| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : MARCH 1, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| INTERNATIONAL -- READERS REPORT
Getting the Right Take on Europe (int'l edition) I found your story trumpeting the notion that the U.S. and European Union are ''steadily converging'' (''The Atlantic Century,'' Cover Story, Feb. 8) a bit odd in light of the well-known disputes between the two giants over bananas, beef, barley, cell phones, aircraft, cinema, and much, much more. This has brought Washington and Brussels to the brink of a trade war. Your readers would have been better served if you had focused on an item that may be more symptomatic of future trends: the mid-January meeting of Asia-Europe finance ministers in Frankfurt, where Malaysian ideas about capital controls were echoed by Germany's leftist Finance Minister, Oskar Lafontaine, and others. The proposal by Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa that Asian nations should abandon their traditional dollar link and peg their currencies to a basket that includes the yen and the increasingly prominent euro was also greeted with warmth. Since the parliament of Japan, like those of France and Germany, has a complement of Communists, not to mention Socialists, it may be more realistic to speak of a ''convergence'' of Europe and Asia, as against the more conservative nostrums emerging from the U.S. Gerald Horne Chapel Hill, N.C. Thank you for the competent and informative journalism you provide to readers all over the world. I enjoy reading your product, one of the few that provides an international perspective on business. The economic integration of the U.S. and Europe is picking up speed and will shape the global economy in years to come. As much as I support this statement, I do not agree with all of the identified consequences and symptoms. In my opinion, U.S. and European management styles are converging more slowly and in a different way than proposed in the article. While the English language and U.S. management concepts are clearly entering European boardrooms, their strength arises through the adaptation to the local environment. The historically grounded ''stakeholder value'' perspective is unlikely to be totally replaced by the American ''shareholder value'' concept. A strong feeling of social responsibility will continue to exist in the European business and political landscape. The long-term orientation underlying this perspective is not a weakness but rather a strength of the ''Continent.'' Quarterly profits and share price alone are unlikely to guide businesses on this side of the Atlantic. Moreover, the heterogeneity of European cultures and management styles could be a prime source of innovation. It may even have the potential to create the coming ''rules of the game'' in business. General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. have shown how to get a bloody nose by simply imposing American management styles and product portfolios on their German ''daughters,'' which are deeply rooted in the local market and culture. The European success story does not exist because of U.S. assistance. In contrast, while friendly words from Washington about the good start of the euro are a question of political correctness, the new currency may charm Asian and Latin American countries enough to slow their absorption of almost unlimited amounts of greenbacks. Corporate Europe is not a welcome competitor for the U.S. The European companies are getting ready to profit from their single currency and economy by accepting the upcoming challenges and competitive environment. Export-oriented as European economies traditionally have been, the next challenge may be the global one. Christian Langen Mueden/Mosel, Germany _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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