AGGRESSIVE

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Indeed the western recession is really the beginning of good news for India ! But to understand that we will have to move away for a while from the topic of western recession …. To the Japanese recession! For years, the Japanese style of management has been admired. However, over the last decade or so, one key question has sprung up if Japanese management style is as wonderful as described then why has Japan been in a recession for more than a decade?

The answer to this question is very simple. Culture plays a very important part in shaping up economies. What succedds in one culture fails in another. Japanese are basically non materialistic. And however rich they become, unlike others, they cannot just keep throwing and buying endlessly. And once they have everything they need; there is a saturation point. It was only when companies like Toyota realized that they cannot keep selling cars endlessly to their home market that they went really aggressive in the western markets and the rest is history. Japanese companies grew bigger by catering to the world markets when their homie markets shrunk.

And the markets have to shrink finally after attaining a level of affluence! And that’s great for the world because earth needs sustainable development. It does not need monstrous consumers who keep consuming at the cost of the environment and the earth. There should be limits to growth so that consumers are not converted into material dustbins for the profit of a handful of corporations.

Owing to the materialistic culture elsewhere, it was possible to keep selling newer products to the consumers despite having existing ones which served equally well. They were lured throough advertising and marketing techniques of ‘dustibini-sation’ of the customers, they were given loans and credits to help them buy more and more. When all the creditworthy people were given loans and credits to help them buy more and more. When all the creditworthy people were given loans to a logical limit, they ceased to be a part of the market. Even this would have been understandable if it could work as an eye opener. Instead of taking the ‘Right Step’ as Toyota did, they preferred to take a ‘shortcut’. Now banks went to the non creditworthy people and gave them loans. The people expectedly defaulted and the entire system collapsed.

Now, like Toyota western companies will learn to find new markets. They will now lean towards India because of its common man! The billion plus population in the next 25 years will become, a consuming middleclass. Finally, the world’s attention will shift to the developing world. Finally, there will be a real surge in income of these people and in the next fifty odd years, one can really hope to see an equal world in terms of material plenty, with poverty being almost nonexistent! And this will happen not by selling more cars to Americans and Europeans. It will happen by creating markets in India, China, Latin America and Africa, by giving their people purchasing power and by making products for them.

The recession has made us realize that it is not because of worse management techniques, but because of worse management techniques, but because of limits to growth. And they will realize that it is great for planet earth. After all, how many cars and houses must the rich own before calling it enough? It’s time for them look at others as well. Many years back, to increase his own profits. Henry Ford had started paying his workers more, so that they could buy his cars. In similar fashion, now the developed world will pay the developing world people so that they can buy their cars and washing machines.

The recession will kickstart the process of making the entire world more prosperous, and lay the foundation of limits to growth in the west and the foundation of real globalization in the world-of the globalization of prosperity. And one of its first beneficiaries will be India.