Mayberry 2005: Question 3 Economies

Student Question: We've been studying in all my classes about that the US economy is basically split into a consumer economy and a corporate economy, where you have consumer to business and business to business. And the effect on outsourcing is kind of an inverse effect where it hurts the consumer economy because Joe Average is losing his job and it helps the corporate economy because they're saving money but if the consumers can't afford to buy anything, then it hurts the corporate economy. How do you figure as business strategists to help alleviate the problem or to help make things more even in your corporations? Like Joe was saying how that the Carlson employees would become IBM employees, so they wouldn't lose their jobs, they'd just be transferred. Is that the only solution or are there others?

Dr. Reimann: Anyone want to take that one?

Joe Dehler: I think we're learning and we're trying to find ways. How can we be good stewards of our employees as well as… and what I've concluded as a senior leader is that many of these decisions either you will make them or the market will make them for you. So one of the things that I discovered when I became a vice president is that I'm in control of much less than I thought I would be. And the market is in control of a lot more than I expected. So in other words the market and your customers will tell you many times what you need to do. And one of the reasons I'm excited in being involved in efforts like the Mayberry Center is because it allows senior leaders from organizations to get together and talk about some of these larger issues for the economy. And so what we're seeing I think is that there are more and more platforms for that discussion take place because all of us want to do the best for our businesses.

Dr. Reimann: I think adding that twist, Joe, that if you don't make that decision as a corporation the marketplace is going to make it for you is very important for students, I think, to perceive because at times some of the literature, newspapers, magazines, and so forth make it sound like it's a motive or the business leader could decide to do otherwise. Well it's true the business leader could decide to do it otherwise but then the marketplace might punish them very severely, including wipe out their company. Then the jobs, not only those jobs, but other jobs, get lost with it. So I think it's very important to see this not so much as, let's say, in the more political sense, even though there are lots of political issues and lots of individual leadership issues involved, it's the market place is driving these changes and the creativity represented by some of the things that were talked about here are ways of adding value to the US economy, keeping good businesses afloat, and having everyone come out a winner even though there is a shift in jobs. And so from your point of view, a) you need to understand it and you need to understand also then how careers will be different from even the careers represented here at the table and sort of surfing, if you will, from one place to another will be extremely important and that also demands the kind of knowledge and flexibility that were talked about today.

Are there any other questions or comments? Yes, sir?