in.gr - Σε αργό θάνατο η οικονομία, εκτιμά ο Αλ.Παπαδόπουλος και προτείνει μέτρα-σοκ
Αναμετάδοση από www.in.gr
Αξίζει να το διαβάσετε μια και οι προτάσεις είναι προς τη σωστή κατεύθυνση καθώς επίσης χρήζουν βελτιώσεων και αναθεωρήσεων, σχετικά με τον τρόπο που θα μπορούσε να ακολουθηθεί για να γίνουν όλα αυτά που περιγράφονται στο άρθρο.
Ο πρώην Υπουργός, κ. Αλέκος Παπαδόπουλος αποτελεί μια φωνή λογικής, μέσα στη σύγχυση που επικρατεί σήμερα στη χώρα μας.
Ακόμη και αν δεν χρειάζεται να παρθούν τόσο δραστικά μέτρα, για τη διασωση του έθνους, το σίγουρο είναι ότι η Ελλάς θα πρέπει να αλλάξει, τάχιστα, πορεία και να ορθολογικοποιήσει τις μεθόδους και να βρει τις κατάλληλες λύσεις που θα την βάλουν ξανά στον παγκόσμιο χάρτη.
Ο παράγων άνθρωπος, είναι το 'κλειδί" και εκεί πρέπει να εστιάσουμε όλες τις προσπάθειες μας.
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Sunday, 24 October 2010
Guest Blogging at The Centaurian Gate of Knowledge - Post now!
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Friday, 22 October 2010
The new "overqualified" generation of Greek immigrants...nation's greatest capital loss!
As Greece is plunging into a deeper recession, more and more businesses are shutting down, public (government) spending is decreasing and as a consequence a lot of people are losing their jobs.
A closer look on this group of unemployed people may reveal some very interesting things which we will point out in this article. With this in mind, I will also pose some questions which perhaps some of you might also consider or have done so in the past and will try to give you my perspective.
Is unemployment rate in Greece high?
Probably most of us have a friend or relative that is currently unemployed. As far as I am concerned this is true. Greece is considered to have a high unemployment rate (11.8% in Q2 2010). Is this high? Of course! Is it too high? Well, for a country that is under recession + under IMF's rules it's not! We should feel a little bit better if one considers that i.e. Spain another member of Euro zone has 20% unemployment rate and is not under recession! So what is going on? Why is this happening to us?
Who is actually driving the Greek economy: businesses or government?
Continuing our analysis from the previous question, one has to really go deeper into the numbers and test basic hypotheses for the Greek economy. Normally you would expect that economy is being driven by businesses and not government, this is the de-facto truth across developed economies, worldwide. Well this is not the case in Greece! Imagine a country (in our case Greece) that has approx. 25% of its total working population working in/for the government whilst the government is the major financing body of country's major projects (railways, harbours, highways, airports, energy etc) as well as the biggest employer by far (actually as we speak, a census is currently undergoing of country's public workforce - some say 600.000 others say more than 1 million!).
If you step back and take a look at local news ads then you will see a huge list of classifieds (all sorts of specialties). That said it is worth wondering why people (especially the young ones) say that unemployment is their major problem! My understanding is the following; I am a strong believer that if one really wants to work, there will always be someone in the market to offer a position.
"Overqualified" generation?
It is common knowledge that our society has the most highly educated-unemployed people, probably in all EU. We will focus in this category of modern young people, just finishing higher education and those already looking for work.
Probably at some point of your professional path you have come across the term "you are overqualified and therefore we cannot afford you!» Is this the most awful thing one can say to you or what? So what can you do? You start feeling afraid that if you submit your CV into any job offer you will not be selected because employers will discard you from the beginning of the selection process and those who will want to meet you, eventually will tell you that you are overqualified! It's a dead end, I know it!
Well, the most challenging thing is not to overcome the "overqualified" issue but the growing fear that you have to master! Up to this point and given that your country is at least generating new job offers you have nothing to worry about...
