Take a Break
Well. I had taken a Break from the weekly column of Monday Musings for a variety of reasons. However, the last few weeks the kind of response that I have got from readers, friends and well wishers has been such that I feel it would not be an exaggeration if I honestly admit that there were readers who were actually missing my columns and writings! This may sound like me blowing my own trumpet, well, that’s actually true!! I always feel that to blow a trumpet, you gotta have one. And in case you do have a trumpet, no one else is going to blow it for you. So you better do it yourself!!!
Anyways I was indeed taking a Break from writing and getting back on my reading and thinking. Infact a Break is something that all of us need. It is rejuvenating and helps relax our mind and body. A Break helps us to think better and perform better. Planned relaxation calms anxiety and helps your body and mind recover from everyday rush and stress. Music, a long soak in the bath, or a walk in the park do the trick for some people, but for others it's not so easy. If you feel you need help with learning to relax, try a relaxation or meditation class.
Take a look at a dog when it is resting. Its body is free of tension, its brain has switched off and has gone into peaceful mode. Because of our stressful lives, many of us have lost the ability to do this, so there seems to be a need to relearn it.
The Health Desk of BBC suggests a step by step approach to relaxation. I will share with readers for everyone’s benefit. The way to relax is:
Choose a quiet place where you won't be interrupted.
Before you start, do a few gentle stretching exercises to relieve muscular tension.
Make yourself comfortable, either sitting or lying down.
Start to breathe slowly and deeply, in a calm and effortless way.
Gently tense, then relax, each part of your body, starting with your feet and working your way up to your face and head.
As you focus on each area, think of warmth, heaviness and relaxation.
Push any distracting thoughts to the back of your mind; imagine them floating away.
Don't try to relax; simply let go of the tension in your muscles and allow them to become relaxed.
Let your mind go empty. Some people find it helpful to visualise a calm, beautiful place such as a garden or meadow.
Stay like this for about 20 minutes, then take some deep breaths and open your eyes, but stay sitting or lying for a few moments before you get up.
This routine can be done even in office when you are sitting on your desk. Infact what many people do is to use a good screen save to focus on and as you see the formations float on your computer screen, it does have relaxing results. While driving, it is best to stop, park on the sides and do breathing exercises and relax oneself.
However, if one has been going on one’s work for a long time, one should take a break away from work. May be a vacation with just close family. If possible one should even avoid the cell phone. Most corporations force their employees and senior managers to go for annual vacations. This helps them to relax and come back to work with recharged minds and new ideas. Even in Government, everyone is entitled for 30 days leave but most of us accumulates so much of pending work, mostly personal, that leave is also spent working, albeit in a different way. Leave for relaxation should be sans work. It should be spending time with the family and kids. Playing football, watching a movie or in a Spa. Or reading a book or exploring a place you have never been.
Breaks are a must for people at all levels. I know within a few days students will be completing their Class X and XII exams. They would be longing for a break. But Class XII guys have no respite. I remember my own days, when just after the Board Exams, we used to have all sorts of competitive exams. Engineering, Medical and other courses. With lots of pressure from parents, friends and family to excel and do well. So most students will have to wait for their break. But even within the process of preparing for those crazy JEEs et al, do remember to relax. And the 10 step guide mentioned above can be a good start. It will yield great results.
And if none of the above is applicable to you, the best way to relax is to laugh. Get in touch with one of your friends from school or college who was good at jokes. Talk to him and you will feel happy. And yes Jokes are a good way to relax. Jokes on SMS or mail definitely make you feel happy. And they give break from the routine that one is going through.
I would end today with an old Joke but a Good one. This one is on how Greeks do Business. We have Mr Con talking to his son George.
CON (father): "I want you to marry a girl of my choice."
GEORGE (son): "I will choose my own bride!!"
CON (father): "But the girl is Bill Gates' daughter.."
GEORGE (son): "Well, in that case... okay."
Next CON approaches Bill Gates.
