Hating the U.N. is very simple. They manufacture tons of insignificant nonsense reports generated by a dissonant hive mind of committees and ad hoc groups. UN reports are often “insignificant” because they treat the symptoms of problems facing the world. Good ideas are never related to existing knowledge and disappear forever in the labyrinthine archives.. These reports are often “nonsense” because they promote unworkable and irresponsible ideas that cannot be justified except to possibly fund a study that concludes by calling for more studies.
On November 20th, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Economic Development (UNCTAD) released a classic example of a U.N.report, “From selling sheep to transcribing tapes”. The report discusses several ecommerce enterprises that base their operations in lesser developed countries (LDCs). It hails the Internet as another avenue for LDCs to lift themselves out of poverty through the great potential for teleservicing, the promises of e tourism and the bright future of ecommerce in Asia.
It acknowledges that LDCs face challenges to embracing the Internet. Among these challenges that LDCS face are a lack of skill, inadequate legislation, the absence of payment methods and scarce financial resources.
That’s surprising because most people are under the apparently mistaken impression that the problems of LDCs involve a general lack of food, despotic governments, inadequate health care, no education and an absence of money.
Of the examples used, the worst sites are mentioned first in the report while the best sites were placed near the end of the report as if they were afterthoughts.
The first business is called EthioGift. With this service, you can receive 48 hour delivery of sheep, cake, flowers and liquor. The U.N. loves it enough to dedicate first two paragraphs of its report to the venture.
The site cannot be considered well done by any definition. Besides bad design, it raises all the red flags of bad service. Sheep sizes and prices bear no relationship to each other. I am certainly not a livestock expert but, by virtue of being American, I know something about being a consumer.
The three sheep sizes have a difference of only 5 kgs–25 kgs for the “medium” sheep, 30 kgs for the “big” sheep, and 35 kgs for the “very big” sheep. The prices, however, are not based in logic. The medium sheep is $57, the big sheep is $73 and a very big sheep is $97. Between the 25 kg sheep and the 35 kg sheep there is a 28% increase in weight while consumers pay an additional 41% for the extra 10 kgs. If the same consumer were to buy two medium sheep, they would get 30% more total sheep on 50 kgs for only 15% more($114) than one 35 kg sheep($97).
Because of the discrepancies in pricing logic, one can only assume that owner is either a ignorant or corrupt. Instead of getting a deal for moving up to the larger sheep, consumers should be able to find themselves screwed out of meat and clothing.
After dealing with the prices, consumers must also deal with the terms of service. First, consumers agree that delivery will cost $7. Consumers agree to incur a 15% “communication and purchase” fee and another 15% on “money transfer”. Consumers will pay for the privilege of talking and the act of buying. EthioGift will not deal with a consumer unless they have a phone “in complete working order” and have a describable address.
That says quite a bit about the developing world. In a place where people are struggling to have an operational telephone and government cannot provide a sense of order through mailing addresses, the UN has made this company their poster child for rising out of poverty. This company alone shows that the UN is in need of a reality check.
While the owner is free to run his business according to what he can get away with, EthioGift is not a company that the UN should be praising.
The next example is simply disturbing. Bangladesh, a nation that ranks near the bottom in every conceivable standard of living category, has a company called Technosoft Transcription. The company transcribes the notes of U.S. physicians. In addition to basic computer skills and the ability to type, the company has “an understanding of American culture and practices.”
This company employs 21 people and pays them approximately $500 per month. The average salary for the same job in U.S. is $6,000 per month. That being said, $500 is almost 25 times greater than that average Bangladeshi monthly income. The company expects to make $200,000 this year and some unnamed government official predicts that the transcribing industry will be $300 million a year in Bangladesh within five years.
There is no way that is going to happen. Impressive voice dictation software is available at any local computer store. Between technology and the invisible hand, the more likely reality is that all 21 transcriber employees will be out on the street or in a job that is dramatically different from transcribing.
The businesses that appear to be profitable and have nice sites(www.lakbay.net for example) were the travel sites based in Asia. They handle travel, lodging and provide secure transactions for other businesses. Why the sheep salesman was given so much space and the tgravel site so little is indeed confusing.
Without attrition of ideas, the UN will continue to be a bloated, worthless organization. They have the potential to serve everyone, but their institutional groupthink puts them in a situation where they serve no one. Every idea, no matter how bad or how damaging, gets heard.
The quantitative brainpower of the U.N. is not in doubt. However, when the root causes of poverty are nowhere close to being solved after half a century of service, touting the wonders of the Internet demonstrates a lack of genuine compassion and a conspicuous absence of common sense in the United Nations.
