the.world.is.flat-第48节

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！


194　
be　among　the　world's　premier　universities；〃　Wrighton　later　explained　to　me　in　an　
e…mail。　〃The　event　involved　all　of　the　leaders　of　the　Chinese　government；　from　the　
Mayor　of　Beijing　tothe　head　of　state。　Each　expressed　the　conviction　that　an　investment　
in　the　university　to　support　its　development　as　one　of　the　world's　great　universities　
within　ten　years　would　be　a　rewarding　one。　With　Tsinghua　University　already　regarded　
as　one　of　the　leading　universities　in　China；　focused　on　science　and　technology；　it　
was　evident　that　there　is　a　seriousness　of　purpose　in　striving　for　a　world　leadership　
position　in　＇all　the　areas　involved＇　in　spawning　technological　innovation。〃　
And　as　a　result　of　China's　drive　to　succeed；　Microsoft　chairman　Bill　Gates　argued　
to　me；　the　〃ovarian　lottery〃　has　changed…as　has　the　whole　relationship　between　
geography　and　talent。　Thirty　years　ago；　he　said；　if　you　had　a　choice　between　being　
born　a　genius　on　the　outskirts　of　Bombay　or　Shanghai　or　being　born　an　average　person　
in　Poughkeepsie；　you　would　take　Poughkeepsie；　because　your　chances　of　thriving　and　
living　a　decent　life　there；　even　with　average　talent；　were　much　greater。　But　as　the　
world　has　gone　flat；　Gates　said；　and　so　manypeople　can　now　plug　and　play　from　anywhere；　
natural　talent　has　started　to　trump　geography。　
〃Now；〃　he　said；　〃I　would　rather　be　a　genius　born　in　China　than　an　average　guy　born　
in　Poughkeepsie。〃　
That's　what　happens　when　the　Berlin　Wall　turns　into　the　Berlin　mall　and　3　billion　
people　converge　with　all　these　new　tools　for　collaboration。　〃We're　going　to　tap　into　
the　energy　and　talent　of　five　times　as　many　people　as　we　did　before；〃　said　Gates。　
From　Russia　with　Love　
I　didn't　get　a　chance　to　visit　Russia　and　interview　Russian　zippies　for　this　book；　
but　I　did　the　next　best　thing。　I　asked　my　friend　Thomas　R。　Pickering；　the　former　U。S。　
ambassador　to　Moscow　and　now　a　top　international　relations　executive　with　Boeing；　
to　explain　a　new　development　
195　
I　had　heard　about：　that　Boeing　was　using　Russian　engineers　and　scientists；　who　once　
worked　on　MiGs；　to　help　design　its　next　generation　of　passenger　planes。　
Pickering　unraveled　the　story　for　me。　Beginning　in　1991；　Boeing　started　assigning　
out　work　to　Russian　scientists　to　take　advantage　of　their　expertise　in　aerodynamic　


problems　and　new　aviation　alloys。　In　1998；　Boeing　decided　to　take　this　a　step　further　
and　open　an　aeronautical　engineering　design　office　in　Moscow。　Boeing　located　the　
office　in　the　twelve…story　Moscow　tower　that　McDonald's　built　with　all　the　rubles　
it　made　from　selling　Big　Macs　in　Moscow　before　the　end　of　communism…　money　that　
McDonald's　had　pledged　not　to　take　out　of　the　country。　
Seven　years　later；　said　Pickering；　〃we　now　have　eight　hundred　Russian　engineers　and　
scientists　working　for　us　and　we're　going　up　to　at　least　one　thousand　and　maybe；　over　
time；　to　fifteen　hundred。〃　The　way　it　works；　he　explained；　is　that　Boeing　contracts　
with　different　Russian　aircraft　companies…companies　that　were　famous　in　the　Cold　War　
for　making　warplanes；　companies　with　names　like　Ilyushin；　Tupolev；　and　Sukhoi…and　
they　provide　the　engineers…to…order　for　Boeing's　different　projects。　Using　
French…made　airplane　design　software；　the　Russian　engineers　collaborate　with　their　
colleagues　at　Boeing　America　…in　both　Seattle　and　Wichita；　Kansas…in　computer…aided　
airplane　designs。　Boeing　has　set　up　a　twenty…four…hour　workday。　It　consists　of　two　
shifts　in　Moscow　and　one　shift　in　America。　Using　fiber…optic　cables；　advanced　
compression　technologies；　and　aeronautical　work　flow　software；　〃they　just　pass　their　
designs　back　and　forth　from　Moscow　to　America；〃　Pickering　said。　There　are　
videoconferencing　facilities　on　every　floor　of　Boeing's　Moscow　office；　so　the　
engineers　don't　have　to　rely　on　e…mail　when　they　have　a　problem　to　solve　with　their　
American　counterparts。　They　can　have　a　face…to…face　conversation。　
Boeing　started　outsourcing　airplane　design　workto　Moscow　as　an　experiment；　a　sideline；　
but　today；　with　a　shortage　of　aeronautical　engineers　in　America；　it　is　a　necessity。　
Boeing's　ability　to　blend　these　lower…cost　Russian　engineers　with　higher…cost；　more　
advanced　American　design　teams　is　enabling　Boeing　to　compete　head…to…head　with　its　
archrival；　