CON (father): "I have a husband for your daughter.... "
Bill Gates: "But my daughter is too young to marry!!"
CON (father): "But this young man is a vice-president of the World Bank."
Bill Gates: "Ah! in that case... okay."
Finally CON goes to see the president of the World Bank.
CON: "I have a young man to be recommended as a vice-president."
President: "But I already have more vice-presidents than I need!"
CON: "But this young man is Bill Gates' son-in-law."
President: 'Ah, in that case... okay."
And that, my friends, is how Greeks do business.
Well, its time to go back to our own Business. Or rather time to take a Break. Wish I could.
Anyways, keep relaxing and planning for your Break!!!
Have a nice week ahead.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Human Resource Paradox
Human Resource Paradox
This week would definitely be remembered in history for the images from the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics. It was a truly breathtaking show – going through the 5000 years of history of China and the performances proved that China has arrived on the world stage. It was without doubt the most impressive start to any Olympics of the near past. These Olympics go on to prove that this century is going to be an Asian Century if not Chinese. For all that we know, China might emerge as the winners in these Olympics since their athletes and sportsmen have been striving hard for more than ten years for their moment of glory.
Of course, it makes us also think as to why we as a nation, inspite of being second to China in population, struggle to get a single medal in the Olympics. There are many reasons for the same and many of them are as applicable in the Sports field as in any other field. Infact, we have our limitations in sports, due to lack of proper infrastructure and training facilities as also attitude and mindset of society in general towards Sports. What worries everyone is that will this also lead to our failure in achieving our potential in the economic arena also.
Recently Goldman Sachs' have come out with their report on India, titled "Ten Things for India to Achieve its 2050 Potential", which lists out as to the measures that India should adopt to harness the demographic dividends likely to accrue on account of its young population. From 2000 to 2020, India’s population is expected to increase by 310 million, about the same size as the population of United States today. India will in effect create the equivalent of another US, and for those of working age between 2000 and 2020, India will create the equivalent of the combined working population of France, Germany, Italy and the UK. Thus if our economy can productively employ everyone, then we will be on our way to attain the status of a developed nation by 2020.
Goldman’ Sachs’ goes on to identify 13 variables that are crucial to productivity and growth sustainability. These 13 variables include Rule of Law, Corruption, Political Stability, Life Expectancy, Inflation, External Debt, Government Balance, Investment, Schooling, Openness, Computers, Mobiles and Internet.
Of these Governance is the most vital as in the absence of Good Governance, efficient delivery systems and effective implementation, we will find it difficult to educate our citizens, build infrastructure, increase agricultural productivity, and ensure that the fruits of economic growth are well-distributed. The problems manifest in various forms – inspite of we being a democracy, accountability is limited and voters are not really supreme, Citizens are not organised to demand better services and the role of the state is blurred as both a regulator to ensure adequate services and a producer of services. Citizens do not have the ability to hold service providers to account, as the latter do not depend on them for financing. The report offers suggestions to resolve these issues, by achieving greater accountability to the citizen, unbundling of the government's roles as regulator and provider of services, extending autonomy for service providers, and ensuring greater ability of citizens to hold service providers to account for the services they deliver. As an example, it recommends Public-private partnerships. Allowing the private sector to provide public services in wide-ranging areas such as health, primary education, building infrastructure, water supply and inner-city transport would solve several important problems. It would enable the government to fulfill its obligations to supply core services, which are badly served. Citizens would exercise choice over providers, and it would clearly separate the role of provider and regulator, with the government becoming the latter.
Reading the report, one is forced to think as to what ramifications it has for Nagaland. As per Census of India, our projected population on 1st March 2008 is 21.87 lakhs as compared to 19.90 lakhs in 2001. In 1981 our populations was 7.75 lakhs and in 1991 it was 12.09 lakhs. Thus in the 27 years from 1981 to 2008, our population has increased by around 14 lakhs. This is the segment of population that we commonly refer to as the youth and it only goes ahead to prove the fact that around 70% of our population are below the age of 30. The question is that if we leave out the school going population, still those between 18 to 35 years of age constitute almost half of our population and much more than our present working force. If only we could gainfully employ this section of our population, it will mean a lot to our economy and definitely will lead to prosperity and well being of all.
