The Field of Dreams

Timothy Myers

9/17/14

The Field of Dreams

     Globalization, while seen normally as a source of hope for many young countries has had many unintended consequences on the American economy. Each and every day it seems as though more and more “American” jobs are being shipped overseas. Many companies just cannot compete with the low labor costs and tax advantages that are available overseas. The companies, in an order to survive must either conform to globalization or sink into bankruptcy.

     While the idea of potential jobs being relocated to Asia can be a scary thought for many aspiring college graduates, the even more chilling thought is that the companies are going overseas not just for cheaper costs, but to find better talent. America used to be the educational and economical bastion of the world. Now, in some respects, it is falling behind in terms of growth and in terms of an educated populace. Today, America just cannot compete with the educational density of the Asian economies. When talking about the assembling of qualified engineers to oversee the completion of the iPhone project, authors Duhigg and Bradshear said, “The company’s analysts had forecast it would take as long as nine months to find that many qualified engineers in the United States. In China, it took 15 days.” The American “field of dreams” that we as Americans used to take for granted, has been spread across the globe, so that all can have a chance at bat.

     In his writing, Thomas Friedman warns us that we must prepare ourselves for this flat world, because others already have. There is a clear connection between Mr. Friedman’s observation and the evidence that is presented in the Apple article. In the Apple article the authors talk about the Foxconn City and the preparedness that the city boasts. Not only do all employees sleep in dormitories nearly attached to the factory that they work in, but the manufacturers also have the ability to muster up an additional 3,000 employees in one night. For a company like Apple that may need a surprise shipment of 1,000,000 iPhones overnight, this preparedness is something that has become expected. Apple counts on the global economy, as Friedman said, “This is what the shareholders have paid for”.  Shareholders of Apple expect efficiency of the highest degree, the only way for the operators of the business to ensure that, is to become a global company.