the.world.is.flat-第32章

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that　the　companies　they　were　investing　in　were　finding　the　most　efficient；　
high…quality；　low…price　way　to　innovate。　In　the　boom　times；　said　Haque；　it　was　not　
uncommon　for　a　50　million　investment　in　a　start…up　to　return　500　million　once　the　
company　went　public。　After　the　bust；　that　same　company's　public　offering　might　bring　
in　only　100　million。　Therefore；　venture　firms　wanted　to　risk　only　20　million　to　
get　that　company　from　start…up　to　IPO。　
〃For　venture　firms；〃　said　Haque；　〃the　big　question　became；　How　do　I　get　my　
entrepreneurs　and　their　new　companies　to　a　point　where　they　were　breaking　even　or　
profitable　sooner；　so　they　can　stop　being　a　draw　on　my　capital　and　be　sold　so　our　
firm　can　generate　good　liquidity　and　returns？　The　answer　many　firms　came　up　with　was：　
I　better　start　outsourcing　as　many　functions　as　I　can　from　the　beginning。　I　have　to　
make　money　for　my　investors　faster；　so　what　can　be　outsourced　must　be　outsourced。〃　
Henry　Schacht；　who；　as　noted；　was　heading　Lucent　during　part　of　this　period；　saw　the　
whole　process　from　the　side　of　corporate　management。　
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The　business　economics；　he　told　me；became　〃very　ugly〃　for　everyone。　Everyone　found　
prices　flat　to　declining　and　markets　stagnant；　yet　they　were　still　spending　huge　
amounts　of　money　running　the　backroom　operations　of　their　companies；　which　they　could　
no　longer　afford。　〃Cost　pressures　were　enormous；〃　he　recalled；　〃and　the　flat　world　
was　available；　＇so＇　economics　were　forcing　people　to　do　things　they　never　thought　
they　would　do　or　could　do　。。。　Globalization　got　supercharged〃…for　both　knowledge　work　
and　manufacturing。　Companies　found　that　they　could　go　to　MIT　and　find　four　incredibly　
smart　Chinese　engineers　who　were　ready　to　go　back　to　China　and　work　for　them　from　


there　for　the　same　amount　that　it　would　cost　them　to　hire　one　engineer　in　America。　
Bell　Labs　had　a　research　facility　at　Tsingdao　that　could　connect　to　Lucent's　computers　
in　America。　〃They　would　use　our　computers　overnight；〃　said　Schacht。　〃Not　only　was　
the　incremental　computing　cost　close　to　zero；　but　so　too　was　the　transmission　cost；　
and　the　computer　was　idle　＇at　night＇。〃　
For　all　these　reasons　I　believe　that　Y2K　should　be　a　national　holiday　in　India；　a　
second　Indian　Independence　Day；　in　addition　to　August　15。　As　Johns　Hopkins　foreign　
policy　expert　Michael　Mandelbaum；　who　spent　part　of　his　youth　in　India；　put　it；　〃Y2K　
should　be　called　Indian　Inter…depedence　Day；〃　because　it　was　India's　ability　to　
collaborate　with　Western　companies；　thanks　to　the　interdependence　created　by　
fiber…optic　networks；　that　really　vaulted　it　forward　and　gave　more　Indians　than　ever　
some　real　freedom　of　choice　in　how；　for　whom；　and　where　they　worked。　
To　put　it　another　way；　August　15　commemorates　freedom　at　midnight。　Y2K　made　possible　
employment　at　midnight…but　not　any　employment；　employment　for　India's　best　knowledge　
workers。　August　15　gave　independence　to　India。　But　Y2K　gave　independence　to　Indians…　
not　all；　by　any　stretch　of　the　imagination；　but　a　lot　more　than　fifty　years　ago；　and　
many　of　them　from　the　most　productive　segment　of　the　population。　In　that　sense；　yes；　
India　was　lucky；　but　it　also　reaped　what　it　had　sowed　through　hard　work　and　education　
and　the　wisdom　of　its　elders　who　built　all　those　IITs。　
Louis　Pasteur　said　it　a　long　time　ago：　〃Fortune　favors　the　prepared　mind。〃　