Thus the need to ensure adequate growth in employment opportunities to provide productive employment for the continuing increase in the population and the labour force is the most important problem for us. In the last few years, there has been an increased Government spending on various schemes and programmes, but they have not led to a commensurate expansion in employment. Employment opportunities in Government are limited due to various factors. Processes of privatization have been initiated in various sectors but they also create an environment which is not conducive to expanding employment in the organized private sector. The net result of these forces is a very slow expansion in employment opportunities in the organized sector, leading to rise in unemployment rates and growing frustration among the youth. The problem is perceived to be especially severe for educated youth, who have high expectations about the quality of employment opportunities that should come their way.
Along with this we also have the classic employability problem. We have expanded educational facilities in the last few years and our colleges are producing quite a number of graduates. However less than 20 % of the graduates are considered suitable by employers for direct employment making skills shortage one of the key risks to sustainable growth. On the other hand we also have the classic employment problem wherein there are many jobs available in the society that are not taken by our youth and they are actually availed by migrants from neighboring States. Infact a recent study by Evaluation Department showed that a significant portion of the economy and income is in the hands of the migrants. The question is why can’s our youth take up these jobs. One reason has been lack of relevant skill sets amongst the youth in particular with regard to jobs in the unorganized sector. Another reason is the lack of interest shown by many amongst the youth to take up jobs involving labour or in retailing and hawking vegetables etc. This co existence of low employability of the available work force alongside vast numbers of unemployed is a classic Human Resource Paradox.
Given the urgent need for equipping the blue collar as well as the white collar workforce, with the requisite knowledge and skills to participate in the process of economic growth and development appropriate policy initiatives are necessary. While short term initiatives could entail design of special policies and programmes focused entirely on skill development, in the long term, a careful re look at policy imperatives in the Education system becomes necessary. The declaration of Year of Capacity Building will definitely be able to address some of the issues.
I am sure this is a topic that requires much more thought and much more space than this column can offer. I look forward to views and suggestions from all, specially the youth on how we can overcome these problems and paradoxes and work out a strategy that gives us the opportunity to leverage our human resource potential in creating an era of progress and prosperity.
Have a nice week ahead.
This week would definitely be remembered in history for the images from the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics. It was a truly breathtaking show – going through the 5000 years of history of China and the performances proved that China has arrived on the world stage. It was without doubt the most impressive start to any Olympics of the near past. These Olympics go on to prove that this century is going to be an Asian Century if not Chinese. For all that we know, China might emerge as the winners in these Olympics since their athletes and sportsmen have been striving hard for more than ten years for their moment of glory.
Of course, it makes us also think as to why we as a nation, inspite of being second to China in population, struggle to get a single medal in the Olympics. There are many reasons for the same and many of them are as applicable in the Sports field as in any other field. Infact, we have our limitations in sports, due to lack of proper infrastructure and training facilities as also attitude and mindset of society in general towards Sports. What worries everyone is that will this also lead to our failure in achieving our potential in the economic arena also.
Recently Goldman Sachs' have come out with their report on India, titled "Ten Things for India to Achieve its 2050 Potential", which lists out as to the measures that India should adopt to harness the demographic dividends likely to accrue on account of its young population. From 2000 to 2020, India’s population is expected to increase by 310 million, about the same size as the population of United States today. India will in effect create the equivalent of another US, and for those of working age between 2000 and 2020, India will create the equivalent of the combined working population of France, Germany, Italy and the UK. Thus if our economy can productively employ everyone, then we will be on our way to attain the status of a developed nation by 2020.
