Japanese subtlety

Via rediff ,

'Indians are not good at manufacturing'

Thus spake nuclear engineer-turned-management guru Kenichi Ohmae,

"You have said that India's future is only in the service sector. Why?

Indians are not good at manufacturing. Even if they do what we tell them to do, they always need to understand why they are doing it that way. They are more inquisitive than the Chinese. Maybe it's because of their ability to find zero in the numbers. But in manufacturing when you have a successful formula, what you look for is implementation, right? Indians always ask these fundamental questions.

But isn't asking 5-why's a manufacturing concept?

(Smiles) Yes, that's right. At the management level, it's good. But at the shopfloor level, it's a bit too much. India is capable of excelling in the service sector.
In developed countries, the service sector is 67 per cent of the economy, manufacturing is less than 20 per cent while the rest is the primary sector. The Chinese are good at manufacturing, but they have not even begun to compete in the service sector.
India in services will have a larger share of the world market, be it hotel management, IT systems development, medical tourism, medical research, design, games or backrooms. There is an endless list of things that India could do. Therefore, it can get a larger share of the global economy.

But isn't the competition as severe in services?

Competition is mainly from the United States. India's biggest competitor is going to be the US. The US is currently using India as a sub-contractor. When India finally develops its own capabilities, the US will be its largest competitor. India is still a top student in the sub-contracting class.

Many Indian enterprises are acquiring manufacturing firms in cross-border acquisitions. Do you still state that India's future is in services?

(Crosses his heart) How do you say good luck in Hindi? I wish them good luck."


What was this, backhanded complement ? Or was this affirmation of argumentative Indian ?

The cliches we conceive of .....