Posted on 05/27/2007 3:21:00 PM PDT by WesternCulture
Norwegians have the highest job loyalty in Europe, and all of the Nordic countries are happy at work. The European Employee Index (EEI) survey carried out by Danish consultancy Ennova, covered 20 European nations. The EEI showed that besides being loyal, in terms of job enjoyment Norwegians were second only to Danes.
"We are part of a Nordic tradition of cooperative relations in the work place that is completely unique in an international context," said *Even Bolstad, head of HR Norway, Ennova's cooperative partner in the survey.
"The five Nordic nations are all in the top ten in all categories pertaining to quality of life and competitiveness. We thrive at home and at work, and are productive at the same time," Bolstad told management newspaper Ukeavisen Ledelse.
Bolstad told the newspaper that he believes the Nordic management style is special, both in a European and global context.
"Nordic bosses largely manage through trust and conduct, and not via learned techniques or by being authoritarian. Soft values create hard cash. It goes against all economic theory and is a management style that other countries can't make work. I meet Germans and Englishmen who shake their heads and cannot understand that it works at all," Bolstad said.
“Corruption in Venezuela, Islam in Iran and Libya.”
- Perhaps we can agree that Norwegians are:
1. Better businessmen
2. Better at engineering
3. Better at promoting true civilization.
Quit changing the subject. Americans make more on an absolute basis and on a purchasing power basis. The US growth rate is greater than that of the Swedish economy. Sweden’s economic situation is declining relative to Europe in general. It also turns out that the government cooks the books by grossly under reporting unemployment. http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2007/05/23/2655462.htm
“Quit changing the subject”
- You brought the subject of GDP growth rates up.
“The US growth rate is greater than that of the Swedish economy”
- How can a growth rate of 2-3% be higher than a growth rate of 4-4.5%????
Only 5 million people in the country compared to the population in those you are questioning!!!
“Only 5 million people in the country compared to the population in those you are questioning!!!”
- Libya has a population of 5.67 millions compared to the 4.69 million inhabitants of Norway. No big difference.
I’d say Norwegians are better at making the most out of their assets. Norwegians believe in education, technology and investment and they are also true patriots.
Many nations have a lot to learn from Norway.
Around 30%???
If you more than doubled it to at least 65% you would be more correct. Then add the VAT (around 30%?). Housing in Denmark and Sweden are far higher than in the U.S.!!!
When I earned $5 500/month last year I paid a 27% income tax.
What is becoming of Scandinavia?
People aren’t listening to your arguments like I pointed out before. They are just listening to their emotions. Somehow they feel that a small country like Sweden or Norway (both with populations less than 10 million) are somehow a threat to the US model if they are somehow doing better in some economical aspect. This is silly. The US is an enormous country with many diverse economies. The economy of New Jersey with a $57K household income has little in common with the economy of Montana with a $34K household income. This doesn’t mean the Montana model is flawed with respect to a much more left leaning New Jersey. Nor does it mean that the US economy as a whole is flawed with respect to the Scandinavian countries.
“I’d say Norwegians are better at making the most out of their assets. Norwegians believe in education, technology and investment and they are also true patriots.”
The oil rich nations like Saudi Arabia have and continue to squander their oil incomes, laying little groundwork for post oil economies.
After five decades of training, they still cannot engineer their oil industries, having to import technical workers, while their own countrymen sit around plotting terror.
Norway, on the other hand, will likely be well positioned for post oil competition, because as you say, they are smart and work hard.
The nordic nations do benefit from small, mostly homogenous populations, too.
Well, we only replaced ONE of us with a son...but he does the work of two. ;)
- I get your point, although I wouldn’t say it’s that bad.
“Somehow they feel that a small country like Sweden or Norway (both with populations less than 10 million) are somehow a threat to the US model if they are somehow doing better in some economical aspect. This is silly.”
- The Scandinavian countries, just like the US, view themselves very much as ‘model’ societies and often you hear people from other countries expressing admiration of countries like Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the US. This is not a mere coincidence. Undeniably, life IS good in both parts of the world. Our standard of living is indeed very high and so is the standard of living in the US.
However, instead of looking to the SIMILARITIES between Scandinavia and the US, most journalists, politicians, economists and other people tend to argue that the ‘American Way’ is better than ‘Swedish Model’ or the other way around for this or that reason. Often they do so out of other motives than trying to promote genuine understanding of economic matters.
My conclusion is that Protestant work ethics and a basic belief in Capitalism, Democracy and well functioning societal institutions has a lot to do with the prosperity of both the US and Scandinavia. Differences between the two societal concepts like those concerning social security and the position of the unions don’t matter much in the context of overall economic growth.
“After five decades of training, they still cannot engineer their oil industries, having to import technical workers, while their own countrymen sit around plotting terror.”
- This is true. 500 years ago, the Muslim World nourished a culture of learning, research, science and education.
What happened to it?
It seems like the more successful the Western World becomes, the deeper the Muslim World sinks into a swamp of religious extremism.
- In Sweden, you don’t find houses that seem to built to last for a maximum of two years like you do in the US.
- There are no really poor people in Sweden (or elsewhere in Scandinavia)
- In Sweden, the average car is a Volvo V70/Volvo XC/70. In the US, it would be a Toyota Camry or some cheap Ford/Chevrolet/South Korean SUV.
- Wages are higher in Sweden (and income taxes are actually not that bad) than they are in the US (appr $40 000 compared to $35 000 a year)
- Corporate taxes are lower than in the US and the business climate is very investment friendly
- Housing is cheaper in Sweden
- The economic growth of Sweden is presently higher than it is in the US
- Many families in Sweden own two houses (lots of people have a “summer house”/”summer residence”)
Again, I wish to point out that I love the US, but this doesn’t mean I believe the US has the highest standard of living in the world.
By the way, Scandinavia is rich because of our success in terms of Capitalist entrepreneurship, NOT because of the alleged ‘Socialism’ of our societies.
If other countries ought to “copy” something from Sweden, it is, in that case, our devotion to education, our passion for innovation and our commitment to technological progress and scientific research.
GDP/PPP includes government spending so it makes no difference which country's government spends more.
“GDP/PPP includes government spending”.
- Correct, but the GDP/PPP measurement doesn’t acknowledge the fact that Swedes get a lot of things for free or at very low cost which Americans do not.
There must be an explanation somewhere to the fact that average Swedes enjoy higher levels of consumption than average Americans.
A lot of Americans are very poor.
You must be a leftist. They don’t get it for free, they pay taxes for it you know.
“You must be a leftist.”
- I’m not.
I object to calling Sweden a ‘Socialist’ society out of these simple reasons:
IKEA
Volvo
H&M
SKF
SAAB
Absolut Vodka
Electrolux
ABB
Koenigsegg
Ericsson
Sweden masters the game of Capitalism.
Together with other intelligent nations like the US, Germany and Japan, the Scandinavian countries should continue to promote the concept of Capitalism.
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