the.world.is.flat-第9章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


presentation　in　two　days。　Your　〃remote　executive　assistant〃　in　India；　provided　by　
Brickwork；　will　do　all　the　research　for　you；　create　the　PowerPoint　presentation；　and　
e…mail　the　whole　thing　to　you　overnight　so　that　it　is　on　your　desk　the　day　you　have　
to　deliver　it。　
〃You　can　give　your　personal　remote　executive　assistant　their　assignment　when　you　are　
leaving　work　at　the　end　of　the　day　in　New　York　City；　and　it　will　be　ready　for　you　
the　next　morning；〃　explained　Kulkarni。　〃Because　of　the　time　difference　with　India；　
they　can　work　on　it　while　you　sleep　and　have　it　back　in　your　morning。〃　Kulkarni　
suggested　I　hire　a　remote　assistant　in　India　to　do　all　the　research　for　this　book。　
〃He　or　she　could　also　help　you　keep　pace　with　what　you　want　to　read。　When　you　wake　
up；　you　will　find　the　completed　summary　in　your　in…box。〃　（I　told　him　no　one　could　
be　better　than　my　longtime　assistant；　Maya　Gorman；　who　sits　ten　feet　away！）　
Having　your　own　personal　remote　executive　assistant　costs　around　1；500　to　2；000　
a　month；　and　given　the　pool　of　Indian　college　grads　from　which　Brickwork　can　recruit；　
the　brainpower　you　can　hire　dollar…for…dollar　is　substantial。　As　Brickwork's　
promotional　material　says；　〃India's　talent　pool　provides　companies　access　to　a　broad　
spectrum　of　highly　qualified　people。　In　addition　to　fresh　graduates；　which　are　around　

2。5　million　per　year；　many　qualified　homemakers　are　entering　the　job　market。〃　India's　
business　schools；　it　adds；　produce　around　eighty…nine　thousand　MBAs　per　year。　
〃We've　had　a　wonderful　response；〃　said　Kulkarni；　with　clients　coming　from　two　main　
areas。　One　is　American　health…care　consultants；　who　often　need　lots　of　numbers　
crunched　and　PowerPoint　presentations　drawn　up。　The　other；　he　said；　are　American　
investment　banks　and　financial　services　companies；　which　often　need　to　prepare　glossy　
pamphlets　with　graphs　to　illustrate　the　benefits　of　an　IPO　or　a　proposed　merger。　In　
the　case　of　a　merger；　Brickwork　will　prepare　those　sections　of　the　report　dealing　
with　
32　
general　market　conditions　and　trends；　where　most　of　the　research　can　be　gleaned　off　
the　Web　and　summarized　in　a　standard　format。　〃The　judgment　of　how　to　price　the　deal　

will　come　from　the　investment　bankers　themselves；〃　said　Kulkarni。　〃We　will　do　the　
lower…end　work；　and　they　will　do　the　things　that　require　critical　judgment　and　
experience；　close　to　the　market。〃　The　more　projects　his　team　of　remote　executive　
assistants　engages　in；　the　more　knowledge　they　build　up。　They　are　full　of　ambition　
to　do　their　higher　problem　solving　as　well；　said　Kulkarni。　〃The　idea　is　to　constantly　
learn。　You　are　always　taking　an　examination。　There　is　no　end　to　learning　。　。　。　There　
is　no　real　end　to　what　can　be　done　by　whom。〃　
Unlike　Columbus；　I　didn't　stop　with　India。　After　I　got　home；　I　decided　to　keep　
exploring　the　East　for　more　signs　that　the　world　was　flat。　So　after　India；　I　was　soon　
off　to　Tokyo；　where　I　had　a　chance　to　interview　Kenichi　Ohmae；　the　legendary　former　
McKinsey　&　Company　consultant　in　Japan。　Ohmae　has　left　McKinsey　and　struck　out　on　
his　own　in　business；　Ohmae　&　Associates。　And　what　do　they　do？　Not　consulting　anymore；　
explained　Ohmae。　He　is　now　spearheading　a　drive　to　outsource　low…end　Japanese　jobs　
to　Japanese…speaking　call　centers　and　service　providers　in　China。　〃Say　what？〃　I　asked。　
〃To　China？　Didn't　the　Japanese　once　colonize　China；　leaving　a　very　bad　taste　in　the　
mouths　of　the　Chinese？〃　
Well；　yes；　said　Ohmae；　but　he　explained　that　the　Japanese　also　left　behind　a　large　
number　of　Japanese　speakers　who　have　maintained　a　slice　of　Japanese　culture；　from　
sushi　to　karaoke；　in　northeastern　China；　particularly　around　the　northeastern　port　
city　of　Dalian。　Dalian　has　become　for　Japan　what　Bangalore　has　become　for　America　
and　the　other　English…speaking　countries：　outsourcing　central。　The　Chinese　may　never　
forgive　Japan　for　what　it　did　to　China　in　the　last　century；　but　the　Chinese　are　so　
focused　on　leading　the　world　in　the　next　century　that　they　are　ready　to　brush　up　on　
their　Japanese　and　take　all　the　work　Japan　can　outsource。　
〃The　recruiting　is　quite　easy；〃　said　Ohmae　in　early　2004。　〃About　one3？　
third　of　the　people　in　this　region　＇around　Dalian＇　have　taken　Japanese　as　a　second　
language　in　high　school。　So　all　of　these　Japanese　companies　are　coming　in。〃　Ohmae's　
company　is　doing　primarily　data…entry　work　in　China；　where　Chinese　workers　take　
handwritten　Japanese　documents；　which　are　scanned；　faxed；　or　e…mailed　over　from　Japan　
to　Dalian；　and　then　type　them　into　a　digital　database　in　Japanese　characters。　Ohmae's　
company　has　developed　a　software　program　that　takes　the　data　to　be　entered　and　breaks　
it　down　into　packets。　These　packets　can　then　be　sent　around　China　or　Japan　for　typing；　
depending　on　the　specialty　required；　and　then　reassembled　at　the　company's　database　
in　its　Tokyo　headquarters。　〃We　have　the　ability　to　allocate　the　job　to　the　person　
who　knows　the　area　best。〃　Ohmae's　company　even　has　contracts　with　more　than　seventy　
thousand　housewives；　some　of　them　specialists　in　medical　or　legal　terminologies；　to　
do　data…entry　work　at　home。　The　firm　has　recently　expanded　into　computer…aided　designs　
for　a　Japanese　housing　company。　〃When　you　negotiate　with　the　customer　in　Japan　for　
building　a　house；〃　he　explained；　〃you　would　sketch　out　a　floor　plan…most　of　these　
companies　don't　use　computers。〃　So　the　hand…drawn　plans　are　sent　electronically　to　
China；　where　they　are　converted　into　digital　designs；　which　then　are　e…mailed　back　
to　the　Japanese　building　firm；　which　turns　them　into　manufacturing　blueprints。　〃We　
took　the　best…performing　Chinese　data　operators；〃　said　Ohmae；　〃and　now　they　are　