Goldman’ Sachs’ goes on to identify 13 variables that are crucial to productivity and growth sustainability. These 13 variables include Rule of Law, Corruption, Political Stability, Life Expectancy, Inflation, External Debt, Government Balance, Investment, Schooling, Openness, Computers, Mobiles and Internet.
Of these Governance is the most vital as in the absence of Good Governance, efficient delivery systems and effective implementation, we will find it difficult to educate our citizens, build infrastructure, increase agricultural productivity, and ensure that the fruits of economic growth are well-distributed. The problems manifest in various forms – inspite of we being a democracy, accountability is limited and voters are not really supreme, Citizens are not organised to demand better services and the role of the state is blurred as both a regulator to ensure adequate services and a producer of services. Citizens do not have the ability to hold service providers to account, as the latter do not depend on them for financing. The report offers suggestions to resolve these issues, by achieving greater accountability to the citizen, unbundling of the government's roles as regulator and provider of services, extending autonomy for service providers, and ensuring greater ability of citizens to hold service providers to account for the services they deliver. As an example, it recommends Public-private partnerships. Allowing the private sector to provide public services in wide-ranging areas such as health, primary education, building infrastructure, water supply and inner-city transport would solve several important problems. It would enable the government to fulfill its obligations to supply core services, which are badly served. Citizens would exercise choice over providers, and it would clearly separate the role of provider and regulator, with the government becoming the latter.
Reading the report, one is forced to think as to what ramifications it has for Nagaland. As per Census of India, our projected population on 1st March 2008 is 21.87 lakhs as compared to 19.90 lakhs in 2001. In 1981 our populations was 7.75 lakhs and in 1991 it was 12.09 lakhs. Thus in the 27 years from 1981 to 2008, our population has increased by around 14 lakhs. This is the segment of population that we commonly refer to as the youth and it only goes ahead to prove the fact that around 70% of our population are below the age of 30. The question is that if we leave out the school going population, still those between 18 to 35 years of age constitute almost half of our population and much more than our present working force. If only we could gainfully employ this section of our population, it will mean a lot to our economy and definitely will lead to prosperity and well being of all.
Thus the need to ensure adequate growth in employment opportunities to provide productive employment for the continuing increase in the population and the labour force is the most important problem for us. In the last few years, there has been an increased Government spending on various schemes and programmes, but they have not led to a commensurate expansion in employment. Employment opportunities in Government are limited due to various factors. Processes of privatization have been initiated in various sectors but they also create an environment which is not conducive to expanding employment in the organized private sector. The net result of these forces is a very slow expansion in employment opportunities in the organized sector, leading to rise in unemployment rates and growing frustration among the youth. The problem is perceived to be especially severe for educated youth, who have high expectations about the quality of employment opportunities that should come their way.
Along with this we also have the classic employability problem. We have expanded educational facilities in the last few years and our colleges are producing quite a number of graduates. However less than 20 % of the graduates are considered suitable by employers for direct employment making skills shortage one of the key risks to sustainable growth. On the other hand we also have the classic employment problem wherein there are many jobs available in the society that are not taken by our youth and they are actually availed by migrants from neighboring States. Infact a recent study by Evaluation Department showed that a significant portion of the economy and income is in the hands of the migrants. The question is why can’s our youth take up these jobs. One reason has been lack of relevant skill sets amongst the youth in particular with regard to jobs in the unorganized sector. Another reason is the lack of interest shown by many amongst the youth to take up jobs involving labour or in retailing and hawking vegetables etc. This co existence of low employability of the available work force alongside vast numbers of unemployed is a classic Human Resource Paradox.
Given the urgent need for equipping the blue collar as well as the white collar workforce, with the requisite knowledge and skills to participate in the process of economic growth and development appropriate policy initiatives are necessary. While short term initiatives could entail design of special policies and programmes focused entirely on skill development, in the long term, a careful re look at policy imperatives in the Education system becomes necessary. The declaration of Year of Capacity Building will definitely be able to address some of the issues.
