In an age when services can be provided from anywhere in the world, what can justify a difference in wages? Only quality of service.
Developed countries have (relatively) high wages. If they do not provide more value to the customer, in an international market-place, what is the inevitable consequence?
People are a competitive weapon. We are in the era of the knowledge-worker.
What does it take to be a knowledge worker? People who do the work knowing what matters to their customers, developing a relationship with their customers, seeing their purpose in customer terms. People who do the work knowing how well they are doing and having the means to improve what they are doing – having control over their work, not being controlled.
It is impossible to develop knowledge workers in a ‘command and control‘ system.
Tom Peters argues:
Companies now need to learn to improvise, to look at business in totally new ways. In countries which pay (relatively) high wages, the only way to compete is to provide ‘high-value-added’ services. He says we should focus on the “wow” side of products or services.
This can only be done through people.