the.world.is.flat-第4节

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communications；　stringent　training；　and　standardized　forms；　these　young　Indians　can　
fairly　rapidly　be　converted　into　basic　Western　accountants　at　a　fraction　of　the　cost。　


Some　of　the　Indian　accounting　firms　even　go　about　marketing　themselves　to　American　
firms　through　teleconferencing　and　skip　the　travel。　Concluded　Boomer；　〃The　accounting　
profession　is　currently　in　transformation。　Those　who　get　caught　in　the　past　and　resist　
change　will　be　forced　deeper　into　commoditization。　Those　who　can　create　value　through　
leadership；　relationships　and　creativity　will　transform　the　industry；　as　well　as　
strengthen　relationships　with　their　existing　clients。〃　
What　you're　telling　me；　I　said　to　Rao；　is　that　no　matter　what　your　profession…doctor；　
lawyer；　architect；　accountant…if　you　are　an　American；　you　better　be　good　at　the　
touchy…feely　service　stuff；　because　anything　that　can　be　digitized　can　be　outsourced　
to　either　the　smartest　or　the　cheapest　producer；　or　both。　Rao　answered；　〃Everyone　
has　to　focus　on　what　exactly　is　their　value…add。〃　
But　what　if　I　am　just　an　average　accountant？　I　went　to　a　state　university。　I　had　a　
B＋　average。　Eventually　I　got　my　CPA。　I　work　in　a　big　accounting　firm；　doing　a　lot　
of　standard　work。　I　rarely　meet　with　clients。　

They　keep　me　in　the　back。　But　it　is　a　decent　living　and　the　firm　is　basically　happy　
with　me。　What　is　going　to　happen　to　me　in　this　system？　
〃It　is　a　good　question；〃　said　Rao。　〃We　must　be　honest　about　it。　We　are　in　the　middle　
of　a　big　technological　change；　and　when　you　live　in　a　society　that　is　at　the　cutting　
edge　of　that　change　＇like　America＇；　it　is　hard　to　predict。　It's　easy　to　predict　for　
someone　living　in　India。　In　ten　years　we　are　going　to　be　doing　a　lot　of　the　stuff　
that　is　being　done　in　America　today。　We　can　predict　our　future。　But　we　are　behind　
you。　You　are　defining　the　future。　America　is　always　on　the　edge　of　the　next　creative　
wave　。。。　So　it　is　difficult　to　look　into　the　eyes　of　that　accountant　and　say　this　
is　what　is　going　to　be。　We　should　not　trivialize　that。　We　must　deal　with　it　and　talk　
about　it　honestly　。。。　Any　activity　where　wecan　digitize　and　decompose　the　value　chain；　
and　move　the　work　around；　will　get　moved　around。　Some　people　will　say；　Yes；　but　you　
can't　serve　me　a　steak。'　True；　but　I　can　take　the　reservation　for　your　table　sitting　
anywhere　in　the　world；　if　the　restaurant　does　not　have　an　operator。　We　can　say；　Yes；　
Mr。　Friedman；　we　can　give　you　a　table　by　the　window。'　In　other　words；　there　are　parts　
of　the　whole　dining…out　experience　that　we　can　decompose　and　outsource。　If　you　go　
back　and　read　the　basic　economics　textbooks；　they　will　tell　you：　Goods　are　traded；　
but　services　are　consumed　and　produced　in　the　same　place。　And　you　cannot　export　a　
haircut。　But　we　are　coming　close　to　exporting　a　haircut；　the　appointment　part。　What　
kind　of　haircut　do　you　want？　Which　barber　do　you　want？　All　those　things　can　and　will　
be　done　by　a　call　center　far　away。〃　
As　we　ended　our　conversation；　I　asked　Rao　what　he　is　up　to　next。　He　was　full　of　energy。　
He　told　me　he'd　been　talking　to　an　Israeli　company　that　is　making　some　big　advances　
in　compression　technology　to　allow　for　easier；　better　transfers　of　CAT　scans　via　the　
Internet　so　you　can　quickly　get　a　second　opinion　from　a　doctor　half　a　world　away。　
A　few　weeks　after　I　spoke　with　Rao；　the　following　e…mail　arrived　from　Bill　Brody；　
the　president　of　Johns　Hopkins　University；　whom　I　had　just　interviewed　for　this　book：　
Dear　Tom；　I　am　speaking　at　a　Hopkins　continuing　education　medical　meeting　for　
radiologists　（I　used　to　be　a　radiologist）　。。。　I　


