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Opinion
If one looks at the ranking of the top 100 American
companies today, more than half did not exist
twenty years ago. This simple observation says two
things. Firstly, the American economy is the motor
that drives the rest of the world as it is the most dynamic
and has the capacity to subject itself to continual
reflection and renewal. Secondly, it can be
considered that, as the economy is always changing
rapidly, there is also always room for companies
to climb up the table. For example, in Europe, Ireland
has been a catalyst for a spectacular
increase in growth in recent
years. When they joined the European
Union, they were one of the
poorest in the Community; today their
output per capita is superior to that
of the United Kingdom. Naturally, if
one wishes to see the most astonishing
growth phenomena one must
look towards Asia. The largest and
most populated continent in the
world is also the most ancient and
complex. Their people did inherit their
extraordinary capacity for evolution.
Consider China. Their influence on
overall world trade is limited, even
compared with the UK and Italy, and is relatively
static. But, in dynamic terms, their contribution to
the world economy between 2003 and 2006 will be
equal to that of Japan. If its contribution to the growth
in world imports is considered over the same period,
China is superior in net growth to the United
States and the Euro zone put together with a value
nearly three times that of Japan; from this perspective,
China is easily number one. Turning to the
American ranking, it can be noted that, with all the
talk of technology, the highest turnover company is
a commercial company in the food industry: Wal-
Mart. In the leading group, there is a small number
of companies in the medium technology sectors
such as petroleum and refining and the automobile
industry. The market, therefore, is not overwhelmed
by fashion, not even by technology; it is dominated
by those companies who find the best method of
satisfying their customers - the more this is true, the
more stable is the company. Fashion and sophistication
only prosper for a while, true growth - and
dependability - is built over time. And what can
we say about the supposed difficulties of these family
concerns competing in developing markets
Wal-Mart is owned by the Waltons. The richest man
in the world, Bill Gates, maintains
sole control of Microsoft; the same
applies to his arch rival, Larry Ellison,
the Oracle owner. In Europe, the
most successful automotive group,
BMW, is owned by the Quandt family,
and the most famous tyre company
in the world - Michelin - is also
owned by a single family. In India,
industrial dynasties are competitors
in economic development rivalling
the Chinese. It is possible to continue
with these examples; there are
many. What is the unique strength
these family groups possess Dedication
over a long time. These are
words missing from a strict definition of somewhat
impersonal capitalism. Economic growth creates
worldwide well-being but is also creates problems.
The biggest of these is the need for conservation
of natural resources which should be for the benefit
of all. A more correct response must be to develop
technologies appropriate to each specific
need. Then those highly competitive companies
can unite and harness their capacity to accommodate
the skills of a diverse population.
Gian Maria Gros-Pietro
Vice-President ADIGE SALA S.p.A.
Head of Department of Economics and Business
LUISS University, Rome
INSPIRED FOR TUBE
Gian Maria Gros-Pietro, economist, has recently been
appointed Director of the Department of Economic
Science and Trade of the Luiss University in Rome.
He has been a Director of the Institute of Research
and Development for over twenty years. The Institute
is the most important centre of the National Council
for Research in Economics.
He has been a consultant to various Italian Government
Ministries, especially in the field of industrial politics,
since 1970.
In 1994 he became a member of the Committee for
Global Consultation and Guarantees for Privatisation.
In 1997 he was nominated President of the IRI with
the task of privatisation of companies and closure.
In 1999 he became President of ENI to oversee transition
to a free energy market within Italy.
In 2002 he was nominated President of Autostrade,
a completely private company, and from December
2003 he was also President of Federtrasporto.
He has been an economic consultant to UCIMU (The
Italian Machine Tool Trade Association), since the early
1980’s and has worked with the BLM GROUP for
many years; he is Vice President of ADIGE SALA SpA
and a Director of BLM GROUP UK Ltd.
No. 2 - october 2004
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