Just in time<\/p>\n
Although no one has presented the present economic situation
\nin this perspective, I believe that the crisis is spelling the
\nend to Asia's soga shosa-led capitalism. Soga-shosa refers to
\nJapanese trading companies. They are part of Japan's strategy to
\nfarm out outdated production methods and technology to its Asian
\nneighbors.<\/p>\n
Asia's less developed economies continue to trail Japan,
\nreceiving the crumbs from the Japanese table in the form of a
\nsteady supply of transfers involving outdated products and
\ntechnology. Has anybody heard of a joint research and development
\nproject between the Japanese and one of its neighbors? I have
\nnever heard of them teaching other Asians their secrets for their
\nfabled top quality production methods.<\/p>\n
The soga-shosa were the grease of the whole strategy to
\nrollover technology to less developed countries. They produce
\nnothing. Their job is to match a producer with a consumer and
\ntalk with the bankers.<\/p>\n
The rollover strategy works like this: For example, the
\nTaiwanese used to work in pineapple plantations. Then they
\nstarted producing tennis rackets and the pineapple production was
\n\"rolled over\" to the Philippines. In the case of the Koreans, it
\nwas plywood. By 1979, Korean plywood manufacturers were moving
\nabroad for cheaper labor as well as to save on transportation.<\/p>\n
As the Taiwanese graduated from tennis rackets they started
\nmaking dot-matrix printers. The tennis rackets were then rolled
\nover to Thailand.<\/p>\n
Outdated technology was always farmed out to a country which
\nhad lower labor costs or cheap raw materials. For the Japanese,
\nit was only a matter of pouring capital into another developing
\ncountry with a more competitive work force. After a country
\nbecame richer and more developed, it could be an export target
\nfor the Japanese to market their goods. They could also transfer
\nhigher technology into the country. The soga-shosa were ready for
\nthat.<\/p>\n
The problem for the latecomers is that a country that keeps
\ncounting on only cheap labor or raw materials is not able to
\ndevelop properly. It is as if such countries could grow but hit
\ntheir heads on the ceiling making it impossible to grow any more.
\nIf countries don't become aware of this, they could end up being
\ntaken advantage of for a long time to come.<\/p>\n
OSVALDO COELHO<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/just-in-time-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }