Recent orders
Development and training program IKEA
Development and training program IKEA
Institution
Name Development and training program IKEA
Given that IKEA Company has 50,000 employees and intents to increase workers productivity by setting up some internal software application to aid a training program, the program would do a number of tasks. The tasks would include teaching employees how to make use of Microsoft software programs that include Microsoft windows 7, Microsoft Word 2007, Microsoft Excel 2007, Microsoft PowerPoint 2007, Microsoft Access 2007, and Microsoft Project 2007 (Boivie, 1999). All courses would be made available for offer in the evenings as well as during Saturdays. The courses are supposed to be taught by qualified persons who are volunteer employees. Each instructor will receive a compensation of $40 for every hour worked. This paper is about operations management. The paper will show the way task allocation is done through a project scope management.
Unlike the modern days, employees in the past were being sent to take courses that were being offered locally by various vendors. This activity was done during company time and made it impossible for employees to take their course outside their working areas. The internal training program was disadvantageous since workers did not have the freedom to have the training elsewhere or have it during their free time. The program also took a significant part of an organization’s time thereby reducing the total time set for work. The aspired program is in contrast meant to save the organization’s time. It will save the IKEA Company a lot of money specifically on training (Boivie, 1999). The program is meant to increase employees’ productivity. Increased productivity will come about from the increased skills. The human resource department typically manages skills development. All employees are given the chance to take part in the skill development program by scheduling their time into the training program. After completion, certification would be done as a way of distinguishing those employees having gone through the program from those who have not (Boivie, 1999). Certification would mean each of the people going through the training program being issued with a certificate to indicate his or her course completion (Boivie, 1999). The human resource department in the employee’s files would keep a copy of each certificate from all employees going through the program.
The biggest issue is the materials of which to make use. Various vendors can offer off-the-shelf training material and it is the work of the management to know which of the various vendors offer the best training materials. Besides, a classroom is needed. Employees also need to be surveyed on their desired courses since not all of the employees would be willing to take the same courses (Boivie, 1999). There would be the need to find qualified instructors who would be willing to work as volunteers. Once the program starts, the company will start offering the course whereby the first one would be offered within a period of six months.
Project Scope Management
The task activities can best be placed using Microsoft Project, which is a software program used in project management. The program is sold Microsoft and is designed to help in assisting project managers in their task of developing plans. The program is also used in assigning resources to various tasks, managing organization’s budget, tracking progress within an organization as well as analyzing workloads (Buckler, 2004). The software program is an application that is Microsoft Windows-based and had largely became dominant as a PC program that is based on project management.
The training on how to use the Microsoft Project starts with an understanding of its features and its importance to an organization. Project scope management is done to ensure that the delivery of projects is done on time. The project has to lie within the planned budget while ensuring the existence of all features required in the project (Kraus, 2008). Competence is also a key aspect to be considered in project scope management. The main aim in this case to avoid costing the IKEA organization unnecessary costs resulting from incompetence (Kraus, 2008). The best way to get rid of incompetence is through initiating training programs especially in computer or IT based training programs.
In the process of ensuring good project management, the management has to consider the four major elements considered in any project management program. The organization has resources that need to be utilized effectively (Kraus, 2008). Resources could range from human resources to capital or financial resources. In this case, resource may be grouped as people, who are the workers, the organization’s equipment, as well as hardware and software resources. Another element of consideration is time. Time is key aspect since it would always lead to the determination of task duration, management scheduling, and the project’s critical path (Kraus, 2008). The third element of consideration is money. Money stands to be the units of measuring the project in terms of cost, contingencies, and the level of profits to be obtained from the project. Scope is a very critical element, which determines the project size, the various goals and objectives, as well as the requirements of the project (Kraus, 2008).
The project manager has an obligation of managing all elements successfully throughout the life of the project. Good management of all project elements helps in achieving project success. One has to ensure that the required resources are available and in place for the training project. The resources need to be managed effectively by the selected team consisting of qualified personnel. Since IKEA Company wishes to improve the computer and IT capabilities of its employees, the company need to get enough programmers who have adequate experience in various computers applications especially those belonging to Microsoft Corporation (Boivie, 1999). Experience in Microsoft Office programs as well as Microsoft Program would be the major requirement.
