Agorocracy vs. Democracy

Four years ago (June 2010), I was pointing out how Agorocracy vs. Democracy were fighting it out in EUrope and the world. How the financial system had gone out of bounds compared to other aspects of our lives. Since then, 44 months have passed. The speaker has slimmed down (see video) and so have the budgets of Greece, Spain and other troubled Euro member states.

Cyprus banks got a haircut last year.

But what is the state of the competition between Agorocracy and Democracy today, February 2014?

Mittelstand

Along with the advantages and management/business/policy techniques of complex goods manufacturing ..

Is German Mittelstand under-studied by US, European and international business gurus?

Management and HRM: Chains, links and what's wrong with biz/work/econ systemics today!

Rough day at the dentist and then electric fuse blew when I returned to the flat where staying temp and not feeling at home in. What a day! But the building owners' rep energised her wits and local connections when I called her, so the fuse that was busted, the one at the basement, not the flat, was fixed very quickly!

She's a master of her work. Gotta love that!

Which brings me to the point of this post:

People who master the work they do in diverse and somewhat complete ways make life for all of us better! Kudos! She has been doing this work for years but I know many who do a job for many years yet still too "casually". They make our lives worse off, I propose.

People have to try to master the work they do out of respect for themselves, their job & the people involved. No room for zombies in management and workplaces today.

What I am saying is that no job is w/o value when the person who does it respects himself, the job, the clients and all ppl involved in general. No job!

And that is where work/econ systemics are failing today imho. The rating of jobs tends to devalue many and systems fail due to 5 cent screws or low pay and what is worse, low valued/rated jobs, economically and societally, ie jobs that thus attract people who, alas, do their job as if they are "zombies"! Or to put it differently, they are simply there (and just that). They are the real "bureaucrats" of not only the public but also the private sector? Their personal fault? Maybe to some extent, but also the management's, the "HR's", and systemic faults, I argue. And these are the ones where priority must be placed, to improve things!

So even jobs that are rated low are valuable if one realises that chain is a strong as its weakest link! 1 has to look at marginal benefit/cost. When one does that, one realises that no job is of low value to the "system" if the system is to work.

Systemics and Dynamics Live NP Blog, October 31, 2012

Read bottom up to follow the flow:

Evening:

Euro crisis/Troika:
I thought memorandums were supposed to be brief, not as brief as executive summaries, but brief.

There seem to be 2 divergent views re the effect of Sandy on US economy: a) disruption of the recovery b) growth stimulus effect by money spend on the damages, multiplied by a greater than 1.0 factor. As per electoral effects, some think it may prove beneficial for Obama and Dems if seems presidential in his dealing with Sandy effects is deemed effective. Or could backfire. Will it also restore some faith of people in "government" and make collective esprit (eg health care) more popular. Guess we shall see.

Early morning:

EU/Euro/econ/fin crises:
Many admire the Iceland "model" of dealing with it. But they should recall it has a population of 320,000, a total area of 103,000 km2 out there in the Atlantic and a volcano!

More philosophical:
The problem with parents raising their kids with prince/princess aka noble values is that unless they also give them a Principauté, they are in for a rough ride in the "streets" of life.

Philosophical:
Hard times for "princes" and "princesses" (not the real ones, the other ones). Also hard for vagabonds, though. Unless in warmer climates.

Jobs/Career:
For decades now, searching for a job had become a job. In recent years, it has become a career.

Systemics and Dynamics Live NP Blog, October 30, 2012

Read from the bottom up to follow the flow:

USA:
Time for allegiance between people > Obama to the Rescue | The Big Dog Barks | No Time for Politics? http://t.co/bZw1okwP Nature is showing who is the real boss, and should make lots of people think about human-to-human allegiance and the role of  government in the US. May thus help the Dems + Obama

Greece:
Had the Greek gov't in the 1980s established a real unemployment benefits system, like other EU, maybe Greece would be different today.

Econ:
No kidding! RT @ForexLive: Merkel/Lagarde: Global Economic Recovery Remains Uncertain http://t.co/B3yRytd6 Oct 30, 2012

Info, what info?
What unrest(s) in ATH/GRE? Most if not all events have taken place on/near 1 square. Intern media have made it seem wider.
 
Roesler/FDP:
Roesler "strikes" again re Greece, but will this campaign save his FDP "Empire" in next GER elections? #EuroWars #EmpireStrikesBack

Greece:
Now all Greece needs is a Tea Party. #stoicgeek
Was it a 2-way call? Mobile or landline? Roaming fees? Smartphone or not?