Currently we are dealing with, a new "overqualified" generation of Greek immigrants. These modern Greeks have some very interesting characteristics:
a) They are very well educated; most of them have Bachelors, Masters and some even PhD’s,
b) They have the financial means to travel virtually to any country (especially within EU),
c) They are multilingual, most of them speak fluent English and have a second language at a proficient level (German, French, Italian, Spanish and most recently Chinese),
d) They have, at least once, travelled to a European country therefore are familiar with local lifestyle and habits,
e) They are at their most productive years, usually between 25 and 35, therefore attractive to employers,
And most importantly
d) They are eager to work!
Although I am happy for them pursuing their dream in a more "friendly" environment, I would be lying to you if I said that this is definitely our nation's true loss of capital and strength!
A closer look on this group of unemployed people may reveal some very interesting things which we will point out in this article. With this in mind, I will also pose some questions which perhaps some of you might also consider or have done so in the past and will try to give you my perspective.
Is unemployment rate in Greece high?
Probably most of us have a friend or relative that is currently unemployed. As far as I am concerned this is true. Greece is considered to have a high unemployment rate (11.8% in Q2 2010). Is this high? Of course! Is it too high? Well, for a country that is under recession + under IMF's rules it's not! We should feel a little bit better if one considers that i.e. Spain another member of Euro zone has 20% unemployment rate and is not under recession! So what is going on? Why is this happening to us?
Who is actually driving the Greek economy: businesses or government?
Continuing our analysis from the previous question, one has to really go deeper into the numbers and test basic hypotheses for the Greek economy. Normally you would expect that economy is being driven by businesses and not government, this is the de-facto truth across developed economies, worldwide. Well this is not the case in Greece! Imagine a country (in our case Greece) that has approx. 25% of its total working population working in/for the government whilst the government is the major financing body of country's major projects (railways, harbours, highways, airports, energy etc) as well as the biggest employer by far (actually as we speak, a census is currently undergoing of country's public workforce - some say 600.000 others say more than 1 million!).
If you step back and take a look at local news ads then you will see a huge list of classifieds (all sorts of specialties). That said it is worth wondering why people (especially the young ones) say that unemployment is their major problem! My understanding is the following; I am a strong believer that if one really wants to work, there will always be someone in the market to offer a position.
"Overqualified" generation?
It is common knowledge that our society has the most highly educated-unemployed people, probably in all EU. We will focus in this category of modern young people, just finishing higher education and those already looking for work.
Probably at some point of your professional path you have come across the term "you are overqualified and therefore we cannot afford you!» Is this the most awful thing one can say to you or what? So what can you do? You start feeling afraid that if you submit your CV into any job offer you will not be selected because employers will discard you from the beginning of the selection process and those who will want to meet you, eventually will tell you that you are overqualified! It's a dead end, I know it!
Well, the most challenging thing is not to overcome the "overqualified" issue but the growing fear that you have to master! Up to this point and given that your country is at least generating new job offers you have nothing to worry about...
Currently we are dealing with, a new "overqualified" generation of Greek immigrants. These modern Greeks have some very interesting characteristics:
a) They are very well educated; most of them have Bachelors, Masters and some even PhD’s,
b) They have the financial means to travel virtually to any country (especially within EU),
c) They are multilingual, most of them speak fluent English and have a second language at a proficient level (German, French, Italian, Spanish and most recently Chinese),
d) They have, at least once, travelled to a European country therefore are familiar with local lifestyle and habits,
e) They are at their most productive years, usually between 25 and 35, therefore attractive to employers,
And most importantly
d) They are eager to work!
Although I am happy for them pursuing their dream in a more "friendly" environment, I would be lying to you if I said that this is definitely our nation's true loss of capital and strength!
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Climate change explained...
Introduction
Climate change is a problem that is affecting people and the environment. EPA The Basic Information page provides basic information for someone new to the issue of climate change, including introductions to climate change science, U S policy on climate change, emissions, effects, and what you can do. Climate change is already affecting our lives and the places we live, and has the potential to dramatically impact the lives of future generations. Scientists are certain that human activities are changing the composition of the atmosphere, and that increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases will change the planet's climate. Somebody has to double check this!