The WBS would be as follows:
fSoftware Training Program
Trainers
Employees
Finance Department
Human Resource
Computers Owners
Class administrtors
Program to assist in Time Management
The materials for training would include computers that are fully installed with the required software programs for the training project. The program would include an installed network system in which employees can exchange ideas through social communication. Employees would be expected to determine their best time at which they can join the training program (Kraus, 2008). The program is based on a timetable to aid the organization in time management by assisting employees in choosing between work and training. IKEA Company has 500,000 employees, which gives an implication that much time would be required to complete the training program to all these employees (Kraus, 2008).
The project to be accomplished is providing the training program to the entire half million employees with the use of the available resources, which are limited. The company has to specify the number of computers to be used for the program and the number of hours to be set aside for the training program. at the same time, there is the need to specify the number of trainers to be hired given the time constraint and the financial constrain (Boivie, 1999). Every trainer is entitled to $40 per hour and this brings to the fact that the workers have to be grouped in a way that they can go through the training adequately while conserving the companies time and finances. Given that the trainers are paid in accordance with the number of hours worked but hardly on the number of employees attending every lesson, the company may structure the program in a way that it maximizes on the benefits while minimizing the costs in terms of time and money (Boivie, 1999).
Program to assist in Cost Management
In doing the selection between minimizing on cost and time spent as well as maximizing on the benefits from the training program, the company would be faced by deciding to group the employees into various groups. The size of each group would be affected by various factors such as the efficiency involved in offering the training program to a smaller group versus a large group. The level of efficiency in offering the training program would increase, as the group being trained gets smaller (Boivie, 1999). Larger groups of employees would be hard to incorporate personal relationships with the trainers, as aspect that is highly required in technical training. Employees grouped in large groups would be difficult to manage implying that the trainers would require working on smaller groups in order to portray their efficiencies and competencies (Boivie, 1999). Contrary to this, the company management would try as much as possible to make it fast and effective as a way of utilizing the company’s resources.
From the 500,000 employees, the company can group them into 500 groups each consisting five shifts. Grouping the employees into 50 groups would narrow the employees into 10000 in each group. Taking further the 1000 employees in each group and placing them into five different shifts would narrow the groups down into 2000 employees per group (Buckler, 2004). The problem would now be the way to allocate the training time and other resources. This aspect means that the trainers would now be five in the company, each having a training class of 2000 employees every day (Buckler, 2004). To ensure efficiency and proper allocation of resources, it would mean that each employee in a given group would be trained for a period of two hours. The company may decide to do this by offering the training for two hours between 5.00PM and & 7.00PM.
Program to assist in Resource Management
The company would have to set aside five halls to use for the training, each having at least 2000 computers. Each computer would need to have all software programs installed. There would be the need to include five extra computers that have training programs for all courses. Each group would be based on specialization in which case the workers interested in gaining knowledge in each of the five Microsoft Office programs would get training accordingly (Kraus, 2008). Employees willing to gain skills in Microsoft Word 2007 would be trained in hall one and would consist of group 1 members. Group 2 employees would be those employees willing to gain skills in Microsoft Excel 2007. Group 2 employees would be trained in hall 2 of the IKEA Company (Kraus, 2008).
For the third group, which is titles as group 3, their training would consist of knowledge acquisition in Microsoft Access 2007. Their training would be offered in hall 3, while group 4’s training would be offered in hall 4. The training would only consist of knowledge acquisition in Microsoft PowerPoint. For the group 5 employees, training would be on windows 7 in general (Buckler, 2004). Employees willing to get training in Windows 7 would be given special training since the course is wider in scope as compared to the other four courses. All employees would be required to gain training in Microsoft Program since it is a new and very critical aspect of Microsoft programs (Buckler, 2004).
Program to assist in Communications Management
The trend will go on until the entire team of employees gain training adequately through a well-communicated arrangement. From the training, the company may decide to initiate specialization based on the training provided to each group of employees. All the employees would need to incorporate skills on Microsoft Project as a compulsory course in a way that is clear to help them exchange between courses. Given the trend and the grouping of employees, it would possible for the company to determine the duration of the project and the time needed to accomplish each activity (Boivie, 1999). The project is faced with a problem of having to ensure that all the 50 groups each consisting of 10,000 employees get the skills respectively. Given that each course would take one month, it would take the company about 50 months to complete the project (Boivie, 1999). To make it possible to offer training on Microsoft Project 2007, the course would be provided alongside each training program based on the course selection by employees.
