When German economic miracle hit Europe in the second half of the 20th century there were five features: namely innovation, quality, precise engineering, efficient performance and wide acceptance. Here is the review of these in today’s context:
Innovation
Undoubtedly, Germany was the forerunner in printing press in publication, diesel engine in motor vehicles & rolling stock and the globally known Idar-Oberstein in gemstone research as well as cutting & faceting. Pharma remained a keen interest with innovations such as Aspirin as base drug and X- Ray techno. Today, sadly, except shoes such as Adidas & Puma, German innovation is now taking a back seat.
Quality
Once, the quality of German products was ever-present in the hard stuff of manufacturing. Automotives, machinery, mechanical tools and pharma products that too using chemical engineering of highest order took pride of place. At the intervening days Germany was indeed a path finder in consumer electronics and data processing. Today Germany concentrates on easy stuff like food & beverage sports & apparel where both quality and innovation take back seat.
Precise Engineering
Earlier precise engineering was part & parcel
of advanced technology born out of linkage between academia & industry. All
these were in the hard side area such as automotives, aerospace and in medical
technology. Today market competition dictates that Germany moves out of capital intensive industry
towards soft side industries such as computer software and nano technology.
Efficient Performance
Then it was efficiency plus–plus with pronounced emphasis on export-led growth, strong high-quality manufacturing base supported by high skilled employees and a dedicated work culture. This led to Germany being the power-house of European economics. Today, the introduction of Euro as the common currency dampened the enthusiasm of both industrialists and workforce to turn out products of high-quality but products at affordable price, meaning lesser quality, to be marketed throughout European Union at one price.
Wide Acceptance
In the post WWII scenario, German products both
industrial and otherwise commanded wide acceptance in the European market. With
the dawn of 21st Century this type of hero worship of German
products started to disappear slowly & steadily. There are several reasons:
Under-investment in the industrial- manufacturing line is chief amongst them, followed
by demographic changes of larger
immigrant community who did not share the same level of enthusiasm as
the native Germans. Much more potent was the hitherto hailed techno-leadership
of Germany has left the hands of the Germans and meandered towards Chinese and
to lesser degree to Americans.
Panacea
Navigating business strategy amid geoeconomics is the only solution as I see.
Cheers!
Muthu Ashraff Rajulu
Business Strategist
Mobile: + 94 777 265677
E-mail: cosmicgems@gmail.com
Blog: Business Strategist
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