A frequent experience with management consultants is that their beautifully phrased ideas and proposals, all in PowerPoint format, don't work so well during implementation. Many times the reaction to that is to involve the consultants even more, based on the belief that, eventually, their beautifully phrased ideas and proposals simply had to show results.
Every once in a while a common sense manager asks a different kind of question, namely: "If we want to increase efficiency in, say, Operating Division A, why don't we ask the people concerned how they think we could accomplish that?" More often than not, the result of such common sense is miraculous.
The non-profit think tank Dianeosis made a survery where they tried to find out "What Greeks believe". The results are astonishing! Here are some excerpts:
"In short, this part of the survey tells us that Greeks would like to see a smaller public sector and lower taxes – even if this means a reduction in social benefits – with growth driven by foreign investments and exports, rather than the spending policies of a 'populist government'. Globalization, which three in five see as a threat to Greece on an abstract level, is also regarded as the only way to return to prosperity."
"The conclusion that can be drawn from the part of the survey concerning the crisis is a sense of pragmatism and acknowledgment of a new reality. For example, 62.1 percent of respondents admitted that 'our own failures' are largely responsible for the crisis, while just 9.7 percent put it down to foreign influences. A large percentage (76 percent) put the onus on society at large, which had become accustomed to living beyond its means, while a smaller percentage blamed the global financial system (59.4 percent compared with 77.3 percent in April 2015)."
"According to 62.4 percent of respondents, Greece needs a smaller public sector. Just 21.8 percent believe that a rebound will come from raising state salaries and pensions, against 73.2 percent who said that the government needs to provide incentives to attract investment and boost exports as a means of economic recovery."
"Finally, 84.4 percent of Greeks have a positive view of foreign investments, with 92.1 percent saying they create jobs and 88.8 percent that they introduce new technologies."
In an age where populism is on the rise, one wonders why there wouldn't be a populist Greek party which would immediately jump on the above feelings of Greeks and amend their party program accordingly. If the above survey was an accurate reflection of what Greeks really believe, that party ought to win the next election in a big way.
Every once in a while a common sense manager asks a different kind of question, namely: "If we want to increase efficiency in, say, Operating Division A, why don't we ask the people concerned how they think we could accomplish that?" More often than not, the result of such common sense is miraculous.
The non-profit think tank Dianeosis made a survery where they tried to find out "What Greeks believe". The results are astonishing! Here are some excerpts:
"In short, this part of the survey tells us that Greeks would like to see a smaller public sector and lower taxes – even if this means a reduction in social benefits – with growth driven by foreign investments and exports, rather than the spending policies of a 'populist government'. Globalization, which three in five see as a threat to Greece on an abstract level, is also regarded as the only way to return to prosperity."
"The conclusion that can be drawn from the part of the survey concerning the crisis is a sense of pragmatism and acknowledgment of a new reality. For example, 62.1 percent of respondents admitted that 'our own failures' are largely responsible for the crisis, while just 9.7 percent put it down to foreign influences. A large percentage (76 percent) put the onus on society at large, which had become accustomed to living beyond its means, while a smaller percentage blamed the global financial system (59.4 percent compared with 77.3 percent in April 2015)."
"According to 62.4 percent of respondents, Greece needs a smaller public sector. Just 21.8 percent believe that a rebound will come from raising state salaries and pensions, against 73.2 percent who said that the government needs to provide incentives to attract investment and boost exports as a means of economic recovery."
"Finally, 84.4 percent of Greeks have a positive view of foreign investments, with 92.1 percent saying they create jobs and 88.8 percent that they introduce new technologies."
In an age where populism is on the rise, one wonders why there wouldn't be a populist Greek party which would immediately jump on the above feelings of Greeks and amend their party program accordingly. If the above survey was an accurate reflection of what Greeks really believe, that party ought to win the next election in a big way.
o.k. here a couple of pointers:
ReplyDelete1. When you see a survey published exclusively at Kathimerini you know right off the bat that the results are biased and reflect only the views of partisan politics. It's the easiest thing on earth to pick up the phone and ask "your people" (sharing the same ideology) to whip up a quick omelette of whatever facts and figures suit your preconceived ideas. These easy for hire firms can product on demand whatever your bias wants.
2. When you hear also University of Macedonia it also means a stronghold of Nea Tromokratia territory when every nonsense and idiocy is simply possible and here are the fabricated facts that prove it.
Over the last 6 months we have been bombarded by these fabricated surveys which show titanic chasms in voter preference for Nea Tromokratia to install themselves again in power.