Description
Greater energy efficiency and new technologies hold promise for reducing greenhouse gases and solving this global challenge. In common usage, "global warming" often refers to the warming that can occur as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities. Greenhouse gases are necessary to life as we know it, because they keep the planet's surface warmer than it otherwise would be. Water is affecting the temperature level, changes in precipitation patterns, rising sea levels, and more frequent weather-related disasters pose risks for agriculture, food, and water supplies. Arctic Council told it is failing to safeguard the region, while EU accused of 'panic reactions' over deep-water drilling ban.
No matter how aggressively heat-trapping emissions are reduced, some amount of climate change and resulting impacts will continue Consequently, there is a need for adaptation. Climate change may result from: natural factors, such as changes in the sun's intensity or slow changes in the Earth's orbit around the sun; natural processes within the climate system e g changes in ocean circulation ; human activities that change the atmosphere's composition e g through burning fossil fuels and the land surface e g deforestation, reforestation, urbanization, desertification, etc .
Conclusion
The EPA Climate Change site provides comprehensive information on the issue of climate change and global warming in a way that is accessible and meaningful to all parts of society - communities, individuals, business, states and localities, and governments. New Scientist's guide to climate change, global warming and greenhouse gases provides a comprehensive source of information on the matter. It is a race between mankind and natural phenomena. Who will be the one prevailing, no one can tell for sure! We must stay alert.
Climate change is a problem that is affecting people and the environment. EPA The Basic Information page provides basic information for someone new to the issue of climate change, including introductions to climate change science, U S policy on climate change, emissions, effects, and what you can do. Climate change is already affecting our lives and the places we live, and has the potential to dramatically impact the lives of future generations. Scientists are certain that human activities are changing the composition of the atmosphere, and that increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases will change the planet's climate. Somebody has to double check this!
Description
Greater energy efficiency and new technologies hold promise for reducing greenhouse gases and solving this global challenge. In common usage, "global warming" often refers to the warming that can occur as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities. Greenhouse gases are necessary to life as we know it, because they keep the planet's surface warmer than it otherwise would be. Water is affecting the temperature level, changes in precipitation patterns, rising sea levels, and more frequent weather-related disasters pose risks for agriculture, food, and water supplies. Arctic Council told it is failing to safeguard the region, while EU accused of 'panic reactions' over deep-water drilling ban.
No matter how aggressively heat-trapping emissions are reduced, some amount of climate change and resulting impacts will continue Consequently, there is a need for adaptation. Climate change may result from: natural factors, such as changes in the sun's intensity or slow changes in the Earth's orbit around the sun; natural processes within the climate system e g changes in ocean circulation ; human activities that change the atmosphere's composition e g through burning fossil fuels and the land surface e g deforestation, reforestation, urbanization, desertification, etc .
Conclusion
The EPA Climate Change site provides comprehensive information on the issue of climate change and global warming in a way that is accessible and meaningful to all parts of society - communities, individuals, business, states and localities, and governments. New Scientist's guide to climate change, global warming and greenhouse gases provides a comprehensive source of information on the matter. It is a race between mankind and natural phenomena. Who will be the one prevailing, no one can tell for sure! We must stay alert.
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Professor Pissaridis (Nobel prize winner 2010: Economy)
Διαβάστε από το www.in.gr
http://finance.in.gr/Article.aspx?articleID=36594
Friday, 28 May 2010
Saturday, 15 May 2010
Επιχειρηματικό περιβάλλον και Στρατηγική των επιχειρήσεων...η επανάληψη μήτηρ μαθήσεως!
Για έναν οργανισμό (ή εταιρεία), ο πρώτος, θεμελιώδης και καθοριστικός παράγοντας για την κερδοφορία της είναι, η ελκυστικότητα του κλάδου στον οποίο δραστηριοποιείται. Ο απώτερος σκοπός της ανταγωνιστικής στρατηγικής μιας εταιρείας είναι, να ανταποκριθεί στις ανάγκες της αγοράς και να τροποιήσει τους κανόνες του παιχνιδιου προς όφελος της (Porter, 1985).
Η ανάλυση του επιχειρηματικού περιβάλλοντος, όπου μια εταιρεία δραστηριοποιείται, προϋποθέτει ότι, η αγορά έχει προκαθοριστεί και η εταιρεία έχει σαφή παρουσία σε αυτήν.
