America isn’t what it used to be when it comes to manufacturing. In 1950, it accounted for one in every four jobs in the U.S. Now it is less than one in ten. But Willy Shih, professor of management practice at Harvard University, argues that these jobs are critical to the economy and innovation in technology markets. Shih was part of a group of Harvard Business School professors who came to Silicon Valley this week to convince the region’s leaders that America’s competitiveness is slipping. Sure the region is creating plenty of jobs in social networking and apps, but that’s not going to save the country. So says Shih, a self-described “hardcore manufacturing guy.”
Fifteen professors created reports on the subject and found in an October 2011 survey of 10,000 HBS alumni across the economy that 71 percent of respondents expect U.S. competitiveness to decline over the next three years. About 1,700 of the respondents had to personally make decisions about whether to leave the U.S. for jobs overseas. That’s pretty bleak. Much of the blame falls not only on education but the U.S. tax code, political system, structural deficits, the costs healthcare, manufacturing policies, and immigration issues. But Shih believes that getting an understanding of the complex issues is critical to fixing them.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Silicon Valley and the nation still need manufacturing jobs for economic survival (interview) | VentureBeat