processing　seventy　houses　a　day。〃　Chinese　doing　computer　drawings　for　Japanese　homes；　
nearly　seventy　years　after　a　rapacious　Japanese　army　occupied　China；　razing　many　homes　
in　the　process。　Maybe　there　is　hope　for　this　flat　world　。　。　。　
I　needed　to　see　Dalian；　this　Bangalore　of　China；　firsthand；　so　I　kept　moving　around　
the　East。　Dalian　is　impressive　not　just　for　a　Chinese　city。　
With　its　wide　boulevards；　beautiful　green　spaces；　and　nexus　of　universities；　
technical　colleges；　and　massive　software　park；　Dalian　would　stand　out　in　Silicon　
Valley。　I　had　been　here　in　1998；　but　there　had　been　so　much　new　building　since　then　
that　I　did　not　recognize　the　place。　Dalian；　which　is　located　about　an　hour's　flight　
northeast　of　Beijing；　sym34　
bolizes　how　rapidly　China's　most　modern　cities…and　there　are　still　plentyof　miserable；　
backward　ones…are　grabbing　business　as　knowledge　centers；　not　just　as　manufacturing　
hubs。　The　signs　on　the　buildings　tell　the　whole　story：　GE；　Microsoft；　Dell；　SAP；　HP；　
Sony；　and　Accenture…　to　name　but　a　few…all　are　having　backroom　work　done　here　to　
support　their　Asian　operations；　as　well　as　new　software　research　and　development。　
Because　of　its　proximity　to　Japan　and　Korea；　each　only　about　an　hour　away　by　air；　
its　large　number　of　Japanese　speakers；　its　abundance　of　Internet　bandwidth；　and　many　
parks　and　a　world…class　golf　course　（all　of　which　appeal　to　knowledge　workers）；　Dalian　
has　become　an　attractive　locus　for　Japanese　outsourcing。　Japanese　firms　can　hire　three　
Chinese　software　engineers　for　the　price　of　one　in　Japan　and　still　have　change　to　
pay　a　roomful　of　call　center　operators　（90　a　month　starting　salary）。　No　wonder　some　
twenty…eight　hundred　Japanese　companies　have　set　up　operations　here　or　teamed　up　with　
Chinese　partners。　
〃I've　taken　a　lot　of　American　people　to　Dalian；　and　they　are　amazed　at　how　fast　the　
China　economy　is　growing　in　this　high…tech　area；〃　said　Win　Liu；　director　of　U。S。/EU　
projects　for　DHC；　one　ofDalian's　biggest　homegrown　software　firms；　which　has　expanded　
from　thirty　to　twelve　hundred　employees　in　six　years。　〃Americans　don't　realize　the　
challenge　to　the　extent　that　they　should。〃　
Dalian's　dynamic　mayor；　Xia　Deren；　forty…nine；　is　a　former　college　president。　（For　
a　Communist　authoritarian　system；　China　does　a　pretty　good　job　of　promoting　people　
on　merit。　The　Mandarin　meritocratic　culture　here　still　runs　very　deep。）　Over　a　
traditional　ten…course　Chinese　dinner　at　a　local　hotel；　the　ma