Transnational and Multilocation Job Sharing Enables the Region to Extend its Power and Wealth

Many believe that Silicon Valley has reached its limit for the numbers of people the region can sustain. The regional infrastructure for transportation, housing, and education is being strained there as well as in other successful regions in the knowledge-based economy. Many companies choose to move all but necessary functions out of Silicon Valley. It is just too expensive and too much of a hassle to live and work there, owing to the high costs of housing and the congested transportation infrastructure. While population growth in Silicon Valley may have reached its limit, there are other dynamics that extend the power and wealth of this region exponentially. Two of these factors are as follows :

1. Transnational ethnic groups such as Indians, Chinese, Israelis, and others are able to work between their native countries , Silicon Valley, and other regions of the world.

2. The use of job-sharing in multilocation teams enables companies to work around the clock every day through technology linkage, and to train many people in the culture and best practices of U.S. technology firms.

What is fascinating about this phenomenon is that wealth is being created in the home country and Silicon Valley simultaneously . Knowledge is flowing back and forth, and people in both locations are benefiting . This helps in the development of other regions and foreign countries, whose knowledge workers can still work with Silicon Valley but do not need to live there.

Job-sharing work teams, who operate in different regions linked by technology have been a boon for the world in disseminating best practices across many regions. The West Coast work methods of Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, and many others have been effectively transmitted to many knowledge workers in places such as Ireland and Israel. So, knowledge workers in these smaller markets can have the same level of experience and know-how in technology development, management, and marketing as anyone in Silicon Valley. This both extends the reach of the U.S. companies and enhances the level of expertise in these multilocations. The result is a win-win situation. Silicon Valley companies get the best and brightest people working with them as employees or suppliers, manufacturers, distributors , etc., without adding to the expense and congestion of Silicon Valley itself. The home countries get foreign direct investment and world-class employment for their best knowledge workers, and those talents can be used to build business and wealth in the local region. This dynamic is playing itself out all over the world. It does not just emanate from Silicon Valley, but also regions such as Boston, Seattle, Austin, San Diego, and other large high-tech network centers.