Every employee would take only thirty days of training each day having to involve two hours for each training session per employee. This means that the company would incur a cost of 40 hours every month plus 20 hours covering Saturday training programs (Buckler, 2004). This calculation is based on the assumption that each typical month has four weeks and four Saturdays. In a year, the company would lose (12 * 60 =720) hours in the program. In a period of 50 months, the company would lose an amount of time equivalent to (50 * 60) hours, which is equivalent to 300 hours. Since the company would have hired five trainers who would take the entire team of employees through the training program, the monitory cost of training the employees would calculate (Buckler, 2004).
The calculation can be taken as the amount of money paid to each trainer in an hour multiplies by the number of trainers and number of hours that the entire team of employees would take for the company to have the project completed. The direct cost to the organization would therefore be $40 * 5* 300 = $60, 000. $60,000 would be the cost of labor in offering training on the six courses (Buckler, 2004). The company would have save an extra cost in the sixth course by incorporating it in other training groups since the course was seen as compulsory. As a compulsory course, it means that every employee would have to take it, an aspect that can hardly allow specialized training given the limited resources for the company.
To maximize on the company’s benefits, the company may decide to take the trainers from within the company as volunteers but be willing to pay them the hourly amount that would otherwise be given to a trainer from outside the company. This aspect would be an act of motivating the company’s employees since the trainer would find it as an additional source of income. However, the selection of qualified candidates for the training would be done based on their resumes. This means that the internal employees may not be considered if they are not adequately qualified (Boivie, 1999). The most qualified candidates would be considered although employees from the IKEA Company may be giving the first priority. Taking 2 classrooms and 20 personal computers may not be enough since it would take the project longer time than it has been stated. Taking 20 personal computer rather than 2000 would increase number of hours by 100 times. Again, two classes would not be enough to offer all the courses within a viable time. The cost to the company would be higher as well and therefore the company’s human resource department needs to reconsider its decision to of choosing to offer the training in two classes and making use of forty computers (Boivie, 1999). There should be a consideration that every additional computer would reduce the number of employees queuing to get the training skills being offered by the organization. Since the computers used in the training could be reused in other company’s activities, it would be wise if the company uses more computers and fewer trainers to reduce the time spend in accomplishing the project.
References
Boivie, C. A. (1999). We Want Usability, Not Just Features. Canadian Computer Reseller. Vol. 12, Iss. 10 , 22.
Buckler, G. (2004). Staking One for the Team. Computing Canada. Vol. 30, Iss. 15 , 16-17 .
Kraus, W. E. (2008). Cost Estimating and Analysis. Cost Engineering Vol. 50, Iss. 4 , 3-4 .
The Philippines’ Tourism Industry
The Philippines’ Tourism Industry
Student’s Name
Institution
Date
The Philippines’ Tourism Industry
Asia is one of the best travel destinations for tourists around the world. The region is famous for having several tourists’ attraction sites, for example, mountains, monuments, and water bodies. According to many people today, tourism has become an activity of everyday life. Tourism includes all the activities involved in the movements that happen away from individual’s place of work or even their places of residence. It is the right way of one using or instead of spending their free time or what is called leisure time. Many states have the industry of tourism, and many tourists all over the world visit them to enjoy their free times (Goodall & Ashworth, 2013). The Philippines is one of the many countries involved in tourism, and it has a diversity of cultural, religious traditions and also a lot of wealth tourist attractions.
The Philippines serves as one of the most visited areas in Southeast Asia. Tourism in the Philippines has contributed to about 10.6% of the total GDP. Worldwide, among other industries, travel and tourism are considered as the most critical industry. It has created jobs for too many people all over the world and thus has helped in the mitigation of poverty (Aguda et al. 2013). When tourism is well enhanced, it helps in boosting a country’s economy. It has always affected the cultural, life as well as in society as a whole. It has helped in enriching many lives throughout the world. Tourism has helped in the development of the economy in the Philippines. The government of Philippine has even considered all the positive effects of tourism and thus made it an important priority in economic development. It is regarded as the fast-growing industry in the Philippines as many tourists tend to be specialized in different sectors of tourism. Tourism which involves traveling to heritage areas has improved in most of the regions today having Philippine included, and the same is expected to continue. For the tourism industry in Philippine to grow and keep growing, then it is essential to look at the marketing plan, strategies, and marketing work of the industry as a whole.