Airbus　Industries；　which　is　subsidized　by　a　consortium　of　European　governments　and　
is　using　Russian　talent　as　well。　A　U。S。　aeronautical　engineer　costs　120　per　design　
hour；　a　Russian　costs　about　one…third　of　that。　
But　the　outsourcees　are　also　outsourcers。　The　Russian　engineers　have　outsourced　
elements　of　their　work　for　Boeing　to　Hindustan　Aeronautics　in　Bangalore；　which　
specializes　in　digitizing　airplane　designs　so　as　to　make　them　easier　to　manufacture。　
But　this　isn't　the　half　of　it。　In　the　old　days；　explained　Pickering；　Boeing　would　
say　to　its　Japanese　subcontractors；　〃We　will　send　you　the　plans　for　the　wings　of　the　

777。　We　will　let　you　make　some　of　them　and　then　we　will　count　on　you　buying　the　whole　
airplanes　from　us。　It's　a　win…win。〃　
Today　Boeing　says　to　the　giant　Japanese　industrial　company　Mitsubishi；　〃Here　are　the　
general　parameters　for　the　wings　of　the　new　7E7。　You　design　the　finished　product　and　
build　it。〃　But　Japanese　engineers　are　very　expensive。　So　what　happens？　Mitsubishi　
outsources　elements　of　the　outsourced　7E7　wing　to　the　same　Russian　engineers　Boeing　
is　using　for　other　parts　of　the　plane。　Meanwhile；　some　of　these　Russian　engineers　
and　scientists　are　leaving　the　big　Russian　airplane　companies；　setting　up　their　own　
firms；　and　Boeing　is　considering　buying　shares　in　some　of　these　start…ups　to　have　
reserve　engineering　capacity。　

All　of　this　global　sourcing　is　for　the　purpose　of　designing　and　building　planes　faster　
and　cheaper；　so　that　Boeing　can　use　its　cash　to　keep　innovating　for　the　next　generation　
and　survive　the　withering　competition　from　Airbus。　Thanks　to　the　triple　convergence；　
it　now　takes　Boeing　eleven　days　to　build　a　737；　down　from　twenty…eight　days　just　a　
few　years　ago。　Boeing　will　build　its　next　generation　of　planes　in　three　days；　because　
all　the　parts　are　being　computer…designed　for　assembly；　and　Boeing's　global　supply　
chain　will　enable　it　to　move　parts　from　one　facility　to　another　just　in　time。　
To　make　sure　that　it　is　getting　the　best　deals　on　its　parts　and　other　supplies；　Boeing　
now　runs　regular　〃reverse　auctions；〃　in　which　companies　bid　down　against　each　other　
rather　than　bid　up　against　each　other。　Theybid　for　contracts　on　everything　from　toilet　
paper　for　the　Boeing　factories　to　nuts　and　bolts…the　off…the…shelf　commodity　
parts…for　Boeing's　supply　chain。　Boeing　will　announce　an　auction　for　a　stated　time　
on　a　specially　designed　Internet　site。　It　will　begin　the　auction　for　each　supply　
197　
item　at　what　it　considers　a　fair　price。　Then　it　will　just　sit　back　and　watch　how　far　
each　supplier　wants　to　undercut　the　others　to　win　Boeing's　business。　Bidders　are　
prequalified　by　Boeing；　and　everyone　can　see　everyone　else's　bids　as　they　are　
submitted。　
〃You　can　really　see　the　pressures　ofthe　marketplace　and　how　they　work；〃　said　Pickering。　
〃It's　like　watching　a　horse　race。〃　
The　Other　Triple　Convergence　
I　once　heard　Bill　Bradley　tell　a　story　about　a　high…society　woman　from　Boston　who　
goes　to　San　Francisco　for　the　first　time。　When　she　comes　home　and　is　asked　by　a　friend　
how　she　liked　it；　she　says；　〃Not　very　much…it's　too　far　from　the　ocean。〃　
The　perspective　and　predispositions　that　you　carry　around　in　your　head　are　very　
important　in　shaping　what　you　see　and　what　you　don't　see。　That　helps　to　explain　why　
a　lot　of　people　missed　the　triple　convergence。　Their　heads　were　completely　somewhere　
else…even　though　it　was　happening　right　before　their　eyes。　Three　other　things…another　
convergence…　came　together　to　create　this　smoke　screen。　
The　first　was　the　dot…com　bust；　which　began　in　March　2001。　As　I　said　earlier；　many　
people　wrongly　equated　the　dot…com　boom　with　globalization。　So　when　the　dot…com　boom　
went　bust；　and　so　many　dot…coms　（and　the　firms　that　supported　them）　imploded；　these　
same　people　assumed　that　globalization　was　imploding　as　well。　The　sudden　flameout　
of　dogfood。com　and　ten　other　Web　sites　offering　to　deliver　ten　pounds　of　puppy　chow　
to　your　door　in　thirty　minutes　was　supposed　to　be　proof　that　globalization　and　the　
IT　revolution　were　all　sizzle　and　no　beef。　
This　was　pure　foolishness。　Those　who　thought　that　globalization　was　the　same　thing　
as　the　dot…com　boom　and　that　the　dot…com　bust　marked　the　end　of　globalization　could　
not　have　been　more　wrong。　To　say　it　again；　the　dot…com　bust　actually　drove　
globalization　into　hypermode　by　forcing　companies　to　outsource　and　offshore　more　and　
more　functions　in　order　to　save　on　scarce　capital。　This　was　a　key　factor　in　laying　
the　groundwork　for　
198　
Globalization　3。0。　Between　the　dot…com　bust　and　today；　Google　went　from　processing　


roughly　150　million　searches　per　day　to　roughly　one　billion　searches　per　day；　with　
only　a　third　coming　from　inside　the　United　States。　As　its　auction　model　caught　on　
worldwide；　eBay　went　from　twelve　hundred　employees　in　early　2000　to　sixty…three　
hundred　by　2004；　all　in　the　perio