Why the Quality of Goods varies around the World
Why are manufactured products such as interior doors around the world not more consistent? Why, for example, would most people rather buy a German car than one made in Tunisia (I am picking a random African country)?
Why in an ever more connected world is there no consistency of quality? It would certainly seem reasonable that with the internet in place everybody has the same info and could get the same know-how.
Yet, that is not so.
I propose 3 major reasons for continuing gaps in quality of goods. Arranged in order of importance, these are:
1) Character Traits
2) Attitude Towards Money
3) Continuing Exploitation
Character Traits
What character traits produce good merchandise? I am sure most people will know or at least, should know this – for they are the very traits that distinguish good from bad. You can only produce that which you are.
Here is my list of the character traits of a given population of people that will be able to produce a quality product:
– Honest
– Hard Working and Efficient
– Attention to Detail
– Not Wanting to be Wrong
– Wanting to be Admired
– Ashamed when Perceived as Lacking
– Competitive
Now, the opposite traits will logically produce a low quality product.
Character traits are the single most determining factor in quality of products because the product is just an extension of the person.
Attitude Towards Money
The attitude towards money could be grouped as a trait but I have chosen to make it an individual point because it is a little different and more far reaching.
By ‘attitude towards money’ I am referring to a person’s sense of how much is enough. How much money do you need to make before you say: “Okay, I will take a rest now because I have enough money (for the day, the month, the year, my life, etc)?”
The person that has an absolute sense of how much is enough will produce a higher quality product. You might think that it should be the other way around – the person who cannot get enough will produce the better product because he works so long and hard, continually striving for more money (success) and, thereby, producing faster and better.
If that were so, Germany would not be a leader in performance machinery; neither would Japan make some of the best cars I know. It is the countries like the USA that have an almost insatiable appetite for more, that produce a less-than-optimal product. The same goes for China or India where people often work long, hard hours without having weekends off and in the end the consumer gets a feel that the articles coming out the countries are mass-produced and mediocre at best.
So, chasing after money will not make you produce better quality items (such as Modern Interior Doors). In fact, the countries where people value their free time so much that working hours and mandatory free-time are strictly regulated, excel in quality production.
Continuing Exploitation
Lastly, the continuing exploitation of the 3rd world means that a poor country will not have its efforts rewarded. All the profit coming out of the labour of the people flows to another place – a vicious cycle that is almost unbreakable. Producing quality products can be possible for any country but in order to get to the point where you can, you cannot have your profits leave the country. This is a physical and emotional problem – physical because monetary profits are inconsequential and emotional because if you do not see the profit of your labour you lose heart.
All in all, optimal conditions for Quality Produced Goods are as follows:
– Character traits that generate shame for anything less than perfection
– The sense to balance the thirst for profit with the need for leisure time
– An environment that allows for achievements and rewards to stay within its borders
Well worth thinking about.
Authors websites: Frameless Doors, Invisible Doors, Concealed Doors