One may start by understanding what marketing means as many people have always had confusion on this. It is defined as the process of business that involves developing relationships between customers as well as satisfying their needs. It can also be said to be the action of promoting and selling products and services and which could include market research and advertising as well (Gonzalez, 2013). Tourism in many countries as the Philippines is seen as a business and therefore, it is of importance that this industry observes the following concept that brings out that every organization or company should:-
They should ensure that they have selected destinations that are per what the customers need and thus be able to meet the needs and wants of the tourists.
Give the tourists different destinations to enable them to choose from the very many choices of destinations
Marketing efforts should also be put in place to ensure that they have well fitted in the tourism industry as a whole and also the other set objectives.
The tourism industry should also set objectives and goals that they should all work towards achieving and in the long run satisfy the customers’ needs and wants.
When an industry like that of tourism observes the following concept of marketing, then it’s able to come up with viable destinations and of high demand by the tourists. It also helps in avoiding time wastage as well as wastage of money in the development of a destination that is of no or less appeal which would have instead been used in the development of a more wanted destination by the tourists.
A product can be a service, a good or even an idea. Therefore tourism under this context can be classified as a service. It is intangible, and thus it is tough for a customer to be able to compare between two different services as products. It is as well challenging to market a service as a product, and this can be translated as being difficult then to promote tourism as a product in the market.
It is, therefore, the role and responsibility of the industry that deals with tourism to ensure that it provides a right product that is of high quality as it might be hard for customers to gauge this. For an industry to be able to improve their effectiveness as well as the efficiency, then it is of importance that they look so much in their marketing plan (Cochrane, 2007). A marketing plan is an outline that clearly shows the marketing strategies that the industry is to employ in the coming year or even month. Any marketing plan of an industry if well-constructed helps in the allocation of resources and also helps in making of good crucial decisions. Different elements should be featured in a good marketing plan for the industry. These are as stated below:-
The objectives of the sector
The marketing strategies also called the 4 P’S
The market environment
The Country profile
Market identification
Market objectives under each mentioned segments
Budget
Plan implementation
Evaluation and control
Objectives
Objectives can be defined as the goals or aims that are set by an organization or an industry when it’s promoting its products and services. They are meant to target the potential customers or consumers, and they should be achieved within a set frame of time. Tourist destinations in the Philippines should come up with set goals and objectives to be able to assess the progress of the industry. All decisions should be put in place in the objectives for instance: finances and other critical decisions of the industry. Some of the purposes of the Philippines tourism industry are as follows:-
To promote tourism with dignity and respect
To build confidence and also pride among all the local communities
To also encourage community-based as well as responsible tourism among many others.
The Marketing Environment.
In the marketing environment, the tourism industry is required to analyze the social, political and economic factors that can affect it. It is after they analyze these factors that they can deal with them and thus ensure the steady running of the business. An industry should put a lot of focus on the changes noted on demographics. Let the industry tell whether the population is growing or not. They can also focus on the number of people whether employed, not employed or even retired who can travel. The industry can also look at the economic status of the people (Gooroochurn & Sugiyarto, 2005). Let the industry know how many people can afford traveling and how does that affect the industry. Is there a crisis of unemployment and if yes, how does it affect the sector may it be directly or indirectly. Technology today is a significant concern in many industries, and in the tourism industry, it is not left behind. As an industry, come up with new tourist activities that are up to date. Individuals always want new ways of doing things, and thus tourism industries should provide some different ways of doing things and at the same time be able to satisfy their customers. The Philippines has recently been involved in many innovations that have helped in boosting the tourism industry as a whole.
Every industry has potential competitors. It is therefore wise for each industry to identify their potential competitors and be able to know what they do better than them and also how they can be able to outdo them. It is at this point where the analysis of the industry’s strengths and weaknesses comes in. Know the competitive advantage that you have over your competitors and thus utilize it to beat them. In order to do this, then the industry should be able to analyze the competitors set prices, the features of the products they offer, what type of customers they do attract and all these should be in comparison to what the industry in question provides.
