International -- Readers Report
More Ideas, Please, to Make the World Cleaner
"Why the world needs new thinking" is the title of the prologue to "25 ideas for a changing world" (Cover Story, Aug. 19-26), and I couldn't agree more with the sentiment. However, I was disappointed with the dearth of articles about the industrialized world's production and consumption habits and, in general, its attitude toward the environment. Although accounting reforms are certainly relevant and timely, unless business and consumers adopt a longer-term, more holistic view, Enron & Co. will pale in comparison with the upheaval created by unsustainable business practices during the next century.
Marc Weatherill
Kunming, China
While I know that "Small is profitable" (Cover Story, Aug. 19-26) for Unilever PLC, anyone who has traveled in the developing countries where Unilever sells its sachet products can tell you what an enormous environmental cost all that packaging is inflicting on waste-management systems.
Unilever should use some of that profit to clean up the brand-name piles of trash accumulating throughout countries such as Thailand and India.
Whitney Small
Hong Kong
Can Sumo Get Its Groove Back?
Japan Sumo Assn.'s Uragoro Takasago was completely wrong when he seemed to give the impression that sumo might still have a future when it can capitalize on its timelessness and kabuki-like pageantry to boost its appeal to the young ("Sumo is losing this shoving match," Asian Business, Sept. 2). It is exactly the timelessness and kabuki-like pageantry that keep young people away by making them feel that both the sport and the wrestlers are not cool.
The wrestlers are so fat as to look really ugly, which is not the case with Junichi Inamoto in soccer or Ichiro Suzuki in baseball. Keeping tradition is one thing, but doing well as a business is quite another. The Japan Sumo Assn. should stop trying to sell the sport, which is steadily losing customers. Then it can survive on some kind of subsidy as kabuki and bunraku do now--if sumo is really worth our tax money.
Naomi Haga
Osaka
What sumo needs is another Chiyonofuji, nicknamed "Wolf," whose compact, muscular 264 pounds moved like lightning to dispose of his blubbery, behemoth opponents with expeditious eloquence. What's timeless isn't sumo but the individual with strength, wiles, and character who rises above the crowd.
Michael G. Driver
Ichihara City, Japan
I find it hard to believe that the traditional diet of the sumo wrestler is "washed down with 85 liters of beer every day." If this were true, I'm certain this would be a world record.
Jack de Lowe
Raanana, Israel
Editor's note: This error appeared in our Asian Edition. It should have read "several liters," not 85 liters.
Why Japan's Culture Leads to Corruption
Having lived and worked in Japan for five of the past six years, I found it easy to believe Hiroaki Kushioka's story of corporate hazing, following his exposure of price-fixing by his employer, Tonami Transportation Co. ("Giving a louder blast," Asian Business, Sept. 2). His actions are seen by many older (and often senior) Japanese as contrary to the interests of the group--whether the group is his employer or society as a whole. Yet this excuse for silence has led to a Japan that is riddled with corporate and political corruption.
I can only imagine what would happen if investigators started to look into the accounts of Japanese companies. If a scandal such as Enron Corp. could happen in the U.S., it could happen on a far larger scale in Japan--and probably has. But until more people have the moral courage of Kushioka, it may yet be a while before we know about it.
Simon Clayton-Mitchell
Tokyo
Who Destroyed Wall Street's Faith?
"Wall Street's broken spirit" (Working Life, Sept. 2) quotes a Manhattan psychologist as saying, with respect to Wall Street brokers: "Two years ago, these guys were incredible optimists, but they have less faith in the system now."
I suggest that Wall Street brokers look in the mirror. They are the system, and they're the ones that destroyed it. I don't feel sorry for them.
William H. Moore Jr.
Triesen, Liechtenstein
AOL's Business Plan Is "Appalling"
If I had the pitiable task of covering Internet service providers for an investment bank or fund manager, I would immediately downgrade AOL Time Warner Inc. to an emphatic "strong sell" ("Can Miller put the oomph back in AOL?" American News, Aug. 19-26). The business plan AOL outlines is appalling. Recipes? Interviews with celebrities? Customizable Web pages? Say what? The plan reads like something a junior account executive cooked up during the first 10 minutes of a brainstorming session with the ad agency. When was the last time AOL CEO Jonathan F. Miller used the Internet? 1998?
The craftiest move in acquisitions history was when AOL, with no long-range strategic advantage, used its temporary might to buy Time Warner, a company with major strengths and huge talent. There is no reason to stay with AOL, and the plans elegantly betray that fact.
If AOL is looking for someone a little more in touch with the Internet at a fifth of the price of Miller, call me. I'll give you the first 250 hours for free.
Benedict Auld
London
Silicon Glen: Still Taking the High Road
In its discussion of recent job losses, "Clouds over Silicon Glen" (European Business, Sept. 2) fails to mention how well Scotland is doing (relatively). A look at the Alba Centre's Web site and TalentScotland show Scotland is still recruiting design engineers in microelectronics, embedded software, optoelectronics, and telecom. They must still be scarce as most posts come with British visas if required. While there have been job losses, Silicon Glen is still the place to head to if you are an experienced design engineer and want quality of life as well as a challenging job.
Gerald Michaluk
Glasgow
Don't Insult the Taiwanese
I share your concern about the situation along the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and the timing of President Chen Shui-bian's "one side, one country" speech ("Taiwan's angry man," Asian Business, Aug. 26). But labeling Taiwanese as "pesky" is not only inappropriate but also insulting to its 23 million people. And using the words "angry man" to address an elected President sound odd from a democratic country like ours. "Angry man" is more appropriate for addressing the many dictators in this world (Saddam Hussein of Iraq, for one).
David Lin
Hacienda Heights, Calif.
|
Copyright 2002, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
Printer-Friendly Version