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came　upon　a　very　fascinating　situation　that　I　thought　might　interest　you。　I　have　just　
learned　that　in　many　small　and　some　medium…size　hospitals　in　the　US；　radiologists　
are　outsourcing　reading　of　CAT　scans　to　doctors　in　India　and　Australia！！！　Most　of　
this　evidently　occurs　at　night　（and　maybe　weekends）　when　the　radiologists　do　not　have　
sufficient　staffing　to　provide　in…hospital　coverage。　While　some　radiology　groups　will　
use　teleradiology　to　ship　images　from　the　hospital　to　their　home　（or　to　Vail　or　Cape　
Cod；　I　suppose）　so　that　they　can　interpret　images　and　provide　a　diagnosis　24/7；　
apparently　the　smaller　hospitals　are　shipping　CAT　scan　images　to　radiologists　abroad。　
The　advantage　is　that　it　is　daytime　in　Australia　or　India　when　it　is　nighttime　here…so　
after…hours　coverage　becomes　more　readily　done　by　shipping　the　images　across　the　globe。　
Since　CAT　（and　MRI）　images　are　already　in　digital　format　and　available　on　a　network　
with　a　standardized　protocol；　it　is　no　problem　to　view　the　images　anywhere　in　the　
world　。。。　I　assume　that　the　radiologists　on　the　other　end　。　。　。　must　have　trained　
in　＇the＇　US　and　acquired　the　appropriate　licenses　and　credentials。　。　。　The　groups　
abroad　that　provide　these　after…hours　readings　are　called　〃Nighthawks〃　by　the　
American　radiologists　that　employ　them。　Best；　Bill　
Thank　goodness　I'm　a　journalist　and　not　an　accountant　or　a　radiologist。　There　will　
be　no　outsourcing　for　me…even　if　some　of　my　readers　wish　my　column　could　be　shipped　
off　to　North　Korea。　At　least　that's　what　I　thought。　Then　I　heard　about　the　Reuters　
operation　in　India。　I　didn't　have　time　to　visit　the　Reuters　office　in　Bangalore；　but　
I　was　able　to　get　hold　of　Tom　Glocer；　the　CEO　of　Reuters；　to　hear　what　he　was　doing。　
Glocer　is　a　pioneer　in　the　outsourcing　of　elements　of　the　news　supply　chain。　
With　2；300　journalists　around　the　world；　in　197　bureaus；　serving　a　
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market　including　investment　bankers；　derivatives　traders；　stockbrokers；　newspapers；　
radio；　television；　and　Internet　outlets；　Reuters　has　always　had　a　very　complex　
audience　to　satisfy。　After　the　dot…com　bust；　though；　when　many　of　its　customers　became　
very　cost…conscious；　Reuters　started　asking　itself；　for　reasons　of　both　cost　and　
efficiency：　Where　do　we　actually　need　our　people　to　be　located　to　feed　our　global　
news　supply　chain？　And　can　we　actually　disaggregate　the　work　of　a　journalist　and　keep　
part　in　London　and　New　York　and　shift　part　to　India？　
Glocer　started　by　looking　at　the　most　basic　bread…and…butter　function　Reuters　
provides；　which　is　breaking　news　about　company　earnings　and　related　business　
developments；　every　second　of　every　day。　〃Exxon　comes　out　with　its　earnings　and　we　
need　to　get　that　as　fast　possible　up　on　screens　around　the　world：　'Exxon　earned　
thirty…nine　cents　this　quarter　as　opposed　to　thirty…six　cents　last　quarter。'　The　core　
competency　there　is　speed　and　accuracy；〃　explained　Glocer。　〃You　don't　need　a　lot　of　
analysis。　We　just　need　to　get　the　basic　news　up　as　fast　as　possible。　The　flash　should　
be　out　in　seconds　after　the　company　releases；　and　the　table　＇showing　the　recent　history　
of　quarterly　earnings＇　a　few　seconds　later。〃　
Those　sorts　of　earnings　flashes　are　to　the　news　business　what　vanilla　is　to　the　ice　
cream　business…a　basic　commodity　that　actually　can　be　made　anywhere　in　the　flat　world。　
The　real　value…added　knowledge　work　happens　in　the　next　five　minutes。　That　is　when　


you　need　a　real　journalist　who　knows　how　to　get　a　comment　from　the　company；　a　comment　
from　the　top　two　analysts　in　the　field；　and　even　some　word　from　competitors　to　put　
the　earnings　report　in　perspective。　〃That　needs　a　higher　journalistic　skill　
set…someone　in　the　market　with　contacts；　who　knows　who　the　best　industry　analysts　
are　and　has　taken　the　right　people　to　lunch；〃　said　Glocer。　
The　dot…com　bust　and　the　flattening　of　the　world　forced　Glocer　to　rethink　how　Reuters　
delivered　news…whether　it　could　disaggregate　the　functions　of　a　journalist　and　ship　
the　low…value…added　functions　to　India。　His　primary　goal　was　to　reduce　the　overlap　
Reuters　payroll；　while　preserving　as　many　good　journalism　jobs　as　possible。　〃So　the　
first　thing　we　did；〃　said　Glocer；　〃was　hire　six　reporters　in　Bangalore　as　an　
experiment。　
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We　said；　'Let's　let　them　just　do　the　flash　headlines　and　the　tables　and　whatever　else　
we　can　get　them　to　do　in　Bangalore。'〃　
These　new　Indian　hires　had　accounting　backgrounds　and　were　trained　by　Reuters；　but　
they　were　paid　standard　local　wages　and　vacation　and　health　benefits。　〃India　is　an　
unbelievably　rich　place　for　recruiting　people；　not　only　with　technical　skills　but　
also　financial　skills；〃　said　Glocer。　When　a　company　puts　out　its　earnings；　one　of　
the　first　things　it　does　is　hand　it　to　the　wires…Reuters；　Dow　Jones；　and　Bloomberg…for　
distribution。　〃We　will　get　that　raw　data；〃　he　said；　〃and　then　it's　a　race　to　see　how　
fast　we　can　turn　it　around。　Bangalore　is　one　of　the　most　wired　places　in　the　world；　
and　although　there's　a　slight　delay…one　second　or　less…in　getting　the　information　
over　there；　it　turns　out　you　can　just　as　easily　sit　in　Bangalore　and　get　the　electronic　
version　of　a　press　release　and　turn　it　into　a　story　as　you　can　in　London　or　New　York。〃　
The　difference；　however；　is　that　wages　and　rents　in　Bangalore　are　less　than　one…fifth　
what　they　are　in　those　Western　capitals。　
While　economics　and　the　flattening　of　the　world　have　pushed　Reuters　down　this　path；　
Glocer　has　tried　to　make　a　virtue　of　necessity。　〃We　think　we　can　off…load　commoditized　
reporting　and　get　that　done　effi