Marketing Strategies (4P’S).
It is a combination of different factors that can be controlled and influenced by industry in order to determine the consumers’ purchase levels of the product(s). Some of the elements that are controlled by the industry to influence the purchase level of consumers include:-
Product
Price
Place/location
Promotion
Product
Can be referred to anything offered to the market to satisfy the needs and wants of a consumer. It can either be tangible or intangible. The recreational services that tourism industry provides are the product they offer to their consumers. It is imperative that the services the tourism industry decides to provide not to be based on what they think is the best, or what the management believes should be in place but instead, it should be based on the needs, wants and desires of the potential customers (Winter et al. 2002). It is then good for the industry to ensure that they have improved on the quality of the product they offer and should not be necessary for accordance with what the competitors are offering. The Philippines is composed of 7641 islands.
It is known to have vibrant biodiversity and thus the main tourist attraction in the country. It has several monuments, mountains, beaches, and many other tourist attraction areas. It is therefore of importance that this country takes great care of these areas which are among the products offered to the tourists and also improve them and thus would have improved the quality of the product, the service, they deliver.
Price
Price can be referred to as the cost incurred in order to get a product or a service. It is the cost that a customer or a consumer has to incur for them to get a product or a service. In the tourism industry, it costs the tourists a cost to travel from their areas of work, residences and other places to move to the destinations they want as tourists. It is one of the common things or outcomes in tourism. When the tourism industry, as well as any other industry, plans to set prices for their products and services, it is of importance for them to consider different factors before doing it:-
Let them know the prices that their competitors have set for the same services or products before establishing their own prices.
Know the cost that you will incur before providing or rather offering the service to the tourist, consumer.
Are the consumers, in this case, the tourists willing to pay the price that you have set?
What are the objectives and goals that the industry has set?
Know the economic climate around your industry to be able to set realistic prices.
The tourism industry also looks at the peak periods or the non-peak periods when they are setting prices.
Place or the Location
This is the area your business is located. How accessible is the place by the potential customers? It is the responsibility of a tourist industry to come up with ways of accessing the location of their business as well as also how to leave the area. When a tourist finds it hard to locate a specific site of attraction, no matter how good it seems, they might opt not to visit the place ever again. Therefore, tourism industries should not only focus on the services inside the industry but rather should also know how easy one can access them and leave without being affected and finding it a bad experience. It earns an industry an extra credit when they can provide some maps; they can also give what we call estimate of travel time especially from some well know landmarks and many other things.
Promotion
Promotion is simple terms can be said to be the publicizing of a product, maybe a venture or even an organization in order to increase public awareness or even the sales. Promotion helps the customers, in this case, the tourists to decide whether they are going to visit your industry or not. It is essential that the industry especially a tourist attraction industry not to make some exaggerated claims as it would end up disappointing potential customers and you, industry, may as well lose their trust and them as your customers forever (Porananond & King, 2014). This is the reason as to why the Philippines tourism industry puts a lot of emphasis on the promotion part to ensure public awareness.
Market Identification
Marketing identification can also be referred to as market segmentation. It is the process of dividing the potential customers into different groups, or what is called the segments and this is done according to the characteristics of the customers. It makes it easier for marketers to be able to specialize and personalize their marketing campaigns. This also helps on saving on time used, money, as well as other resources used as all these, will be allocated to groups rather than to individuals and thus reducing the costs. Personalization by marketers also comes along with market segmentation especially when they see a specific group of customers is likely to buy a product than the other customers (Gooroochurn & Sugiyarto, 2005). They then try to put more focus on such customers and not the others. Tourism industries always make a huge mistake when they try to be everything to all the people who come by. This always puts the tourism industry under lots of risks as it is hard to create a market strategy that can be able to consider a mass market.
The Country Profile/ Destination Profile.
For a tourist industry or destination to be able to market itself well, they need to tell people where they get their resources from and how well they have been able to satisfy their customers. Describe all the activities and recreation facilities that your industry offers may it be the entertainment facilities, historical, cultural or even restaurants. Make sure to mention the quantity, quality as well as the availability of the things you have mentioned (Theobald, 2012). Give clear descriptions of all the areas you have specialized in and how it would be of benefit to your customers. For instance, as for the Philippines, they should mention all the monuments, mountains, beaches and any other tourist attraction areas they have and all the activities and services they offer to their customers.
