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Kenichi Ohmae's invisible continent is a moving, unbounded world, consisting of four dimensions: There's what you can see (old economy commerce, like bricks-and-mortar retail); a borderless world in which capital moves around, chasing the best products and the highest investment returns regardless of national origin; the cyber-world, which has changed not only the way we do business but the way we interact on a personal level; and the high multiples awarded to new economy stocks, which are the basis of not only present wealth but what anyone with a retirement plan hopes will be future comfort.
By Ohmae's reckoning, the invisible continent was born in 1985. Microsoft released Windows 1.0, CNN launched, Cisco Systems began, the first Gateway 2000 computers were shipped, and companies like Sun Microsystems and Dell were in their infancies. Back then, the economic outlook was gloomy and few saw this embryonic continent forming. Now, of course, it affects virtually every business. Ohmae throws his arms around the entire continent and looks at how decisions are made on the invisible continent (the "platforms," which are created by businesses rather than governments), how money moves around the globe, how old-economy monoliths can become new economy Godzillas, and even how all of it might collapse. (Imagine that the Euro overtakes the dollar as the currency of choice; arbitrageurs "short" American currency; inflation soars; the stock market crashes.) The Invisible Continent is a bold and visionary attempt to not only explain the present, but project the future. (Bill Gates as U.N. secretary-general? It could happen.) The possibilities he raises--good and bad--are equally mind-blowing. More important are the practical questions that arise: Who's running this new continent? To what end? And for whom? We'll have to wait and see what the real answers are. But for now, Ohmae's speculation is nothing short of fascinating. --Lou Schuler
From Library Journal
In this timely, well-written, and well-organized book, Tokyo-based Ohmae, a well-known corporate strategist and author (The Borderless World) discusses the four dimensions that influence the new economy. The economy is visible because consumers will still have local services delivered; it is borderless because products are made with components that are provided both here and abroad; it is cyber because platforms such as Microsoft Windows and the Internet have influenced both communication and the manner in which business is transacted; and, finally, the soaring stock prices of some e-commerce companies give them the capital to take over and/or merge with other companies (i.e., AOL and Time-Warner) to further economic gains and perpetuate growth in this sector. After explaining in detail the four dimensions, he offers scenarios about their implications, elaborating in areas such as organizational change, deregulation, and information technology. A good consideration for large public and academic libraries.DSteven J. Mayover, formerly with Free Lib. of Philadelphia
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
