Sunday, March 23, 2003

Chirac and Bush - More than just two guys who don't get along Great Article on Why the French and don't like America ( include Anglo Saxons as well) A review in Foreign Affairs of two French books on Anti American feeling in France "America's failures and crimes are the patrimony of anti-Americanism, its treasures and its darlings. They inflame and disseminate anti-Americanism, but they are not its root cause. For that we must look to American success, American power, and America's consequent ability to thwart the ambitions of other states and impose its agenda on the rest of the world. France is not the only country in Europe or the world whose ambitions were frustrated by the British and American hegemonies. France is not the only country which, left to its own devices, would embrace a kinder and gentler, if slower, form of capitalist transformation than the one that the Anglo-Saxon model imposes. France is not the only country in which intellectual and social elites dread the restructuring and decentralization that the Anglo-Saxon model brings in its train. Nor is it the only country where the state fears the loss of authority and power to Anglo-Saxon-driven globalization, with its attendant requirements of low taxes, transparency, and equal treatment for foreign investors and firms. The challenge for Americans and non-Americans alike is not to end anti-Americanism; only the collapse of American power could accomplish that task. Today, the task is to manage pragmatically the resentments, irritations, and real grievances that inevitably accompany the rise to power of one nation, one culture, and one social model in a complex, divided, and passionate world" 3:21:48 PM    comment []

Provoking the Muslim World - An Important reason for not pre-empting in Iraq? Much has been written and is being written about the risk of provoking the Muslim world. But isn't the Muslim world already provoked? Many seek to find the roots of terror in poverty etc. If only we worked harder to relieve poverty in the world, we would have less terror school of thought.. But haven't most of the acts of international terror in the last 30 years originated from the Muslim world? What is the trajectory for this movement? Was it diminishing prior to the last year or getting steeper?  Can such a movement be appeased or corrected by the west somehow?  When we seek to answer this question we need to look at a core idea. This is the importance of the concept of  the "Other" which is central to much of Islamic culture. It has its roots in Tribal life and is an important tenet that we all share. We all fear the Other but in the secular west we have told ourselves that this is no longer acceptable. But it seems that in much of the Muslim world the Other is the paramount way of escaping self responsibility for poverty and for oppression. The "Other" enables you to externalize all your problems. The Other demands that you externalize your problems. So if you were a Palestinian who was expelled from Kuwait after the 1991 war - you can only blame Israel or the US. As a Saudi, not from the Royal family, you have to explain your exclusion from the gravy train by blaming Israel and the US. As an unemployed Egyptian or Algerian it is easier for you to blame the west or to seek redemption in a fundamentalist regime. Can this movement be appeased? When you see how deeply rooted this need to blame the Other is and how terrible are the life circumstances for many Muslim states it is hard to see how any form of appeasement could work. How will life in Egypt play out? How will life in Saudi Arabia turn out? Will Algeria become a fundamentalist state? What will happen in Indonesia in the next 20 years? There are titanic forces building in Muslim states that will have to be expressed. I can think of little that would head these forces off. What are the risks? Many hope that we are not living through an age of Clash of Civilizations. But the reality is that there are two World religions today. A secular, protestant based religion of economic progress and a Fundamental interpretation of Islam. I think that it is is naive not to acknowledge that these forces exist, that they will increase even if we had not intervened in Iraq and that these forces will dominate our generation. 2:43:43 PM    comment []

War and North American Airlines - Why Southwest Airlines is Different I suspect that an important casualty of this war will be the traditional North American "Full Service" airline. I suspect that they cannot be reformed as their basic flaw is one of culture. Yes Southwest have a number of operational differences such as a one model fleet, no hubs, no expensive reservation system and so on. But the real difference is in managerial culture. Southwest is where "Servant Leadership" is exemplified. Where the senior guys take the first pay cuts. Where staffing is mainly on attitude etc.  "They don't' have a unions" you say. But Southwest is 85% unionized - they have different relationship with their unions. “Southwest’s secret is simple…You fly one type of plane, you concentrate on short, point to point routes, you don’t serve food and you don’t assign seats”. Kelleher slammed his fist down on the desk “Anyone can copy that, and they have. But they can’t copy the culture!” Here is what the Chairman of Southwest Airlines, Herb Kelleher, thinks about this point. “Manage in good times to prepare for bad times. To succeed in today’s marketplace, the company cross trains employees  and increases their skill base so that individuals at all levels can take personal responsibility for keeping the company marketable, for maintaining high trust relationships, and identifying effective options for dealing with transitions.” In addition Kelleher and his leadership team inspire loyalty by communicating openly and truthfully with their staff, respecting the life work balance and fostering continuous learning. Southwest employees know that their voice matters and that they can implement new programs, make decisions and help customers in times of need. A guiding principle is: if you use your best judgment to do what is right, your leaders will stand behind you. Donna Conover, EVP Customer Service (an interesting tile in itself) at Southwest Airlines explains that the company has high expectations for each employee: “Just doing your job well does not make you a good employee. The attitude and spirit towards others complete the needs the company has of the Employee. As leaders if we allow lack of teamwork or low productivity, we are being unfair to the rest of the team”. My bet is that United and Air Canada will be gone in 6 months. For us in Canada this will leave a huge vacuum. The worst move would be to prop up the Zombie. The best would be to allow the vacuum to be filled by a new system. The key will be culture 11:30:46 AM    comment []

Baghdad - By Satellite Using this tool you can see all the key landmarks and move around the city 8:39:46 AM    comment []

John Wayne - Lessons for Our Time Another great review by Richard Gayle of this time Red River. Another film of Wayne of when good intentions drive terrible actions and dissent. More Richard! 8:26:09 AM    comment []