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Belgians are less enterprising, study says
Belgians generally prefer to find a job within an existing organisation rather than create one for themselves or for others, concludes a study on entrepreneurship and competitiveness by the World Economic Forum (WEF), De Tijd reports.
The WEF researchers looked at business behaviour in various countries. They examined how many people have set up their own business, how many of those people have the ambition to recruit 20 people in five years and how many have launched a new product or service. Belgium scored poorly on all three criteria.
The low number of start-ups in Belgium did not come as a surprise, according to the newspaper, as many new businesses are started out of necessity, because there are few job opportunities.
Less obvious is that Belgium also scores poorly on other points, such as ambition. Entrepreneurs in countries such as the United States, Ireland, Hungary and neighbouring countries were more ambitious, with a large proportion of the entrepreneurs reporting that they aim to hire at least 20 employees in the next five years.
Comments
The complete current system is very risky, expensive, taxes are too high and very little or no help or support is given; manufacturers are not keen to take a risk with a new product.
Belgium is a stale and dying Country. If you want to be ambitious and have the skills and enthusiasm to go for it, leave Belgium. Heck, many are. It's an old Europe problem, so don't bother with France, Germany.......
BINGO! Maybe this article will enlighten someone to relax the labor laws so individuals can be hired and fired more easily and individuals are given more responsibility at an earlier age. Belgians do not want to make decisions but prefer to pass the decision onto a "higher up". The boss makes the decisions and those beneath just sit on their hands. Young people are not working "little jobs" at an early age so do not have the opportunity to make decisions, handle cash, and learn to supervise others. I rarely see a Belgian adolescent mowing a lawn for money, organizing an event where cash is involved, or having a summer job. Young Belgians have little or no ambition -- easier to work for someone else, holiday with the family, and live at home until they are married. This is "old school".
Why be ambitious if the results are confiscated? Belgians are brought up in an entitlement society and generally see little need to take risks and work any harder than they need to. It's the job of the State to get them a job and the fault of the State if they don't get one and then the State must pay them.
Belgium exhibits all the faults that plague old Europe (rules, regulations, taxation) and the EU in general. Much as I dislike many aspects of US life, if the USA and the EU were horses than I know which one I would be putting my money on.