Merkel:
She is a politician too, But that is why she gave GR such a hard time, to make sure, she thought, no one else would ask 4 for same. So she thought,

Banking Union:
The EU or Euro or Euro+ shouldn't be banking on banking union as a facility towards political union. The road is different, political/civil

Labour Market (EU27):
Call me again when the #EU gets a labour market, instead of 27. By that time, there will be no labour, only robots and stepford workers.
For labour market reforms to have a raison-d-'etre, there has to be a labour market, dear Troika! #EU\

News vs Opinion:
Who cares what someone said about anything? That's not news, that's opinions. Cool but not real news, is it?
Sandy left death and damages, some member wants to leave EU, EU squabbles, GR is complicated, etc etc. The news? Oh c'mon, you know the news (EU, UK, US, etc). Same old, same old.

EU27:
If the 27 cannot agree on EU budget, why not make it a federal one with 26, 20, 17 or 10? Anyway, not the budget but the policies that count

Caprica:
NYSE re-opening tomorrow! Sure, finance does not need humans anymore! #Caprica #Sandy Oct 30, 2012

Troika/Greece:
I don't care what Troika says, the Greek competitiveness-growth-employment model has to be based on free lancers, and exporting micros+SMEs
For whom are the labor market reforms many in GR oppose??? Most of the "private sector" was always free lancers and even more so today!


EU Regional Policy:
EU funds diverted the attention of Objective 1 (PIIGS) from EU policies and effects. PIIGS would have been, I know it's a heretic view, better off w/o them

EU?
Let's face it. EEC/EU has not really been a union, more of a FRA-GER-UK thing with associate members the rest
Maybe EU better off w/o GER, FRA, UK, tho. A more real union.

EU and PIGS as family:
Some would even say a family is not real unless there are internal fights. Look at ancient Greeks! lol Oct 30, 2012
Greeks fight each other all the time they r still a family.The best of families do. But they unite when needed
3//3 Or Germans., Dutch, Finns, Slovaks, Austrians et al can move to the PIGS now and enjoy real life! #MoveToTheMed4RealLife
2/3 Of course they can wait 50-100 yrs, global warming will turn Euro core etc into PIGS and PIGS into Sahara
1/3 The truth is that many other EUROpeans envy the PIGS cos of their sun, sea, sand, zest, instead of rain, cold, esp Humidity.
 EUROpeans want(ed) a stable currency but not the extra hard EURO-DM it turned out to be (at 1.4, 1.5 times USD etc) Oct 30, 2012

About the UK:
It's complicated: Everything is simple. So simple that it's complicated.

Not quite. "Other" economies had been spoiled by Eurozone's impors from them. RT @MStarDirect: Eurozone's troubles hurting other economies, chiefly E. Europe & Latin America. Latin America also feeling pinch fr ...

My take on Greece:
My main "take" on Greece is that no one's take, including mine, is accurate. That's Greece. Un-takeable. That's my main take on Greece.

Games, in sports and in business

Seems that some have it all wrong. You actually compete in business but you participate in sports.

Like in the movies

The latest piece of biz news from Hollywood, Disney film boss Rich Ross resigns after John Carter flop, reminds me of a report I must have read or heard, I think it was BBC Worldservice, some 10 years ago but has resided in my mind ever since.

Only one out of 10 films a Hollywood studio produces makes it bog.

Maybe 3-4 others make a profiit

The rest lose money, one of them a lot.

The 1 out of ten though makes or has to make enough money to also cover for all the losing ones!

I like the movie business, when a kid I wanted to study film at UCLA and go to Hollywood. Was not meant to be, because I considered the odds of success vs the cost of college to my parents, Anyway

It's about risk and return, both expected (risk and return) and real, the ex past facto.

That type of risk the average .man, woman or household does not fancy taking. Wants an as stable as possible life,, an environment to have and bring up kids.

Some, the "knights" are willing to live lives of more risk. For the expectation of extra return or some, for the thrills. Some because of the nature of many times of business, venturing or even trying. But those who take the risks should be the ones who incur the costs when the project turns sour, not the average people.

Knights in suits. Once upon a time, wearing a suit meant something. Especially a dark grey one. For years now that is not the case. That is why I have not worn one in years.

My point is: Should more (employees, managers, stakeholders, media, et al) realise that doing business in many sectors nowadays is like in the movies (ie they are like film studios)?