On poor management of corporate Australia
George writes: Re. “The ham-fisted bosses who drive Aussie job losses” (Tuesday)
Since the Karpin Report (does anyone remember it) reviews of “management” in Australia have come to a common conclusion. Productivity, whether it be capital or labour has been limited by management incompetence, lack of training, arrogance and general culture of “we’re at the top so don’t dare question us.”
Nothing has changed in three decades other than the magnitude of their salaries, across the board from all levels of private enterprise to public enterprise. At the head of the charge is probably the mining industry but the other sectors of our economy aren’t far behind. They have learned new tricks, but not how to improve performance e.g. bonuses are now described as “salary at risk” so that you and I might think that they are subject to some requirement of performance but don’t expect real change except increases to the salaries that ‘management’ demands as their fair share.
On NAFTA
Wayne Robinson writes: Re. “Trump’s trade tantrums spell trouble for Trudeau” (Tuesday)
“NAFTA was also supposed to make it easier for certain goods to cross the three borders, faster and with less officialdom and paperwork.”
Come again? I thought there were only two borders, Mexico/America and America/Canada. When did Canada and Mexico get a border?
But thanks to Alaska, there are two borders between the USA and Canada.
Wayne Robinson asks “When did Canada and Mexico get a border?” They have a border in the same way that Australia has borders with even, now, a so-called Border Force to protect it. Every international airport and seaport is a border, as is the whole coastline.