Slide 6 of 16
Notes:
Europe is Lagging Behind in the Global Networked Economy
Sadly, Europe today is a follower not a leader.
In 1995, companies and individuals in the USA invested 681 ECUs per head of population on information technologies. Japan invested 563 ECUs, Europe invested just 335 ECUs. Within Europe, the Netherlands invested 477 ECUs for each member of its population, Portugal 82, Greece only 47.
Europe has on average 72 personal computers for every 100 white collar workers. The USA has 104. Portugal has 43, Greece 42 - and this is per head of white collar workers - it reflects a lack of understanding and use of the technology not an agrarian economy.*
In the USA over 30% of all managers and professionals can already be reached by email. In Europe the figure is no more than 5%.
Some people feel we are rushing too quickly into an Information Society- that we should allow more time for evaluation - we should pause and reflect. But an Information Society is not something we can plan for in theory or in isolation. People - including politicians and other decision makers and opinion formers - can’t begin to understand what it means to have an information society until they are gaining daily experience in using the new technologies and methods. The figures suggest that Europe is well behind on our learning curve.
At a recent conference 200 European experts in labour law, health and safety at work, and social security met to discuss telework and to debate Europe’s policies for telework and the networked economy. Less than one third of these experts were day to day users of electronic mail across their organisational boundaries - the most basic tool of today’s networked economy - and only two individuals - both of them speakers from outside this expert community - were familiar with the use of electronic conferencing, the second most important tool. In an equivalent USA meeting one would expect well over half of those present to be using computer conferencing methods and nearly all of them to be using email. Which group of experts can we expect to make better informed decisions about an Information Society - those who understand and use its tools or those whose knowledge is second hand?
Europe is moving and learning too slowly, not too quickly.
*Low use of PCs in Japan is to do with language characteristics and resulting work methods.