Budget
A budget is a calculated and planned estimate of income and the expenditure for a given set of time. When the overall budget gets too high, it is then appropriate for the industry in question to check and change the set objectives and goals. As per 2019, Philippines tourism budget was proposed to be P3.39 billion. Every industry should ensure that the budget they come up with is very realistic (Spiller, 2014). Budgets are always meant to be so flexible, but again it is crucial that an industry learns to have personal discipline which enables them to adhere to it. Philippines’ tourism industry is an excellent example in this as it has been seen coming up with different budgets at different times in the years that has always enabled it to carry out its tourism activities smoothly as well as improve it.
Implementation
It is at this stage the things put in the marketing plan are implemented or put in practice. Many industries have been seen to fail due to poor execution of various strategies. Every industry should always strive to improve the likelihood of proper implementation. During the implementation, it is good to try as much as possible to adhere to the set budget and also to set some timelines and as well give deadlines for the same.
Evaluation
It is suitable for the tourism industry to monitor the progress always and be sure to evaluate it. Evaluation is the determination of the significance of something regarding some set standards and can see the worth. It is mainly carried out to be able to make some informed judgments. The tourist industry in the Philippines has always made some informed decisions based on their evaluations, and this has helped the industry be where it is today (Leung & Baloglu, 2013). At this stage, the results are always compared with the set objectives and also determining any need for change. This stage is critical as it helps in taking the appropriate measures in case of any deviation from the expected results.
Conclusion
The Philippines is one of the major visited areas in Southeast Asia. Therefore it should ensure that it has improved its marketing plan and also look at what they have done well and strive even to do much better. It can be summed up that customer satisfaction in tourism is mostly gauged by how well the service was delivered. It is therefore essential that the tourism industry improves the way of providing their services to be able to satisfy the customer needs and wants.
References
Aguda, L. A. E., Tamayo, M. R. B., & Barlan Jr, L. (2013). Effects of Heritage Tourism to the Municipality of Taal, Batangas, Philippines. Educational Research International, 2(1), 91-95.
Cochrane, J. (Ed.). (2007). Asian tourism: Growth and change. Routledge.
Gonzalez, V. V. (2013). Securing paradise: Tourism and militarism in Hawai’i and the Philippines. Duke University Press.
Goodall, B., & Ashworth, G. (2013). Marketing in the Tourism Industry (RLE Tourism): The promotion of destination regions. Routledge.
Gooroochurn, N., & Sugiyarto, G. (2005). Competitiveness indicators in the travel and tourism industry. Tourism Economics, 11(1), 25-43.
Leung, X. Y., & Baloglu, S. (2013). Tourism competitiveness of Asia Pacific destinations. Tourism Analysis, 18(4), 371-384.
Porananond, P., & King, V. T. (Eds.). (2014). Rethinking Asian Tourism: Culture, Encounters and Local Response. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Spiller, J. (2014). History of convention tourism. In Convention Tourism (pp. 27-44). Routledge.
Theobald, W. F. (Ed.). (2012). Global tourism. Routledge.
Winter, T., Teo, P., & Chang, T. C. (Eds.). (2002). Asia on tour: Exploring the rise of Asian tourism. Routledge.
Development and Policy in Modern Europe
Can the economic success achieved by Western Europe between 1950 and 1973 be attributed for the most part to the pursuit of skilful economic policies?
Introduction
European and perhaps global economic successes witnessed in the recent several decades not only depend on cooperation of the international community but it is heavily attributed to appropriate economic regimes and policies. The development status of the contemporary Europe is therefore mainly a conglomerate of economic events that resulted in a favourable environment for advancement at the continental and global presence. In a nutshell, it would be correct to associate the success of economic development witnessed in Europe during the post war period with certain prevailing conditions and policies as discussed in this discourse. After periods of accumulation of wealth prior to the World War II, only a short period of time during the war was sufficient to send Europe on its knees. The prestigious position of the powerhouse of world industrialization was at risk if nothing was forthcoming, to salvage not only Europe but the rest of the world as well. As illustrated, the success thus highlighted after the war would not be conceptualized were it not for socioeconomic and political realignment of the post war community in Europe and in the USA.
