own interests and language
• Can pull together information from other websites using tags
• Ease of use: simple, flexible, extensible, can be aggregated
• Managing personal information
• Collaborating and sharing
• Expression: communicates info about YOU
• Business Benefits: facilitates collaboration, obtaining descriptive metadata, enhancing findability, increasing participation, indentifyng patterns

• Productivity is the value of outputs produced divided by the values of input resourcs used
• Productivity= Output/Input
• A manager's challenge is to increase productivity
• PRoductivity has a direct impact on our standard of living
• If output per worker goes up, society benefits from increase per capita income
• Conversely, lagging or decreased productivity eventually results in a lower standard of living

• Canada's standard of living is at risk because of lagging productivity
• Canadians need to work smarter not longer to boost productivity
• Invest in people
• Encourage innovation and efficiency in SME's
• Increase in government accountability

• Theory that computers have contributed negatively to productivity
• Discrepancy between measurs of investment in information technology and measures of outpu on the national level, widely believed that office automation was boosting labour productivity
• Four Explanations for Paradox: Mismeasurement of outputs and inputs, lags due to learning and adjustment, redistribution and dissipation of profits, mismanagement of information and technology

• When computers were first introduced into offices, everyone expected an increase in productivity, but that did not happen right away and it sparked both disappointment and confusion
• IT revolution needed more than just computers to boost productivity; new business processes, and new types of skills to go with them
• Outsourcing and productivity: when they send jobs abroad, they did not only save 75% on wages, they get 100% increase in productivity
• Productivity growh and hence the way out of poverty is not simply a matter of throwing resources at the problem... more importantly it is a matter of using resources well

• As students and future workers we will be expected to be more skilled and more productive than ever before. It also means that many jobs will be sent abroad and we will have to compete globally for jobs insteas of just nationally.