The Jones family have nine tv, six computers, three cars, and every domestic appliance. What would their life be like without them? Melanie Adams reports

This is the family who have chosen to fill their home with every conceivable gadget. They have nine TV, including one in each bedroom and in the kitchen. All the children have their own personal computers and CD players. Of course, there are all the usual appliances we all take for granted, such as the washing machine, tumble drier, dishwasher, deep freeze, microwave oven, and video recorder, but they also have an electric trouser press, two power showers, and Olympic-sized spa bath and Jacuzzi, three cars, and the music system which plays throughout the whole house.

The experiment. What happens if all the props of modern living are removed? To help us find out, we asked the Jones to turn back the clock fifty years and to switch off all their labor-saving gadgets and push-button entertainment for three days. We also wanted them to stop using their cars. They were banned from opening the freezer to get out fish fingers and oven chips, to use electronic razor and mobile phone.

The much-dreamed three days got under way! Old-fashioned meals, games, and entertainment were planned for the evenings. After eating together at the kitchen table, they sat playing cards, putting off doing the washing-up because they all hated doing that.

Carol was surprised at how long everything took. ‘By the time I had washed up the breakfast things and got back from walking the children to school, it was nearly lunchtime. Getting to the shops, which normally takes five minutes in the car, took at least an hour, so it was impossible just to pop out for a loaf of bread. It was strange having to wait until the washing dried in the garden before getting the ironing done, instead of simply using the drier.’

Although Carol found it difficult to get to the length of time it took to do things, she enjoyed having a slower, more relaxed pace of life. Also, the lack of electronic entertainment, particularly the TV, had a dramatic effect on the children. They got on much better together and seemed to enjoy each other’s company more, although they clearly believed that they were suffering.

What Malcolm liked the most was the peace. All of this just goes to show that, fascinating as the experiment was, you cannot turn the clock back. This is doubtless a big relief to the Jones family!

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The international manager

In recent years, many companies have expanded globally. They have done this through mergers, joint ventures and co-operation with foreign companies. Because of this globalization trend, many more employees are working abroad in managerial positions or as part of a multinational team.

Although it is common nowadays for staff to work abroad to gain experience, many people have difficulty adapting to the new culture. The failure fate in the US multinationals is estimated to be as high as 30% and it costs US business $3 billion a year.

Two typical failures have been described in the journal Management Today. The first example concerns a German manager with IBM who took up a position as product manager in England. He found that at most lunchtimes and especially on Fridays, many members of staff went to the pub. “I stopped that right away”, he says. “Now they are not allowed off the premises. It didn’t make me very popular at the time but it is not good for efficiency. There is no way we would do that in Germany. No way”.

The second example is about American manager who came to France on a management assignment. He was unable to win the trust of his staff although he tried all kinds of ways to do so. He set clear goals, worked longer hours than everybody, participated in all the projects, visited people’s offices and even took employees out to lunch one by one. But nothing seemed to work. This was because the staff believed strongly that the management were trying to exploit them.

The German manager’s mistake was that he hadn’t foreseen cultural differences. IBM had a firm rule about drinking during working hours. It was not allowed. He didn’t understand that staff in other countries might be more flexible in applying the rule.The American manager used the ways he was familiar with to gain the staff’s trust. To them he seemed more interested in getting the job done than in developing personal relationships.

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