Competing in a Flat World: Unleashing Enterprises for a Borderless World

by Victor K. Fung

“This is essential reading for anyone seeking to compete–and succeed–in the fl at world.” – John Hagel, Chairman of Deloitte Center of Innovation “ Competing in a Flat World provides an extraordinary glimpse into a new kind of organizational architecture, one built around the notion of orchestrating resources you don’t control and doing so in a way that builds both trust and agility. This architecture may well turn out to be the dominant model of the firm for the 21st century. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to compete in a flat world. Every chapter details new and powerful ideas.” – John Seely Brown, Former Chief Scientist of Xerox Corporation and coauthor of The Only Sustainable Edge “We are led by unstoppable economic forces to connect our resources to form smart networks, either wired or unwired. The authors bring forward the notion of ‘network orchestration,’ an almost one-size-fits-all strategy for organizations to survive and excel in an ever-flattening world.” – John Chen, Sybase Chairman, CEO and President In the “flat world,” everything changes…above all, what it takes to run a winning company. Success is less about what the company can do itself and more about what it can connect to. Find out how it’s done, from the company that pioneered “flat world” success, Li & Fung, which produces more than $8 billion in garments and other goods for the world’s top brands and retailers–without owning a single factory. Victor and William Fung and Jerry Wind, author of the best-selling The Power of Impossible Thinking , reveal how they’ve replaced “old-fashioned” infrastructure and huge employee bases with a fluid, ever-changing network that can design, manufacture, and deliver almost anything, anywhere. The key to success in this world is a set of principles for “network orchestration,” described for the first time in this book. They examine how these principles can be applied in manufacturing, services and other industries. They show how to build and orchestrate your own world-class global network. * Compete “network vs. network”–and win! * Create a “big-small” company that combines scale and agility * Forge loose-tight relationships with suppliers * Balance control with empowerment, stability with renewal * Manage the “bumps” in the flat world–from politics to terrorism Visit the authors' www.competinginaflatworld.net

Genres: Business, Management

240 pages, Hardcover

First published September 12, 2007

Reviews

[Angela Hui · Rating 4 out of 5]

NETWORK ORCHESTRATION

1. Balancing Firm and Network
-Orchestrate the network: balancing operation and orchestration
-Compete network against network: balancing your part against the whole
2. Balancing Control and Empowerment
-Take responsibility for the whole chain: balancing loose coupling with tight controls
-Empower "Little John Waynes:" balancing acting entrepreneurially with benefiting from the large organization
-Create the 3-yr stretch: balancing stability and renewal
-Build the company around the customer: balancing customer needs with a profitable business
-Follow the 30/70 rule: balancing commitment and flexibility
3. Balancing specialization and integration
-Capture the Soft Dollars: balancing efficiency today with pursuing broader opportunities
-Sell to the source: balancing sourcing and marketing
4. Policy/Regulations creating Mountains and Superhighways -> making the world less flat

[Mako78gma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes the concept of Tom Friedman's "The World is Flat" and applies it to the real world of global business competition. You walk away with the disturbing feeling that the U.S. economy is really in a nosedive in competing with the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China).

[Taylor Ellwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a new model of business which explores a horizontal approach to business. It's a model of business that applies primarily to large businesses, but there are lessons to be learned by small businesses. This book will challenge your assumptions about business and provide a model that allows you to improve your product cycle and business. But be prepared to think about your business in a completely different way, and let go of control.

[Leader Summaries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Desde Leader Summaries recomendamos la lectura del libro Competir en un mundo plano, de Victor Fung y Yoram (Jerry) Wind y William K. Fung.
Las personas interesadas en las siguientes temáticas lo encontrarán práctico y útil: management, gestión de la cadena de suministro, globalización.
En el siguiente enlace tienes el resumen del libro Competir en un mundo plano, Cómo funcionan las cadenas de suministro globales y el trading: Competir en un mundo plano