So they key question when one reads these "surveys" is to ask whether they are fundamentaly true. For that you need other survey producers to corroborate such findings and usually such double checking of facts is auspiciously absent.
You then understand that such surveys are not worth the paper they are written on and represent the opinions of fan clubs and not of representative citizenry.
Recently Mitsotakis went to Berlin, armed with these polls and surveys showing an overwhelming support in his persona as the most appropriate political leader in Greece. The main purpose of his visit was to convince Berlin that a change in Greek government was not harmful to German interests and indeed necessary. Berlin yawned at his ascertions and I am told that Schauble told Mitsotakis that his time would be better spent in voting in solidarity with the Syriza/ANEL government towards passing the necessary legislation in parliament for the reform measures. Mitsotakis did not expect such fiasco and was visibly shaken in post interviews on the matter citing confidentiality as to the precise content of his talks with Berlin.
Therfore the bottom line is this: Mitsotakis and his party could produce all the surveys in the world as to what exactly Greek citizens want and even make the unashamed claim that he is the man to implement their wishes. The reality is that Nea Tromokratia has a horrible record of failure and deep credibility issues. The other undeniable fact is that Berlin in naive and inexperienced Tsipras has found its man. Tsipras has introduced and implemented (not always competently) more reforms than all others combined. There is no way that Berlin is willing to kill the golden egg goose called Tsipras because in his unsophistication they have found the Trojan Horse they needed to control the Greek economy.
I think we are better off with Turkey by our side rather than the stupid eurozone clowns.
ReplyDeleteErdogan is 100% right when he said of the Dutch that they are remnants of Nazis and fascists. Of course he forgot to include Germany and Austria in such well observed assessment.
Now the question for us is this: How come Turkey has a leader with courage and we a government that is Troika's lapdog?
http://www.cnn.gr/news/kosmos/story/71363/apasfalise-o-erntogan-kata-tis-ollandias-apomeinaria-ton-nazi-kai-fasistes
Dearest and Esteemed People of Greece,
ReplyDeleteYou are being slaughtered right in front of the world’s eyes and nobody says beep. Least the Greek elite. Your Government. A few, but a few too many, allow the slaughter because it doesn’t concern them. They are blinded by the false glamour of the euro and of belonging to the ‘elite class’ of the noble Europeans (sic!).
They apparently live well enough, including the caviar socialists of Syriza. They let their country bleed to death literally, morally, socially and psychologically. Medical care is no longer available or privatized and unaffordable. Pensions were reduced five times. They were never more than a survival kit. By now they have been slashed in some cases by over 50%. Hordes of people live on food handouts. Most social services, including to a large extent education have been sold out, privatized. Gone with a flicker. Gone, by order of Germany – and the holy troika – the criminal gang of three, IMF, European Central Bank (EIB) and the European Commission (EU); the latter a mere bunch of unelected corrupt puppets, deciding the fate of some 800 million Europeans – with YOU, the Greek people, accepting carrying the brunt end of the stick.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/open-letter-to-the-people-of-greece-you-are-being-slaughtered-before-the-worlds-eyes/5579023
The article by Peter Koenig is interesting. Makes a lot of sense emotionally. Rationally, the question would be: why all that solidarity only with Greece and not also with other countries? Perhaps Venezuela? People there are suffering much more than in Greece. Or perhaps some of the poor EU members in Eastern Europe?
DeleteGermany's debt forgiveness was not driven by solidarity. It was driven by geopolitical American interests to have a strong Germany between the Soviet Union and the Atlantic.
If anything every comes to the rescue of Greece, it will be driven by geopolitical interests and not by solidarity.
When I read Koenig's manifesto the word "rescue" didn't come to mind. I felt it was more about what the people of Greece could do or should do versus outside help. The notion that Greece needs to be adopted by some foreign power is I believe particularly destructive because it induces the population to inaction.
DeleteDear Mr. Kastner,
DeleteYou have known me for many years and i have swung many a time on this pendulum of shifted views and what has been done to Greece. Koenig is absolutely right on everything. It is almost the rhetoric of the KKE and pre election Syriza.
My question to him is what is the solution? Default? Ok, and after borrow from who? German reparations from WW2? Yeah lets see Germany pay out. Or the conspiracy theory of taking everything from Greece and all its riches. Whether it be true or not, does Greece have the means, know how, the infrastructure and even more important the organizational skills to make use of these riches? No. We do not need to go far. Everyone can look into their micro worlds to see we can not even agree within an apartment building, if we should put petroleum or not for heating in the winter.