I am sure this is a topic that requires much more thought and much more space than this column can offer. I look forward to views and suggestions from all, specially the youth on how we can overcome these problems and paradoxes and work out a strategy that gives us the opportunity to leverage our human resource potential in creating an era of progress and prosperity.
Have a nice week ahead.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Miracle of the Han River
Miracle of the Han River
I must say that last two months for me have truly been a learning experience. I was away on training in Mussoorie. This was a compulsory training for IAS officers and was conducted by IIM Bangalore in association with Maxwell School of Public Policy, Syracuse University. We also had an international module for our training, for which Government of India had tied up with the KDI School of Public Policy, Seoul. This module from May 18th to 31st was one of the best training exposures that I have ever had. Till, we landed in Seoul, I had a different perspective on Korea. Now I am totally impressed by the Miracle, the Koreans have achieved in the last 30 years, truly the Miracle of the Han river, the river on which Seoul is situated.
South Korea is a nation that has braved all odds to transform into a developed nation with in a span of just 3 decades. From a per capita income of around 100 dollars in late 1960’s today they stand tall with a per capita income of more than 20000 dollars. And all this has been achieved inspite of the fact that they have no natural resources – No Oil, No Iron Ore, No Coal. Yet they are one of the leading producers of steel, have 40 % share of Ship building industry and companies like Hyundai, Samsung, LG, SK and POSCO are true world leaders. Their only resource is human resources and they have invested heavily into it – with a world class Education System, from Primary levels to the University levels and a firm resolve to excel and sense of discipline has helped them leap frog into the top bracket of developed nations.
How have they done this. South Korea has a population of 48 million and is strategically located between China and Japan, with hostile North Korea on its north. They have a GDP of 888 billion US dollars and a literacy rate of 98 %. Historically Korea has faced several invasions on its land. Korean history dates back to 2333 BC when it was a tribal state in the Ko Chosun Period. It faced the Han invasion during this period. In 37 BC, Korea comprised of Three Kingdoms of Koguryo, Paekche and Shilla kingdoms. After lots of infighting, Shilla dynasty ruled Korea in 668 AD. At this time, Korea faced the Tang invasion. This was followed by the Koryo dynasty in 918 AD when Buddhism reached Korea. Around this time, the Mongols invaded Korea. By 1392 AD, the Chosun Dynasty was ruling in Korea and at this time Confucianism prevailed. Japanese attacked Korea in 1910 and it underwent a long period of Japanese occupation. World War II was followed by the Korean War which ultimately divided Korea into the North and the South. North Korea went the Communist way whereas South Korea prospered under democracy. Thus historically Korea has been subject to foreign influence. China and Japan have always eyed Korea and later Russia, US and Western Europe regard Korea as a key strategic partner for the whole region.
It is interesting to know that almost 50 % of Koreans do not follow any religion. Around 23 % are Buddhists and 20 % are Protestant Christians. 6 % are Catholics and remaining 1 % follow other religions. There is a strong influence of Confucianism amongst Koreans and most people do follow the five cardinal principles of Confucianism:
1. Filial piety to parents
2. Loyalty to the King
3. Respect for the elders
4. Obedience to husband
5. Trust amongst parents
Of course, in modern times, this has led to the values like Respect for authority and family traditions, social harmony and relationship and emphasis on education and hard work. The general Confucian principle has been:
“When the moral character is cultivated, the family will be regulated; when the family is regulated, the state will be in order. When the state is in order, the whole world will be pacified.”
Along with these values and ethical principles, another feature of Koreans is that they are extremely hard working. As per the OECD fact book 2008, an average employee worked for 2357 hours in Korea. This is quite significant compared to other countries – USA : 1797 hours, Japan : 1784 hours, France : 1564 hours and Germany : 1436 hours. I am sure we are no where near those figures. These figures have greatly contributed to their booming economy. Their economy has undergone a process of liberalization and industrial restructuring with the political leadership resolving firmly to create world class infrastructure along with significant investments in Education and Health. Korea spends about 7.5 % of its GDP on Education, which is amongst the highest in the world. They were amongst the first to realize the limitations Agriculture has vis a vis increased incomes, and systematically ensured that Service sector and Manufacturing employs more people. In 1960’s around 65 % Koreans were employed in Agriculture and today it is less than 10 %.
