the.world.is.flat-第58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！


business…that　will　promote　self…reliant　workers　but　not　just　leave　them　to　fend　for　
themselves。　
When　it　comes　to　building　muscles　of　employability；　government　has　another　critical　
role　to　play。　Each　century；　as　we　push　out　the　frontiers　of　human　knowledge；　work　
at　every　level　becomes　more　complex；　requiring　more　pattern　recognition　and　problem　
solving。　In　the　preindustrial　age；　human　strength　really　mattered。　Strength　was　a　
real　service　that　lots　of　people　could　sell　on　the　farm　or　in　the　workshop。　With　the　
invention　of　the　electric　motor　and　steam　engine；　though；　physical　strength　became　
less　important。　Small　women　could　drive　big　trucks。　There　is　little　premium　for　
strength　anymore。　But　there　is　an　increasing　premium　for　pattern　recognition　and　


complex　problem　solving；　even　down　on　the　farm。　Farming　became　a　more　
knowledge…intensive　activity；　with　GPS　satellites　guiding　tractors　to　make　sure　all　
the　rows　being　planted　were　straight。　That　modernization；　plus　fertilizer；　put　a　lot　
of　people　out　of　work　at　the　previous　wage　they　were　earning　in　agriculture。　
Society　as　a　whole　looked　at　this　transition　from　traditional　agriculture　to　
industrialization　and　said；　〃This　is　great！　We　will　have　more　food　and　better　food　
at　lower　costs；　plus　more　people　to　work　in　factories。〃　However；　muscle…bound　field　
hands　and　their　families　said；　〃This　is　a　tragedy。　How　will　I　ever　get　a　job　in　the　
industrial　economy　with　only　muscles　and　a　sixth…grade　education？　I　won't　be　able　
to　eat　any　of　that　better；　cheaper；　plentiful　food　coming　off　the　farms。　We　need　to　
stop　this　move　to　industrialization。〃　
Somehow　we　got　through　this　transition　from　an　agriculture…based　so…　
289　
ciety　one　hundred　years　ago　to　an　industrial…based　one…and　still　ended　up　with　a　higher　
standard　of　living　for　the　vast　majority　of　Americans。　How　did　we　do　it？　
〃We　said　everyone　is　going　to　have　to　have　a　secondary　education；〃　said　Stanford　
University　economist　Paul　Romer。　〃That　was　what　the　high　school　movement　in　the　early　
part　ofthe　twentieth　century　was　all　about。〃　As　economic　historians　have　demonstrated　
in　a　variety　of　research　（see　particularly　the　work　of　Harvard　economists　Claudia　
Goldin　and　Larry　Katz）；　both　technology　and　trade　are　making　the　pie　bigger；　but　they　
are　also　shifting　the　shares　of　that　pie　away　from　low…skilled　labor　to　high…skilled　
labor。　As　American　society　produced　more　higher…skilled　people　by　making　high　school　
mandatory；　it　empowered　more　people　to　get　a　bigger　slice　of　the　bigger；　more　complex　
economic　pie。　As　that　century　progressed；　weadded；　on　top　ofthe　high　school　movement；　
the　GI　Bill　and　the　modern　university　system。　
〃These　were　big　ideas；〃　noted　Romer；　〃and　what　is　missing　at　the　moment　is　a　political　
imagination　of　how　do　we　do　something　just　as　big　and　just　as　important　for　the　
transition　into　the　twenty…first　century　as　we　did　for　the　nineteenth　and　twentieth。〃　
The　obvious　challenge；　Romer　added；　is　to　make　tertiary　education；　if　not　compulsory；　
then　government…subsidized　for　at　least　two　years；　whether　it　is　at　a　state　university；　
a　community　college；　or　a　technical　school。　Tertiary　education　is　more　critical　the　
flatter　the　world　gets；　because　technology　will　be　churning　old　jobs；　and　spawning　
new；　more　complex　ones；　much　faster　than　during　the　transition　from　the　agricultural　
economy　to　the　industrial　one。　
Educating　more　people　at　the　tertiary　level　has　two　effects。　One　is　that　it　produces　
more　people　with　the　skills　to　claim　higher…value…added　work　in　the　new　niches。　And　
two；　it　shrinks　the　pool　of　people　able　to　do　lower…skilled　work；　from　road　maintenance　
to　home　repair　to　Starbucks。　By　shrinking　the　pool　of　lower…skilled　workers；　we　help　
to　stabilize　their　wages　（provided　we　control　immigration）；　because　there　are　fewer　
people　available　to　do　those　jobs。　It　is　not　an　accident　that　plumbers　can　charge　
75　an　hour　in　major　urban　areas　or　that　good　housekeepers　or　cooks　are　hard　to　find。　
America's　ability　from　the　mid…nineteenth　century　on　into　the　mid…　
290　
twentieth　century　to　train　people；　limit　immigration；　and　make　low…skilled　work　


