In my musings on possible ways in which higher education might globalize, I have often referred to the modularization process that has been at the core of much of the globalization of industry. A key component of this process has been to turn from vertical integration of companies to a focus on core competencies with an evolved supply chain. A recent article on Economist.com entitled Moving on up: Is the recession heralding a return to Henry Ford’s model? looks at how these supply chains have held up during the current economic downturn. Turns out many of these supply chains have had a lot of troubles as partners were unable to cope with the economic problems and went out of business. This is leading some to yearn for the good old days of vertical integration. The article reminds us of multiple reasons why vertical integration is not well suited for today’s world, but wisely rules nothing out in today’s unsettled conditions.
Most interestingly, the article points out that there is a “third way” to approach this problem:
This approach creates:
I will need to reflect a bit in order to see how this information might fit into my thoughts about the future of globalization of higher education. At a minimum, however, It provides a reminder that, in searching for optimal modularization, it is important to look at possible reasons that some of the partners might fail to perform. Working with them in advance to strengthen their weak points may be in everyone's interest.
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