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.
This review should be treated as an alert call!
Cheers!
Muthu Ashraff Rajulu
Strategy Adviser
Mobile: + 94 777 265677
E-mail: cosmicgems@gmail.com
Blog: Strategy Adviser
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