OUR OUTLOOK - Pressalit A/S

NINA
SMITH
NINA SMITH (b. 1955) is a professor
at the National Economic
Institute at Aarhus University
and a former economic adviser
to the Danish government.
From 2007-2009 she was also
Vice-Chancellor for Academic
Studies at Aarhus University.
She is the author of several scientific
articles in international
publications and books and is
an active lecturer on economics,
the labour market, equality and
social politics.
Nina Smith served on the Danish
Government’s Social Commission,
the Danish Government’s
Research Commission, the
Danish Government’s Welfare
Commission and the Danish
Globalisation Council. She is
and has been a member of several
Danish boards.
Nina Smith has been honoured
with several distinctions for her
work, including the prize DI’s
Æreshåndværker, the prize Den
Berlingske Fonds Hæderspris
and Knight of the Order of
Dannebrog.
aware that there won’t be many unskilled jobs left
as the jobs of the future will demand specific
skills training. That is why it is so important that
we, as a society, offer people an education. Unless
of course we decide to take on the role of the
people the Chinese outsource jobs to.
DB I actually think that the crisis has made us a
lot sharper. We are a well-consolidated company,
but even well-consolidated companies can find
themselves in trouble in the current situation. We
are fortunate in having a competent team of staff
who has ensured that our stock has been
reduced so we could maintain high liquidity.
NS Liquidity is something that enables a company
to survive. It is important that a company survives
the crisis with a strong business foundation. The
companies with strong liquidity will be able to exploit
their position when the markets recover. And
this is already happening in Asia. China is once
again experiencing growth of 9-10%, so they
probably don’t have the same perception of the
crisis right now as we do in the West.
DB Do Danish companies have a real sense of
how quickly the Chinese economy will explode?
NS Yes, I think we’re relatively good at predicting
trends. When we carry out analyses of globalisation
readiness, we see that Denmark is well placed.
As children we learned in school that Denmark
neither has precious minerals nor other natural
resources, but that we have the ability to think
innovatively. And we have always been good at
adapting relatively quickly. Unfortunately, Denmark
has just experienced ten years with a low increase
in productivity, and our competitiveness has seriously
suffered as a result. This was made very
apparent by the recent crisis, especially in Danish
industry. So the next step is that we increasingly
use globalisation to learn more from others.
DB How?
NS We need to adopt a slightly humbler approach.
We think we have the best labour market,
the best healthcare system, the best school
system etc. Until we find out that isn’t quite
the case.
DB That’s a typical “small country” phenomenon.
We are wrapped in cotton wool and easily lulled
into a false sense of security. But the next generation
will probably have an easier time of it as
they are more global in their outlook than we are.
The young students we take in have a completely
different outlook than the older ones. We also
need to be better in ensuring diversity when we
recruit. It’s healthy for our culture to be challenged
by new perspectives, ideas and competencies.
NS You often hear that we educate
too many human and social
science graduates. But
many of those with untraditional
educations have skills which we
also need to drive development
and momentum. We know from
our research that manufacturing
based on user-driven innovation,
as is the case at Pressalit,
requires people who think
differently.
Maintaining a broad outlook
DB I think it’s important to maintain
a broad outlook, also in
times of crises. That companies
continue to take students in and
maintain dialogue with educational
institutions.
NS Right now it isn’t particularly
easy for students to find practical
training. This applies to foreign
students in particular, and
this really is shameful. Being
able to draw on a student with a
different cultural background
who is familiar with the markets
in which the company operates
is a fantastic resource.
DB I’m surprised because we
try to encourage foreign students
to apply for practical job
training at Pressalit, and we are
disappointed not to receive more
applications from students with
a non-Danish ethnic background.
But what do you do to
promote dialogue with the business
community?
NS The universities are doing a
lot to reach out to the business
community and make a practical
contribution. The time when
researchers locked themselves
away in ivory towers is long
since gone. Today what really
counts is establishing successful
collaboration with the corporate
sector. This is where I feel
like passing the buck back to
the Danish companies. They
also have to be willing to invest
in collaboration and dialogue
with us and to exploit the universities’
knowledge.
DB Closer collaboration with
the corporate sector would also
result in a clearer focus?