Module 9

By

Hunter Darren DeVries

            All good things must come to an end. The last nine weeks have helped to open my eyes to a few of the recent business advancements. It has been a great educational experience, and I would like to take the time to explain a few of the key concluding arguments or finds from Thomas L. Friedman. I will take the time to explain about the process of building a Dell Laptop, the Al-Qaeda supply chain, and the curse of oil.

            “The keystone of successful business is cooperation.” – James Cash Penny. I believe this quote definitely encompasses what Dell does in the way they make their own laptops. From the time that you make an order (whether over the phone or online), is the “first step” of many towards the finished product. This process includes processing the order with any credit card service and then from their Dell orders all the parts from their supplier logistics centers or SLC’s. These centers then make and ship out the parts to one of Dell’s facilities which puts together all the parts from its suppliers. Now when I talk about suppliers, I speak from everything from the Intel processor to the touchpad. Each of the parts come to make the product that actually wrote this paper. Funny what happens when you cooperate and schedule with other businesses.

            When we are so focused on making something for the common good, it is then opening the gate for those opposed to the common good. Unfortunately when you “flatten” the playing the ground, you also make it easier for people to use that playing ground against you. That is what Al-Qaeda did. They were able to basically mimic the same kind of evolving system of communication to be able to fuel their cruel war desires. This “fuel” is other people that think the same as Al-Qaeda, which creates a variety of options to create their acts of terror. Thankfully, the counterfeits are never as good as the originals.

            Greed is something that is a never ending plague and we see it constantly in the business world. It is something that can drive a business into the ground instead of the fast lane. One of the many resources in the world that makes any country go crazy, is oil. It is this resource that was able to make the major countries in the world what they are today. Oil is one of the many resources that in some ways can make or break a country’s economic system. That is why I believe it is a curse because you can’t live with it and can’t live without it. The power struggle will continue for as long as oil exists, but that will be a long while.

            Although these past few chapters have come to an end, it doesn’t apply to our business world. Business is business and it doesn’t matter who thinks they are on top, the fight will always continue to be better, faster, and more consumer loved. Now I know that I don’t know everything when it comes to business but I do know, the information is just a click away thanks to a “flat” and information driven world.