We are 10 million Greeks with 10 million opinions. We will never agree on anything until we remove the blinders from ourselves.
Has Greece lost its sovereignty? Yes, for gods sake. The whole of western society has no sovereignty. Do the big nations control everything. Yes of course. And who controls them? Banks, corporations and elite. Anybody who believes they can escape, "modern slavery," is more blind than a bat.
My point on the matter is whether we are in or out, we are still slaves. Personally, I prefer in. This for many reasons considering who we are as a people and the fate of our survival, what we need to learn, what our geopolitical interests are and the most important, change or demise to an empire can only come from within.
Greece will suffer and continue to suffer. To solve our own internal problems we must change our mentality. Drop this "left" "right" rhetoric garbage. We are blinded just by believing in labeling things. Kathemerini, Aygi, Rizospastiki. The day we stop aligning ourselves with a political color, labeling and finger pointing, will be the day of our awakening. I have stopped reading/believing in mainstream for many years now. Likewise on that day of awakening of the "people" will require the full political spectrum to unite as one and demand to rebuild Greece as they see fit.
And as someone pointed out to me on this blog many years ago, when you point to someone for blame, you have more fingers point back at you than pointing away from you.
We the Greek people elected these, sold out? or incompetent? or both, leaders. We played the biggest role, with the biggest responsibility, through our mannerism and our mentality, which allowed the pillaging of our country. We the people of Greece allowed them to pillage us.
Good Day,
V
In other words the Greeks are responsible for the eurozone incompetence and they are better off as slaves. I think the fathers of the War of Independence might want to have a word with you.
DeleteMy Dear Friend,
DeleteDon't take my words out of context. Our forefathers had one common enemy. We today multiple enemies. Being out of the game only worsens our position.
Our fathers of independence would probably commit suicide seeing the state of its children today. Find me a leader today with an ounce of honor that they had today, that we can follow.
What does the Eurozone incompetence have to do with our own incompetence? The only thing their incompetence did was to make our incompetence seem even worse.
We have had our "independence" for nearly 200 years now. In the meantime we have bankrupted on our debt several times and after 200 years we still manage to maintain a mentality and mannerism, as if we were still under the cloak of the Turk. You have the impression that we have been a "free" state in these last 200 years? Tell me you are not that naïve.
Sincerely,
V
Because the eurozone only collects problems but it never solves them.
DeleteIf the eurozone had an ounce of competence then they would have solved the Greek crisis by now.
V:
DeleteI rather think that you are the naive here equating the flawed architecture of the euro with Greek incompetence since Greece had nothing to do with the design of the flawed currency to begin with.
You are further uber naive in equating Greek political corruption with incompetence. It actually takes very competent crooks to rob the euroidiots blind. What you refer as Greek incompetence is nothing more than a clear case of excessive abuse of authority by ND and PASOK.
Finally you are naive in believing that if Greece does these marginal mickey mouse reforms dictated by Troika, which are truly a joke for those who understand finance, that Greece would ever exit the crisis caused by excessive German and French bank lending whose main purpose was the quick absorption of German exports by the Greek consumer and German armaments by the Greek state (because now the Greek state armed with German Lepard tanks has nothing to fear from Turkey minus of course the fact that said tanks do not the ammunition to be functional but that's a small detail because it requires further German bribes to get).
So its the Eurozone's fault? The Eurozone's incompetence, we are in this state.
DeleteI agree to some extent that they are indeed incompetent but don't overdo it. Ireland Portugal and Cyprus were also "helped" by the Eurozone and they have been freed of their shackles to some extent. Why do you think?
V
I have only read what is available of the report in English, is anybody aware of where to get a full English version, or at least an essay in the form they did on the 2015 survey?
ReplyDeleteGreeks want foreign investment (84,4%), but no capitalism (66,7%) or globalization (60%).
They want less state and taxes (73,2%), but retirement before the age of 60 (51,7%).
The conclusion that this is pragmatism and acknowledgement of reality is very Greek.
Lennard
Here You Go....
Deletehttp://www.ekathimerini.com/216694/gallery/ekathimerini/comment/greeks-calling-for-smaller-public-sector-lower-taxes-survey-finds
Open to foreign investment but being scared of globalization abstractively, is a fear every citizen of the world.
Its a survey, wouldn't you want to retire before 60? The question is not if you would stop working. Most retires I know continue to work just at a different tempo.