Economic Success
Firstly, the Word War II had just brought Europe on its knees and the cooperation demonstrated during the formation of alliances prior to the war seemed to have a longer future as the proverbial friends in need should. Without assurances of cooperation at the end of the war in 1939, there would have been little hope for recovery from the devastating impact of the war. The Allies were committed to continue their ties during the recovery period ahead, which is demonstrated by landmark political reorganization to recovery and prevention of similar ugly events in the future. Governments had to make arrangements to cater for declined production and nose-diving unemployment levels against pressures of demand. Hope for recovery against a backdrop of numerous setbacks that stood in the way was only in the promises of success as witnessed in the alliances formed during the war.
In addition, perhaps the first brave move that restored balance in international economies came in 1944 by the Bretton Woods agreement on stability in international payment through the US dollar. According to MQF (2012, para.1), the stability obtained during the Bretton Woods conference was achieved through the creation of the IMF as well as the World Bank and the subsequent agreement of a standard based on gold and dollar valuation. In the aftermath of the established economic regime, global inflation had been resolved and employment levels seemed to have a bright future ahead. The progress of recovery and development set by this move proved to be the determinant event as can be made from the fact that, in two years of abolition of the gold-dollar convertibility in 1971, steady growth began to halt down (Keohane and Nye 1989, p15). Within the context of a volatile economic environment, it would be almost impossible for Europe to forge a sustainable economic recovery but needed the much needed stabilizing environment introduced at Bretton Woods.
Alternatively, although the US played an important role in assuming the initial groundbreaking moves for a better economic approach in the allies’ bloc recovery, they were not as important as the Marshall Plan of 1947 (Cairncross 2002, p3). According to the author, the US had a better economic position when compared to the European counterparts that had been ravaged by post-war depression. It was possible to turn around the economic capacity of the European countries by assisting them to generate their own internal balance. This move in turn made important shielding impact for the US against external imbalances originating from the wider European threat. In the move however, the US was seeking to establish trade relations with Europe once the damaged economy was over and ward off the threat of communism that was wiping the globe on economic vulnerability to depression. By providing bail-outs to the depressed European economies, revival was kicked off across Europe with such a momentum that the US would benefit to rise to be a global economic powerhouse from the established relations (MQF 2012, para.6). It was therefore the invaluable contribution of financial aid that the US extended to the European countries that facilitated real and substantial recovery of Europe during the post war period.
Recovery in Europe was destined for better days ahead within the context of a peaceful spell of time after the World War II. Despite some hiccups in form of the Cold War, there was sufficient peace without potent threats, which made international environment needed for growth to prevail. In terms of political mood, there was little intention to revert to the horrors of the World War II. Perhaps the prevailing peace played an important role in recovery as did other socioeconomic variables. However, economic policies were needed in order to take advantage of the favourable development conditions.
Having set the standards for the recovery plan of the dilapidated global economy, the economic perspective of dealing with dynamics of national demand at the national policy level became popular. The application of Keynesian economic perspective to monitor development of the volatile economies was adopted throughout the 1950s with tremendous results of growth. The realization of a stable economic policy across Europe enabled the establishment of sustainable national recovery plans. Within a short period of powerful economic policies targeting national demand, Europe had managed to make the much needed turnaround to the surprise of the US (Cairncross 2002, p22). The author reckons that the vibrancy of the European economy was perhaps rooted in the management that control of demand as proposed by the principles of Keynesian macroeconomics that resulted in supergrowth records. Whereas it was important for the bailout plan to be introduced to kick start European recovery, it was perhaps more important to ensure sustainable growth which was assured in Keynesian macroeconomics.
In the period following the robust growth generated by the stimulus injection of dollars into European economy, it was perhaps more important that investors took advantage of the prevailing favourable environment. Production was on course soon after the stabilization of the economy across Europe as costs drastically reduced in 1950s through 1960s (Cairncross 2002, p67). Interesting economic benefits to the industrial sector was cheap materials as inflation was brought to checks using the Keynesian economics. The world reached to peak oil and energy production prior to the slump in the 1970s. Coupled to cheap materials, the governments’ provision of cheap energy could only translate into the perfect timing of industrial revival which was not wasted by the investors.