Flattener　#6　
Offshoring　
Running　with　Gazelles；　Eating　with　Lions　
On　December　11；　2001；　China　formally　joined　the　World　Trade　Organization；　which　meant　
Beijing　agreed　tofollow　the　same　global　rules　governing　imports；　exports；　andforeign　
investments　that　most　countries　in　the　world　were　following。　It　meant　China　was　
agreeing；　in　principle；　to　make　its　own　competitive　playing　field　as　level　as　the　
rest　of　the　world。　A　few　days　later；　the　American…trained　Chinese　manager　of　a　fuel　
pump　factory　in　Beijing；　which　was　owned　by　a　friend　of　mine；　Jack　Perkowski；　the　
chairman　andCEO　of　ASIMCO　Technologies；　an　American　auto　parts　manufacturer　in　China；　
posted　the　following　African　proverb；　translated　into　Mandarin；　on　his　factory　floor：　
Every　morning　in　Africa；　a　gazelle　wakes　up。　
It　knows　it　must　run　faster　than　the　fastest　lion　or　it　will　be　killed。　
Every　morning　a　lion　wakes　up。　
It　knows　it　must　outrun　the　slowest　gazelle　or　it　will　starve　to　death。　
It　doesn't　matter　whether　you　are　a　lion　or　a　gazelle。　
When　the　sun　comes　up；　you　better　start　running。　
I　don't　know　who　is　the　lion　and　who　is　the　gazelle；　but　I　do　know　this：　Ever　since　
the　Chinese　joined　the　WTO；　both　they　and　the　rest　of　the　world　have　had　to　run　faster　
and　faster。　This　is　because　China's　joining　the　WTO　gave　a　huge　boost　to　another　form　
of　collaboration…　offshoring。　Offshoring；　which　has　been　around　for　decades；　is　
different　from　outsourcing。　Outsourcing　means　taking　some　specific；　but　limited；　
function　that　your　company　was　doing　in…house…such　as　research；　call　centers；　or　


accounts　receivable…and　having　another　company　perform　that　exact　same　function　for　
you　and　then　reintegrating　their　work　back　into　your　overall　operation。　Offshoring；　
by　contrast；　is　when　a　company　takes　one　of　its　factories　that　it　is　operating　in　
Canton；　Ohio；　and　moves　the　whole　factory　offshore　to　Canton；　China。　There；　it　
produces　the　very　same　product　in　the　very　same　way；　only　with　cheaper　labor；　lower　
taxes；　
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subsidized　energy；　and　lower　health…care　costs。　Just　as　Y2K　took　India　and　the　world　
to　a　whole　new　level　of　outsourcing；　China's　joining　the　WTO　took　Beijing　and　the　
world　to　a　whole　new　level　of　offshoring…with　more　companies　shifting　production　
offshore　and　then　integrating　it　into　their　global　supply　chains。　
In　1977；　Chinese　leader　Deng　Xiaoping　put　China　on　the　road　to　capitalism；　declaring　
later　that　〃to　get　rich　is　glorious。〃　When　China　first　opened　its　tightly　closed　
economy；　companies　in　industrialized　countries　saw　it　as　an　incredible　new　market　
for　exports。　Every　Western　or　Asian　manufacturer　dreamed　of　selling　its　equivalent　
of　1　billion　pairs　of　underwear　to　a　single　market。　Some　foreign　companies　set　up　
shop　in　China　to　do　just　that。　But　because　China　was　not　subject　to　world　trade　rules；　
it　was　able　to　restrict　the　penetration　into　its　market　by　these　Western　companies　
through　various　trade　and　investment　barriers。　And　when　it　was　not　doing　that　
deliberately；　the　sheer　bureaucratic　and　cultural　difficulties　of　doing　business　in　
China　had　the　same　effect。　Many　of　the　pioneer　investors　in　China　lost　their　shirts　
and　pants　and　underwear…　and　with　China's　Wild　West　legal　system　there　was　not　much　
recourse。　
Beginning　in　the　1980s；　many　investors；　particularly　overseas　Chinese　who　knew　how　
to　operate　in　China；　started　to　say；　〃Well；　if　we　can't　sell　that　many　things　to　the　
Chinese　right　now；　why　don't　we　use　China's　disciplined　labor　pool　to　make　things　
there　and　sell　them　abroad？〃　This　dovetailed　with　the　interests　of　China's　leaders。　
China　wanted　to　attract　foreign　manufacturers　and　their　technologies…not　simply　to　
manufacture　1　billion　pairs　of　underwear　for　sale　in　China　but　to　use　low…wage　Chinese　
labor　to　also　sell　6　billion　pairs　of　underwear　to　everyone　else　in　the　world；　and　
at　prices　that　were　a　fraction　of　what　the　underwear　companies　in　Europe　or　America　
or　even　Mexico　were　charging。　
Once　that　offshoring　process　began　in　a　range　of　industries…from　textiles　to　consumer　
electronics　to　furniture　to　eyeglass　frames　toauto　parts…the　only　way　other　companies　
could　compete　was　by　offshoring　to　China　as　well　（taking　advantage　of　its　low…cost；　
high…quality　platform）；　or　by　looking　for　alternative　manufacturing　centers　in　
Eastern　Europe；　the　Caribbean；　or　somewhere　else　in　the　developing　world。　
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By　joining　the　World　Trade　Organization　in　2001；　China　assured　foreign　companies　that　
if　they　shifted　factories　offshore　to　China；　they　would　be　protected　by　international　
law　and　standard　business　practices。　This　greatly　enhanced　China's　attractiveness　
as　a　manufacturing　platform。　Under　WTO　rules；　Beijing　agreed…with　some　time　for　
phase…in…to　treat　non…Chinese　citizens　or　firms　as　if　they　were　Chin