I love the idea of this Forbes article, but it has all the comprehensiveness of a Twitter post. Yes, auto workers in Germany produce more and get double the pay of US workers, but this article narrowly attributes this to employer-union relations. A broader discussion needs to include things like:
- Variances in cost structures (eg who pays benefits the state or the company)
- Degree of automation (a highly automated company will have fewer, higher skilled, higher paying jobs)
- Culture-driven variances in worker performance (eg Germans are notoriously efficient, timely and meticulous)
- Variances in how premium the product lines are. The US produces far more mass market cars, which have lower margins than the more high-end German ones.
- Differences in quality of management, innovation and strategy
- The full article only alludes to the nationalist obligation Germans feel for their companies. The other angle is the degree of national accountability the companies themselves have.
I do agree we need a substantive debate on manufacturing unions and the future of employment in the US, but this only scratches the surface.
Easy. Less Govt. corruptions, taxation, and indecent people. Should I go on? But, we aren’t entirely bad. Afterall, it’s not too late for us to turn everything around before it’s too late but we’ll see how it goes since we’re all too lazy to make a difference with anything anyway. *rolls eyes* Plus, auto wreckers can make pretty good business.if they simply happen to meet the needs of their buyers. “needs” not “wants.” 😉