Continued changes in productivity and economic development facilitated thriving of business across Europe as costs of production fell and acted as an incentive to investment. More people wanted to invest during the industrial boom with a more promising future being availed by industrial research and enhanced output. Employment hit a record high across Europe during the recovery period to surpass expected levels, thanks to economic regime and political policies that supported the growth. Europe was therefore destined for development beyond the adversaries experienced during the World War II, perhaps creating worries in some sections of economics experts of a looming sudden slump similar to the sudden grown.
Production and productivity reached peak levels thanks to continued contribution of technological research throughout the late 1950s to 1960s. There was a competitive rise of European production against the standard of the US industries creating some catch-up need to produce exponentially (Cairncross 2002, p67). Growth stimulus appeared to be motivated by the increased marginal product of investment caused incentives among investors, always aiming to achieve the levels that the US investors had reached. Eventually, favourable business environment existing among investors acted as a motivation that enabled Europe to reach the elevated industrial levels that were anticipated.
Some of the driving factors for the increased industrial growth included a favourable labour market with flexible labour mobility and availability. Access to labour ensured industrial sustainability that was lacking during the unemployment periods after the World War II. When the labour market is favourable for the industrial sector, the economy experiences growth in terms of real growth since the distribution of wages facilitates a closer monitoring of market forces. Perhaps one of the most powerful distributions of income and economic gains across the population that defines economic growth would not have been possible in absence of a favourable labour market.
Disposal of excess production necessitated the expansion of the markets to cover a wider distribution capacity. With increased productive capacity of labour, the European demand was surpassed and action needed to be taken and reach out to the global markets. Globalization led by search for overseas market opportunities opened up new frontiers of development across the entire European economy. With increased international penetration for European products, the economic development attained would be diversified to prevent sudden slumps from continental pressures.
Welfare state across Europe thrived throughout the 1960s to 1970s and was supported by the successful control of demand and elimination of instabilities that affected most economies (Quadagno 1987, p110). Following the successes of the Keynesian macroeconomic regime, it emerged that there was need for increased inclination towards the welfare state. Push for increased wages and better working condition in the late 1960s perhaps proved to be the plateau of the profits cantered growth and developments. According to Quadagno (1987, p109), it dawned that the welfare state would not support the profitability construction of the development achieved largely without consideration of social development. Whereas social element proposed under the welfare state regime was targeted to bring out the best of the employee, it never appeared to be a sustainable projection in the development curve. However, the socioeconomic proposal under the welfare state seemed to be powerful than the capitalist approach that the US stuck with throughout the1970s when the European counterparts receded.
Conclusion
In conclusion, European development story in the post Word War II period could not be conceptualized without the interplay of the fundamental economic events and forces highlighted above. A series of the positive supporting events and moves defined the recovery progress by Europe from the all time laws occasioned by the horror of WWII. The first move to recovery was represented by international cooperation immediately after the WWII, followed by standardization of international payment introduced much needed stability needed for recovery. The Marshall Plan to bail out Europe not only revived hope but encouraged trade between the US and European countries making a formidable partnership that favoured growth. Political resilience throughout Cold War supported by powerful macroeconomic policies provided the appropriate recipe for sustainable growth as backed by increased investment, supportive technology, favourable labour market, expanded markets and improved social welfare. Europe therefore had the best economic variables needed for a comeback as posted during the period in consideration as illustrated above.
References
Cairncorss, F. (2002) The Legacy of the Golden Age: The 1960s and their Economic Consequences. London, UK: Taylor & Francis Group
Keohane, R. & Nye, J. (1989) Power and Interdependence (2nd edn). New York, NY: Harper Collins.
Maes, I. (2007) The Spread of Keynesian Economics: A Comparison of the Belgian and Italian Experiences. National Bank of Belgium Working Paper No: 113 doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1687564
MQF (2012) Why is the Time of the Bretton Woods Regime Often Referred to as the “Golden Age” of Capitalism? [Online] Available from <http://www.babelbloggers.com/why-is-the-time-of-the-bretton-woods-regime-often-referred-to-as-the-golden-age-of-capitalism> [Accessed 7 February 2012]
Quadagno, J. (1987) Theories of the Welfare State. Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 13, no. 1, pp.109-128