What would The Economy Of Thailand Be Like If They Eliminated All "Extra" Jobs?

If you compare Thailand to the West, you will notice that Thailand is labor intensive. If a company in the West needed 30 workers to get the job done, the same Thai company would need 100 workers.

Case in point, is the gym I go to. There are probably 100 workers there. Yesterday there were eight workers cleaning the fitness machines. One to dust it off, one to spay it with cleaner, one to clean it, one to put on the leather softner, and another to wipe it down. The other three were talking and watching. In Chicago, one person could get the whole job done.

Then I went in the locker room and there were four maids cleaning up and one supervising. Again in Chicago, one could handle it and it would be the same one that cleans the fitness machines.

Then I went to the lounge, and there were 5 people working the snack shop, where one person should be able to handle it. I looked at the front desk and there were seven receptionists. One could stand there all day for sure.

I know I am not in Chicago. this is what I observed all over Thailand.

I am not intending to slag Thais with this thread, but how many people would be unemployed if people were forced to do more and be more efficient with the job they do?

Anyone else notice this?

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do more and be more efficient

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yep all for 200B / day , can't understand it either ..................

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Originally Posted by Mid

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do more and be more efficient

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yep all for 200B / day , can't understand it either ..................

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Are they paid too little or not enough???

They could get paid more if there were less workers.

with respect chi , obviously ( to me ) the minimum wage is far too low , way less than what is required for a basic standard of living .

however , one of the major problems of increasing it to a realistic level would be the resultant unemployment without the necessary social support mechanisms in place .

Thailand claims very low unemployment figures , achieved by massive under-employment.

Try India, much worse. Human capital is very cheap there.

Yeah, Thailand can't compare to India and China in that respect. I'll never forget my first business meeting as a young man in China. I thought I had died and been reborn the Pope - must have been 50 people in that meeting with me in one of those huge Comrades halls. My counterpart sat in one huge upholstered chair and me in the next, while scores of mini Maos lined the walls and listened and stared at me.

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Try India, much worse. Human capital is very cheap there.

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sorry . I'll never really understand this answer , sure the man with no shoes is better than one with no feet .

but , it always reads to me that 'cause you can cite a worse example then there is no problem with the current topic ??

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Originally Posted by chitown

Anyone else notice this?

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I think Home-Pro have mastered the concept of employing people to do absolutley nothing. Their stores are overstaffed by about 300%.

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Originally Posted by Mid

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Try India, much worse. Human capital is very cheap there.

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sorry . I'll never really understand this answer , sure the man with no shoes is better than one with no feet .

but , it always reads to me that 'cause you can cite a worse example then there is no problem with the current topic ??

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Not the point at all mid. In fact I agree with the OP. Thailand uses 3 employees to carry out a task that requires 1. India uses 5 and China uses 6.

It takes nothing from the OP's astute observations, just adds perspective.

^
wasn't personal Tex ,

it's an argument I run into far too often that 'cause X is worse elsewhere then Y really ain't so bad .

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Originally Posted by Spin

I think Home-Pro have mastered the concept of employing people to do absolutley nothing. Their stores are overstaffed by about 300%

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I think 300% is a bit conservative, how about 3000% ? the worst of the worst, surely they must know it

Actually one could argue that the mechanisation and industrialization of labor has brought more economics problems than solving, so too many hands doing nothing could actually be better in terms of indirect social support, instead of paying more for a very efficient person, and the others having no job and costing more to society in terms of social tax and benefits

It's the same in Oman with indians/Arabs in australia we use to run 6 men drilling crews here we run 10+ men crews yet the job still takes twice as long.

I think bars and brothels are generally understaffed though, more choice would equal more customers :)

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Originally Posted by Spin

I think Home-Pro have mastered the concept of employing people to do absolutley nothing. Their stores are overstaffed by about 300%.

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Home Pro the absolute worst. No wonder they are having financial difficulties. The over staffing in and of itself is not as big a problem as the astounding lack of product knowledge possessed by the staff. Try asking the simplest of questions next time you're in a Home Pro and you will either get a blank stare, a shoulder shrug or wait for 30 minutes while the person runs (strolls) off to find someone who might know the answer.

Labor is cheap, so everybody works. Efficiency, accurate workmanship have no priority because it costs so little to do it all over again. I hear talk of under-employment, and I don't see these people as being more highly qualified that the positions they fill. They are under-educated to the point they will accept what ever is thrown their way.

This is no happy coincidence or the symptom of a country without the resources to improve their lot. It is the basis of what remains, basically, a feudal economy.

Keep 'em dumb and uneducated, they'll be happy with a wooden shack a couple bowls of rice or noodles, maybe a sliver of pork or chicken per day; doing one-fourth of a real job at one-eighth a real salary. Even higher educated personnel are trained to do what it is they need to do with out reason or introspection. Thinking beyond the task at hand is not promoted.

The simple life has often been touted as a blessing, a life of abject poverty and ignorance can be one free from worry and stress. Personal time is of little import here, you'll rarely see menial labor carried out in a time conscious, let alone rushed, manner. The cost of labor is cheap enough that it is easy to have four staff per customer.

The Lairds & the Dukes, the Ruling Class, can generate enough profit to keep the serfs working doing little or nothing, earning enough for that bowl of Noodles and maybe a cheap motor-scooter and a one room apartment. Once the worker has attained these things they are usually content enough, their work hardly difficult or challenging. They can then go on to pursue what ever pleasurable diversions they have come to expect, why would they question these things?

But surely it is necessary to have all these workers in an economy where everyone workd 12 hours per day 6 days per week, because:

A) The person doing the job needs a stand-in for when he'she sleeps;
B) The two people mentioned above each need someone to talk to;
C) The four people mentioned above all need someone to stand in when they are asleep;
D) All of the above need people to stand in when they are out eating.

I make that 28 people for every job. Then if they have Japanese employers they need a feng shuei consultant too.

It always amused me to see five people doing a job that one or maybe two people would do back home.

I figured it was because they were cheap as chips to employ.

I think they should have less staff, but pay them more, as I've heard of some real low pay going around.

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Originally Posted by Deus Ex

I think they should have less staff, but pay them more, as I've heard of some real low pay going around.

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There are Thai companies that employ better qualified staff at higher wages. They then continue by investing in intensive job proficiency training programs. These are the successful Thai companies and the others just looking for short term profit before they go out of business.

The Chinese-Thai businesses follow the master-servant concept rather closely. Rather underpay & have more bodies. Somehow they keep on going - never quite sure how - especially in the automotive parts industry.

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Originally Posted by watterinja

Somehow they keep on going - never quite sure how - especially in the automotive parts industry.

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They have but primarily in a very non competitive market supplying to factories in Thailand. As the auto parts industry in China advances, I think Thai companies will be in big trouble unless they become more competitive. This will not come from having lower wages but rather via rethinking their entire way of doing business. First thing they will have to learn IMO is transparency in business dealing which may be the biggest obstacle for change.