Thus strong political leadership which had vision to invest in Education to create low cost educated work force has contributed greatly to Korean Economic Development. They have a high savings rate which leads to greater investment and in the 1980’s and 1990’s worked out an Export oriented industrialization that helped them to grow at a fast pace. They also had a lot of trust with the Big Businesses and Government really played the role of a facilitator in allowing companies like Hyundai, Samsung, LG to Dream Big and Plan Well. Korean companies are truly globalized and this they achieve through Capacity Building by collaborating with R & D centres, Universities, suppliers and consultants. R & D Expenditure in Korea is almost 3 % of GDP which is next only to Japan. Broadband Internet penetration is the highest in Korea – almost 98 % of households have access to Internet. The Korean students are amongst the best in the world, though questions have been raised on their system of over burdening the kids – many of them come back from school at midnight – leading to lack of innovations, creativity and emotional stress.
Korea faces many more challenges, the key being an aging population. Economic Growth is bound to slow down as the proportion of working population vis a vis dependent population is coming down. However, the enterprise of Koreans and their capacity for hard work and sense of discipline will ensure that they continue to achieve better things.
All this has lessons that can really help us also to change things for the better. Human nature is basically nothing but a combination of four drives. Drive to Acquire is inherent which manifests itself in the form of efforts to acquire money, status and power. Second is the Drive to Bond, which explains relationships, networking and the community approach to life. The third drive is the Drive to Learn, which motivates us to get Education & Knowledge and also to seek answers in Religion. Then there is the drive to defend which relates to formation of Nations, Families and Belief systems. It is the sum total of the four drives, and having the right mix, which leads to success and achievements.
There are many other aspects of Korea that thrilled us and made us think and reflect. Hopefully, I should be able to muse more on Korea in the days to come. Not only muse, but also to adopt some of the Korean ways for our benefit.
Abhishek Singh
I must say that last two months for me have truly been a learning experience. I was away on training in Mussoorie. This was a compulsory training for IAS officers and was conducted by IIM Bangalore in association with Maxwell School of Public Policy, Syracuse University. We also had an international module for our training, for which Government of India had tied up with the KDI School of Public Policy, Seoul. This module from May 18th to 31st was one of the best training exposures that I have ever had. Till, we landed in Seoul, I had a different perspective on Korea. Now I am totally impressed by the Miracle, the Koreans have achieved in the last 30 years, truly the Miracle of the Han river, the river on which Seoul is situated.
South Korea is a nation that has braved all odds to transform into a developed nation with in a span of just 3 decades. From a per capita income of around 100 dollars in late 1960’s today they stand tall with a per capita income of more than 20000 dollars. And all this has been achieved inspite of the fact that they have no natural resources – No Oil, No Iron Ore, No Coal. Yet they are one of the leading producers of steel, have 40 % share of Ship building industry and companies like Hyundai, Samsung, LG, SK and POSCO are true world leaders. Their only resource is human resources and they have invested heavily into it – with a world class Education System, from Primary levels to the University levels and a firm resolve to excel and sense of discipline has helped them leap frog into the top bracket of developed nations.
How have they done this. South Korea has a population of 48 million and is strategically located between China and Japan, with hostile North Korea on its north. They have a GDP of 888 billion US dollars and a literacy rate of 98 %. Historically Korea has faced several invasions on its land. Korean history dates back to 2333 BC when it was a tribal state in the Ko Chosun Period. It faced the Han invasion during this period. In 37 BC, Korea comprised of Three Kingdoms of Koguryo, Paekche and Shilla kingdoms. After lots of infighting, Shilla dynasty ruled Korea in 668 AD. At this time, Korea faced the Tang invasion. This was followed by the Koryo dynasty in 918 AD when Buddhism reached Korea. Around this time, the Mongols invaded Korea. By 1392 AD, the Chosun Dynasty was ruling in Korea and at this time Confucianism prevailed. Japanese attacked Korea in 1910 and it underwent a long period of Japanese occupation. World War II was followed by the Korean War which ultimately divided Korea into the North and the South. North Korea went the Communist way whereas South Korea prospered under democracy. Thus historically Korea has been subject to foreign influence. China and Japan have always eyed Korea and later Russia, US and Western Europe regard Korea as a key strategic partner for the whole region.