Sincerely,
V
Dear V.
ReplyDeleteFear of globalization is prevalent in un-competitive, insular societies. What I questioned was the realism of these viewpoints, if this is "What Greeks Believe", and you, then you are foolish dreamers, and doomed ones as well. You will go starving waiting for that free lunch.
Lennard
Oh really? So the US is an uncompetitive and insular society` that's why Americans voted for Trump?
DeleteLennard,
DeleteDon't label us "dreamers." It is one thing to desire and want and an other thing to understand the practicality of your desires.
To add, the moment a human being stops dreaming is the same day you submit yourself to complete mental enslavement.
V
The Eurozone would have solved the Greek crises a long time ago, if it wasn't for the Greeks.
ReplyDeleteYeah right. The eurozone can't even manage a hen house let alone structural crises due to its faulty architecture. And stop blaming your teachers, the Greeks, for everything you know and learned.
DeleteI know that you don't mean that with the Greeks being 'our teachers for everything we know and learned'. If you disagree, please tell me what 'we' should learn from the link below.
Deletehttps://www.theguardian.com/sport/gallery/2014/aug/13/abandoned-athens-olympic-2004-venues-10-years-on-in-pictures
Klaus:
DeleteWhy you a conservative likes to use the opposite ideology Guardian to attack Greece?
Don't you understand that citations from Kathimerini and Guardian are contradictory?
Or is your job better defined as cherry picking from whatever source to reinforce your bias and defame Greece?
The Dianeosis survey is a wealth of info, albeit not much new.
ReplyDeleteGreeks believe they have superior intelligence and culture (62,3%). Seeing that, in spite of that, they have lower living standards than others, they fall into the victims trap. They "see secret organizations, both in Greece and abroad, working behind the scenes to influence developments" (80,5%).
I have taken the liberty of assuming the questions regarding intelligence and culture to be the same as in the 2015 survey, quoted below.
"Contemporary Greek culture can influence the western world in ways that other countries can not".
"Greeks are special because of their genius and culture".
PS.
Klaus, as for your suggestion a new political party should adopt the general Greek beliefs. All the previous did.
Lennard
Lennard
I don't think there is any doubt that as a Greek I am intellectually superior to you Lennard.
DeleteThe real question is why are you my inferior? Is it by design or by a limiting world view which points to education and background?
Lennard:
DeleteHow is it possible for Greeks not to feel superior?
Take the case of your Austrian-Swiss ancestory as we know it from your Otzi the Iceman case:
1. Living links to the Iceman have now been revealed by a new DNA study. Gene researchers looking at unusual markers on the Iceman's male sex chromosome report that they have uncovered at least 19 genetic relatives of Ötzi in Austria's Tyrol region.(I am sure Urs the caveman from Zurich is a direct relative of Otzi)
2. The 40-something's (Otzi's) list of complaints include worn joints, hardened arteries, gallstones, and a nasty growth on his little toe (perhaps caused by frostbite).
Furthermore, the Iceman's gut contained the eggs of parasitic worms, he likely had Lyme disease, and he had alarming levels of arsenic in his system (probably due to working with metal ores and copper extraction). Ötzi was also in need of a dentist—an in-depth dental examination found evidence of advanced gum disease and tooth decay.
3.Besides his physical ailments, the Iceman had several anatomical abnormalities. He lacked both wisdom teeth and a 12th pair of ribs. The mountain man also sported a caddish gap between his two front teeth, known as a diastema. Whether this impressed the ladies is a moot point—some researchers suspect Ötzi might have been infertile.
4.Analysis of that pollen shows that Ötzi died in spring or early summer, and it has even enabled researchers to trace his movements through different mountain elevations just before he died. His partially digested last meal suggests he ate two hours before his grisly end. It included grains and meat from an ibex, a species of nimble-footed wild goat.
Oh! How cute! Looks like Lennard has found a kindred spirit!
DeleteDear V.
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong about dreaming if:
-You can distinguish between your dreams and realities.
-It does not prevent you from acting in order to fulfill your dreams.
The people in that survey are in denial, they express who they want to be (seen as) and where they want to be, not who and where they are. Consequently they don't act.
Lennard
Mosterd na de maaltijd
Delete@ Anon. 1159 hours.
ReplyDeleteBut surely I did not compare my intelligence to yours, of which I only know the little you display in this blog. I merrily quoted a (Greek) survey that found a majority of Greeks to believe Greeks have superior intelligence and contemporary culture.
Lennard.