scarce　enough　to　win　decent　wages　was　how　we　created　a　middle　class　without　too　
disparate　an　income　gap。　〃Indeed；〃　noted　Romer；　〃from　the　end　of　the　nineteenth　
century　to　the　middle　of　the　twentieth；　we　had　a　narrowing　of　the　income　gap。　Now　
we　have　seen　an　increase　of　that　gap　over　the　last　twenty　or　thirty　years。　That　is　
telling　us　that　you　have　to　run　faster　in　order　to　stay　in　the　same　place。〃　With　each　
advance　in　technology　and　increase　in　the　complexity　of　services；　you　need　an　even　
higher　level　of　skills　to　do　the　new　jobs。　Moving　from　being　a　farmhand　to　a　phone　
operator　who　spoke　proper　English　and　could　be　polite　was　one　thing。　But　moving　from　
being　a　phone　operator　after　the　job　got　outsourced　to　India；　to　being　able　to　install　
or　repair　phone…mail　systems…or　write　their　software　…　requires　a　whole　new　leap　
upward。　
While　expanding　research　universities　on　the　high　end　of　the　spectrum　is　important；　
so　is　expanding　the　availability　of　technical　schools　and　community　colleges。　
Everyone　should　have　a　chance　to　be　educated　beyond　high　school。　Otherwise　
upper…income　kids　will　get　those　skills　and　their　slice；　and　the　lower…income　kids　
will　never　get　a　chance。　We　have　to　increase　the　government　subsidies　that　make　it　
possible　for　more　and　more　kids　to　attend　community　colleges　and　more　and　more　
low…skilled　workers　to　get　retrained。　
JFK　wanted　to　put　a　man　on　the　moon。　My　vision　is　to　put　every　American　man　or　woman　
on　a　campus。　
Employers　have　a　critical　contribution　to　make　to　lifetime　learning　and　fostering　
employability；　as　opposed　to　guaranteed　employment。　Take；　for　instance；　CapitalOne；　
the　global　credit　card　company；　which　began　outsourcing　elements　of　its　backroom　
operations　to　Wipro　and　Infosys　in　India　over　the　past　few　years。　Competing　in　the　
global　financial　services　market；　the　company　felt　it　had　to　take　advantage　of　all　
the　cost…saving　opportunities　that　its　competitors　were。　CapitalOne　began；　though；　
by　trying　to　educate　its　workers　through　workshops　about　the　

company's　competitive　predicament。　It　made　clear　that　there　is　no　safe　haven　where　
lifetime　employment　is　possible　anymore　…inside　Capital…One　or　outside。　Then　it　
developed　a　whole　program　for　cross…training　of　computer　programmers；　those　most　
affected　by　outsourcing。　The　company　would　take　a　programmer　who　specialized　in　
mainframes　and　teach　him　or　her　to　be　a　distributed　systems　programmer　as　well。　
CapitalOne　did　similar　cross…training　on　its　business　side；　in　everything　from　auto　
loans　to　risk　management。　As　a　result；　the　workers　who　were　eventually　let　go　in　an　
outsourcing　move　were　in　a　much　better　position　to　get　new　jobs；　because　they　were　
cross…trained　and　therefore　more　employable。　And　those　who　were　cross…trained　but　
retained　were　more　versatile　and　therefore　more　valuable　to　CapitalOne；　because　they　
could　do　multiple　tasks。　
What　CapitalOne　was　doing；　out　of　both　its　own　self…interest　and　a　feeling　of　
obligation　to　workers　it　was　letting　go；　was　trying　to　make　more　and　more　of　its　workers　
into　versatilists。　The　word　〃versatilist〃　was　coined　by　Gartner　Inc。；　the　technology　
consultants；　to　describe　the　trend　in　the　information　technology　world　away　from　
specialization　and　toward　employees　who　are　more　adaptable　and　versatile。　Building　