It is interesting to know that almost 50 % of Koreans do not follow any religion. Around 23 % are Buddhists and 20 % are Protestant Christians. 6 % are Catholics and remaining 1 % follow other religions. There is a strong influence of Confucianism amongst Koreans and most people do follow the five cardinal principles of Confucianism:
1. Filial piety to parents
2. Loyalty to the King
3. Respect for the elders
4. Obedience to husband
5. Trust amongst parents
Of course, in modern times, this has led to the values like Respect for authority and family traditions, social harmony and relationship and emphasis on education and hard work. The general Confucian principle has been:
“When the moral character is cultivated, the family will be regulated; when the family is regulated, the state will be in order. When the state is in order, the whole world will be pacified.”
Along with these values and ethical principles, another feature of Koreans is that they are extremely hard working. As per the OECD fact book 2008, an average employee worked for 2357 hours in Korea. This is quite significant compared to other countries – USA : 1797 hours, Japan : 1784 hours, France : 1564 hours and Germany : 1436 hours. I am sure we are no where near those figures. These figures have greatly contributed to their booming economy. Their economy has undergone a process of liberalization and industrial restructuring with the political leadership resolving firmly to create world class infrastructure along with significant investments in Education and Health. Korea spends about 7.5 % of its GDP on Education, which is amongst the highest in the world. They were amongst the first to realize the limitations Agriculture has vis a vis increased incomes, and systematically ensured that Service sector and Manufacturing employs more people. In 1960’s around 65 % Koreans were employed in Agriculture and today it is less than 10 %.
Thus strong political leadership which had vision to invest in Education to create low cost educated work force has contributed greatly to Korean Economic Development. They have a high savings rate which leads to greater investment and in the 1980’s and 1990’s worked out an Export oriented industrialization that helped them to grow at a fast pace. They also had a lot of trust with the Big Businesses and Government really played the role of a facilitator in allowing companies like Hyundai, Samsung, LG to Dream Big and Plan Well. Korean companies are truly globalized and this they achieve through Capacity Building by collaborating with R & D centres, Universities, suppliers and consultants. R & D Expenditure in Korea is almost 3 % of GDP which is next only to Japan. Broadband Internet penetration is the highest in Korea – almost 98 % of households have access to Internet. The Korean students are amongst the best in the world, though questions have been raised on their system of over burdening the kids – many of them come back from school at midnight – leading to lack of innovations, creativity and emotional stress.
Korea faces many more challenges, the key being an aging population. Economic Growth is bound to slow down as the proportion of working population vis a vis dependent population is coming down. However, the enterprise of Koreans and their capacity for hard work and sense of discipline will ensure that they continue to achieve better things.
All this has lessons that can really help us also to change things for the better. Human nature is basically nothing but a combination of four drives. Drive to Acquire is inherent which manifests itself in the form of efforts to acquire money, status and power. Second is the Drive to Bond, which explains relationships, networking and the community approach to life. The third drive is the Drive to Learn, which motivates us to get Education & Knowledge and also to seek answers in Religion. Then there is the drive to defend which relates to formation of Nations, Families and Belief systems. It is the sum total of the four drives, and having the right mix, which leads to success and achievements.
There are many other aspects of Korea that thrilled us and made us think and reflect. Hopefully, I should be able to muse more on Korea in the days to come. Not only muse, but also to adopt some of the Korean ways for our benefit.
Abhishek Singh
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