Η αναγνώριση της αγοράς που επιλέγεται για ανάλυση, αποτελεί ένα από τα πιο σημαντικά προαπαιτούμενα για τον καθορισμό και της τελικής στρατηγικής. Για παράδειγμα, δικαιολογείται η παρουσία μιας εταιρείας με ένα μόνο προϊόν σε ένα τμήμα της αγοράς, να αποτελεί και την βάση διαμόρφωσης της συνολικής στρατηγικής της; Μήπως είναι απαραίτητη η συνολική εκτίμηση των δυνατοτήτων των προϊόντων, των δυνάμενων αγορών που θα μπορούσαν να εξυπηρετηθούν (πραγματοποιηθούν πωλήσεις), και μιας τελικής εκτίμησης και πρόβλεψης της κερδοφορίας και δυνατοτήτων για την αγορά που επιλέγεται κάθε φορά; (Grant, 1997).
Αναλύοντας το επιχειρηματικό περιβάλλον, είναι δυνατόν να εκτιμηθεί η κερδοφορία, μακροπρόθεσμα (εάν υπάρχει ή δεν υπάρχει), αλλά ίσως πιο σημαντικό από όλα, η θέση της εταιρείας στην εν λόγω αγορά. Η ανάλυση, επιτρέπει επιπρόσθετα και την ανάδειξη της στρατηγικής εκ των προτέρων, μια και διερευνώνται οι δυνατότητες και το μέλλον των προς διερεύνηση αγορών. Σχετικά με το ανταγωνιστικό περιβάλλον, τα πιο σημαντικά ερωτήματα που πρέπει να απαντηθούν είναι (Higgins and Vincze, 1993):
Ποιοί είναι οι ανταγωνιστές σήμερα και ποιοί θα είναι στο μέλλον;
Ποιές οι στρατηγικές των κυριοτέρων ανταγωνιστών και οι αντικειμενικοί στόχοι;
Πόσο σημαντική είναι η συγκεκριμένη αγορά για εκείνους;
Ποιά τα πιο σημαντικά πλεονεκτήματα των ανταγωνιστών;
Ποιές οι αδυναμίες τους, που τους καθιστούν "ευάλωτους παίκτες";
Ποιές οι πιθανές αλλαγές στην τακτική τους στο μέλλον;
Ποιά η επίδραση των παραπάνω, συνολικά στην αγορά και σε κάθε έναν ανταγωνιστή ξεχωριστα;
Στο επίπεδο των οικονομικών χαρακτηριστικών της αγοράς, υπάρχουν ερωτήματα που θα μας απασχολήσουν, τόσο στο παρόν επίπεδο της ανάλυσης, όσο και στην συνέχεια, σε εταιρικό επίπεδο. Ενδεικτικά ερωτήματα αποτελούν τα κάτωθι (Thompson and Strickland, 1999):
Μέγεθος της αγοράς.
Ρυθμός ανάπτυξης της αγοράς.
Ο αριθμός ανταγωνιστών και η "κυκλικότητα" της αγοράς.
Ο αριθμός των πελατών και το σχετικό τους μέγεθος.
Τα κανάλια διανομής και η πρόσβαση των πελατών σε αυτά.
Η διαφοροποίηση των προϊόντων του ανταγωνισμού.
Δυνατότητα εισόδου (χαμηλά ή υψηλά εμπόδια) στην αγορά.
Η "κυκλικότητα" της αγοράς, τεκμαίρεται από την παρουσία προϊόντων που βρίσκονται σε μια πορεία συγκομιδής κερδών (harvesting period) και αντικατάστασης τους.
Ενδέχεται, να παρουσιαστεί το λεγόμενο "ανταγωνιστικό τράνταγμα" στην αγορά, όπου οι μικρότερες εταιρείες θα αναγκαστούν, με συμπιεσμένες τις κερδοφορίες τους και καθιστώντας μη ελκυστική την επένδυση στους μετόχους, να αποσυρθούν από αυτή, με αποτέλεσμα να υπάρχει μεγαλύτερη ακόμη συγκέντρωση (consolidation) των διατιθέμενων προϊόντων, από λιγότερες επιχειρήσεις (Harrison and John, 1998).