employee　versatility　and　finding　employees　who　already　are　or　are　willing　to　become　
versatilists　〃will　be　the　new　watchword　for　career　planning；〃　according　to　a　Gartner　
study　quoted　by　TechRepublic。com。　〃Enterprises　that　focus　on　technical　aptitude　alone　
will　failto　align　workforce　performance　with　business　value；〃　theGartner　study　said。　
〃Instead；　they　need　to　build　a　team　of　versatilists　who　build　a　rich　portfolio　of　
knowledge　and　competencies　tofuel　＇multiple＇　business　objectives。〃　The　Gartner　study　
noted　that　〃specialists　generally　have　deep　skills　and　narrow　scope；　giving　them　
expertise　that　is　recognized　bypeers　but　seldom　valued　outside　their　immediate　domain。　
Generalists　have　broad　scope　and　shallow　skills；　enabling　them　to　respond　or　act　
reasonably　quickly　but　often　without　gaining　or　demonstrating　the　confidence　of　their　
partners　or　customers。　Versatilists；　in　contrast；　apply　depth　of　skill　to　a　
progressively　widening　scope　of　situations　and　experiences；　gaining　new　competencies；　
building　relationships；　and　assuming　new　roles。〃　TechRepublic　quoted　Joe　Santana；　

director　of　training　at　Siemens　Business　Services：　〃With　flat　or　even　smaller　budgets　
and　fewer　people；　managers　need　to　make　the　most　of　the　people　they　have　。　。　。　They　
can　no　longer　see　people　as　specialty　tools。　And　their　people　need　to　become　less　
like　specialty　tools　and　more　like　Swiss　Army　knives。　Those　'Swiss　Army　knives'　are　
the　versatilists。〃　
In　addition　to　their　own　self…interest　in　making　more　of　their　own　employees　into　
human　Swiss　Army　knives；　companies　should　be　encouraged；　with　government　subsidies　
or　tax　incentives；　to　offer　as　wide　an　array　as　possible　of　in…house　learning　
opportunities。　The　menu　of　Internet…based　worker…training　programs　today　is　
enormous…from　online　degree　programs　to　in…house　guided　training　for　different　
specializations。　Not　only　is　the　menu　enormous；　but　the　cost　to　the　company　for　
offering　these　educational　options　is　very　low。　The　more　lifetime　learning　
opportunities　that　companies　provide；　the　more　they　are　both　widening　the　skill　base　
of　their　own　workforce　and　fulfilling　a　moral　obligation　to　workers　whose　jobs　are　
outsourced　to　see　to　it　that　they　leave　more　employable　than　they　came。　If　there　is　
a　new　social　contract　implicit　between　employers　and　employees　today；　it　should　be　
this：　You　give　me　your　labor；　and　I　will　guarantee　that　as　long　as　you　work　here；　
I　will　give　you　every　opportunity…through　either　career　advancement　or　training…　to　
become　more　employable；　more　versatile。　
While　we　need　to　redouble　our　efforts　to　build　the　muscles　of　each　individual　
American；　we　have　to　continue　to　import　muscles　from　abroad　as　well。　Most　of　the　Indian；　
Chinese；　Russian；　Japanese；　Korean；　Iranian；　Arab；　and　Israeli　engineers；　physicists；　
and　scientists　who　come　to　work　or　study　in　the　United　States　make　great　citizens。　
They　are　family…oriented；　educated；　and　hardworking；　and　most　would　jump　at　the　chance　
to　become　an　American。　They　are　exactly　the　type　of　people　this　country　needs；　and　
we　cannot　let　the　FBI；　CIA；　and　Homeland　Security；　in　their　zeal　to　keep　out　the　next　
Mohammed　Atta；　also　keep　out　the　next　Sergey　Brin；　one　of　the　cofounders　of　Google；　
who　was　born　in　Russia。　As　a　computer　architect　friend　of　mine　says；　〃If　a　foreign…born　
person　is　one　day　going　to　take　my　job；　I'd　prefer　they　be　American　citizens　helping　
pay　for　my　retirement　benefits。〃　


I　would　favor　an　immigration　policy　that　gives　a　five…year　work　visa　to　
293　
any　foreign　student　who　completes　a　Ph。D。　at　an　accredited　American　university　in　
any　subject。　I　don't　care　if　it　is　Greek　mythology　or　mathematics。　If　we　can　cream　
off　the　first…r