The news today that Irish Banks have now admitted the extent of their financial difficulties in a way comes as no surprise. Spain is now dealing also , with the downgrading of their standing in the financial markets
At the week-end Ed Miliband was elected leader of the opposition and the prospects of a campaign for more left wing ideologies in a troubled world looms larger in the U.K
The politics of financial survival surely transcends the mere ideology of party politics ,especially when peoples jobs and welfare are at stake . Do we have a party in opposition who is led by a person who can influence National leaders and avoid the inevitable slide into self interested national politics
The answer I fear is no , and with the onset of more market turbulence , affected by the events in Spain and Ireland , how can we consider ourselves to be on the European stage , let alone the World stage , unless we have the leadership that avoids insularity and island mentality
If the U.K was being managed as a business, we would crave an understanding of our branded image , our value proposition and the business development opportunities.There is an increasing reliance , understandably , on Government financial support , but this is not sustainable.
Business needs to grow and prosper for wealth creation but it is really not obvious where that is coming from
Thursday 30 September 2010
Thursday 23 September 2010
Capitalism :Time for change?
Modern political economics began the debate about the value of human endeavour following the first version of the Adam Smith book The wealth of Nations. I grew up in the Scottish education system and of course the theories expounded as the basis of explaining how the world of commerce and politics converged.
It has to be said however , that the world in the 18th century was fundamentally different from recent times.The powerful laws of political influence over the colonies , natural resources and trade routes dictated by a few nation states really made things easier to explain and control , to some degree
Since then,we have seen the emergence of money markets , professional speculators , and a whole industry who does nothing other than create wealth from taking risk. Risk in itself becoming a commodity just like gold or copper.
Vince Cable , given his political persuasion, had at the recent conference an opportunity to state what everyone wanted to say , and that is , that unchecked making money for the sake of making money , is in itself too disruptive and subverts the powers of governments to do anything about the unintended consequences.
Adam Smith predicted these consequences but the value of labour and commodities , at the time of writing his book , were determined by the workings of commerce , and the branch of capitalism regulated by the market forces of supply and demand
As the unintended consequences of the risk managed capitalism , are misery lost jobs and services and a deterioration in the of value of humankind surely it is time to take stock and re- write the new Wealth of Nations
It has to be said however , that the world in the 18th century was fundamentally different from recent times.The powerful laws of political influence over the colonies , natural resources and trade routes dictated by a few nation states really made things easier to explain and control , to some degree
Since then,we have seen the emergence of money markets , professional speculators , and a whole industry who does nothing other than create wealth from taking risk. Risk in itself becoming a commodity just like gold or copper.
Vince Cable , given his political persuasion, had at the recent conference an opportunity to state what everyone wanted to say , and that is , that unchecked making money for the sake of making money , is in itself too disruptive and subverts the powers of governments to do anything about the unintended consequences.
Adam Smith predicted these consequences but the value of labour and commodities , at the time of writing his book , were determined by the workings of commerce , and the branch of capitalism regulated by the market forces of supply and demand
As the unintended consequences of the risk managed capitalism , are misery lost jobs and services and a deterioration in the of value of humankind surely it is time to take stock and re- write the new Wealth of Nations
Tuesday 14 September 2010
Connaught Norwich is madness
I was watching local TV last night , and despite the fact that I have personally been involved in making people redundant in the private sector , I was amazed at the story emerging about the long serving council workers being made redundant , all because a recently appointed contractor went bust .
My incredulity grew ....as we understand form the media ,the local council had to pay previous contractor an out of court settlement in order to facilitate the entry of a new cheaper contractor.All council workers were then transferred under TUPE rules and then after a very short time made redundant with no real prospect of a job.
The council estates still need maintenance , and the redundant employees will be paid stay at home , through no fault of their own , and yet we have been implored to understand that the country is in dire need of financial prudence and well managed cost.
As a former business supplier to the Government , we were asked to comply with the new buying strategies of the OGC , which on paper also set up supplier assessment criteria to ensure capability and good financial governance of the supplier.
Yet another contract , in line with a number of failed PFI ventures , has failed not only the local communities whom they are designed to serve , but the employees who have served those communities , in some cases , for decades.
As we embark on the rocky journey ahead , following the proposed expenditure cuts , it is vital to understand , as many private companies have in the past , that the cheapest price is not the same as best value. These events will cost us all more in the end .
My incredulity grew ....as we understand form the media ,the local council had to pay previous contractor an out of court settlement in order to facilitate the entry of a new cheaper contractor.All council workers were then transferred under TUPE rules and then after a very short time made redundant with no real prospect of a job.
The council estates still need maintenance , and the redundant employees will be paid stay at home , through no fault of their own , and yet we have been implored to understand that the country is in dire need of financial prudence and well managed cost.
As a former business supplier to the Government , we were asked to comply with the new buying strategies of the OGC , which on paper also set up supplier assessment criteria to ensure capability and good financial governance of the supplier.
Yet another contract , in line with a number of failed PFI ventures , has failed not only the local communities whom they are designed to serve , but the employees who have served those communities , in some cases , for decades.
As we embark on the rocky journey ahead , following the proposed expenditure cuts , it is vital to understand , as many private companies have in the past , that the cheapest price is not the same as best value. These events will cost us all more in the end .
Tuesday 7 September 2010
Impact of Government Cuts
A great deal was written in the newspapers at the week-end , and as we approach the trading season in the run up to Xmas , the big question is that of , reduced consumer spend as a consequence of the reduction in government expenditure.
I suppose the most worrying aspect of the debate is the uncertainty about whether it will have an impact , and that businesses assuming otherwise are actually in denial.
In business networking events there are some businesses feeling the pinch more than others , but everyone surely has to look at how they are running their business , and prepare at least for some effect.
I was always taught that if your business is doing well create a crisis. Nowadays that is called risk management , where you are obligated to do a test to establish how robust your business really is.
Everyday as we engage with businesses,already the outlook for state of readiness for a so called double dip is not encouraging.
The facts are though , that we need to get ready , and even if the doom-mongers are wrong , all businesses will be in an even better condition if they apply some basic rules to audit the performance of their business.
The audit core subjects are customers,cash, employees and business systems. The question ,are these things being managed to maximise the impact of available revenue, the key objective being to survive any downturn should it emerge.
I get frantic when business owners say I am doing o.k , mainly because the alternative seems too much like a distraction .The good businesses do this automatically and it should be a way of life however well your business is doing . If it is a question of help look no further !!! http://bit.ly/9DpMt9
I suppose the most worrying aspect of the debate is the uncertainty about whether it will have an impact , and that businesses assuming otherwise are actually in denial.
In business networking events there are some businesses feeling the pinch more than others , but everyone surely has to look at how they are running their business , and prepare at least for some effect.
I was always taught that if your business is doing well create a crisis. Nowadays that is called risk management , where you are obligated to do a test to establish how robust your business really is.
Everyday as we engage with businesses,already the outlook for state of readiness for a so called double dip is not encouraging.
The facts are though , that we need to get ready , and even if the doom-mongers are wrong , all businesses will be in an even better condition if they apply some basic rules to audit the performance of their business.
The audit core subjects are customers,cash, employees and business systems. The question ,are these things being managed to maximise the impact of available revenue, the key objective being to survive any downturn should it emerge.
I get frantic when business owners say I am doing o.k , mainly because the alternative seems too much like a distraction .The good businesses do this automatically and it should be a way of life however well your business is doing . If it is a question of help look no further !!! http://bit.ly/9DpMt9
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