Η τεχνολογική υπεροχή των μεγάλων εταιρείων, τους επιτρέπει να δημιουργούν ανταγωνιστικό πλεονέκτημα, με την εισαγωγή καινοτόμων και εξαιρετικά εξειδικευμένων σκευασμάτων. Αποτέλεσμα των παραπάνω είναι, τα προϊόντα τους να αντικαθιστούν προϊόντα ανταγωνιστών, ενώ αν συνδυάζουν και σχετικά ανταγωνιστική τιμή, τότε το φαινόμενο επιταχύνεται. Το γεγονός αυτό από μόνο του, δεν προϋποθέτει ότι, η καινοτομία είναι και το μοναδικό ανταγωνιστικό πλεονέκτημα που αυτές οι εταιρείες έχουν. Σε συνδυασμό με την ισχυρή γραμμή προϊόντων (products' pipeline) και την επίτευξη διαρκούς τροφοδότησης της αγοράς με καινοτομική δραστηριότητα (innovative activity), τους επιτρέπει να αντιλαμβάνονται τα μυνήματα πρώτοι από τον ανταγωνισμό και να προλαβαίνουν τις εξελίξεις (Kay, 1993). Η προηγούμενη πρόταση, με λίγα λόγια, είναι η επίτευξη του ανταγωνιστικού πλεονεκτήματος στην αγορά των αγροχημικών, με αρωγό τις τεράστιες δαπάνες σε έρευνα και ανάπτυξη που διατίθενται.
Είναι πασιφανές ότι, η στρατηγική ανάλυση μπορεί να περιέχει τόσες μεταβλητές όσα και τα διαθέσιμα στοιχεία προς ανάλυση. Από εκεί και πέρα, η εύρεση της θέσης μιας εταιρείας συνολικά στην αγορά, δεν αποτελεί και ιδιαίτερα δύσκολη υπόθεση, μια και όπως διαπιστώνεται στην συνέχεια, η εταιρεία έχει επιλέξει να είναι σε αγορές που τα περιθώρια κέρδους της είναι διψήφια και η ίδια συγκαταλλέγεται ανάμεσα στις τρεις ή τέσσερεις πρώτες εταιρείες.
Παρ' όλα αυτά, ο προηγούμενος ισχυρισμός υπόκειται σε θεωρητικό σφάλμα. Για παράδειγμα, αν κανείς επιχειρήσει να πραγματοποιήσει την στρατηγική ανάλυση του εξωτερικού περιβάλλοντος της εταιρείας, τότε θα ήταν δυνατή η εύρεση της θέσης της εταιρείας, βάσει ανάλυσης στρατηγικών ομάδων (strategic groups analysis: SGA), όπως προτείνεται από τους Παπαδάκη (1999: σελ. 83-7) και, Flavian και Polo (1999).
Οι αντικειμενικοί στόχοι της παραπάνω ανάλυσης συνοψίζονται στην εκτίμηση του ανταγωνισμού μεταξύ των εταιρειών, την ανάλυση SWOT, την αξιολόγηση των εκάστοτε επιλεγόμενων στρατηγικών στο χρόνο, την ελκυστικότητα της κάθε στρατηγικής αλλά και την σύνδεση τους με την εταιρική απόδοση, κάθε μιας εταιρείας της αγοράς ξεχωριστά.
Κλείνοντας την παρούσα σύντομη αναδρομή, στις αρχές της επιχειρησιακής στρατηγικής και διοίκησης, όπως αυτές διδάσκονται σε όλα τα κλασσικά προγράμματα ΜΒΑ, μπορώ να πω με σιγουριά ότι μετά από 7 χρόνια γραφής του παραπάνω κειμένου, στα πλαίσια της μεταπτυχιακής μου διατριβής, οι βασικοί άξονες και παράγοντες που παίζουν ρόλο στην πρακτική των επιχειρήσεων, παραμένουν οι ίδιοι.
Τελικά, μετά από όλα αυτά, αναρωτιέμαι μερικές φορές: «Μήπως δεν έχουμε ιδέα περί τίνος πρόκειται όταν μιλάμε για business και ακολουθούμε τον κανόνα κάνε το όπως και ο προηγούμενος(!);»
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