This work offers a summary of the book "THE WORLD IS FLAT: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century" by Thomas L. Friedman.

Thomas Friedman is the foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times. He has been awarded three Pulitzer Prizes for his articles.

The availability of cheap, ubiquitous telecommunications in the early 21st century has had the effect of creating a "flat" world. In other words, no matter where a company is physically located, it can now compete for customers who may similarly located anywhere in the world. The driving force and engine room of this flattening process is generally labeled as "globalization". The resulting flattening of the world is making possible all kinds of complex supply chains which are based on value-added services. Products in all industries are becoming increasingly commoditized to take advantage of labor and services provided by emerging economies like China and India.

According to Thomas Friedman, the great challenge for the business world of the 21st century will be to have sufficient leadership, imagination and flexibility to adapt quickly enough to stay up with the speed of changes as they occur.

The World is Flat is an accessible explanation of today's world and a must-read for those who will need to live and work in this new global environment.