The recession, morale and confidence
One of the by-products of a recession is falling morale and confidence, and this has further consequences that can accelerate the recessionary trend. So we have been told that in the UK the gloomy economic news stories had an adverse effect on consumers and stopped them from spending, even where they had the money. The same pattern is emerging in Ireland. Therefore the effect is that falling retail sales reduce profits in that sector and in the industries that supply it, and that in turn creates problems in those sectors, with growing unemployment a result. This is then aggravated further by the process that is taking money out of people’s pockets through pay cuts and tax increases (however necessary that is). It’s a vicious spiral that aggravates the downturn. It could be said that if there is a patriotic duty right now, it is to go out and do some shopping. You are saving jobs, and indeed possibly your own job, when you do so.
The same is true in the university sector. With every day’s new gloomy news about funding cuts and declining prospects, of deficits and emergency measures, confidence is further eroded, and with that there is a risk of lethargy and listlessness which will further damage our prospects. We cannot immediately change either government policy or the current economic trends, but we can stop ourselves being mesmerised by all this. Hard times are not always bad times to innovate, and DCU initially grew in a climate that was not much more favourable than what we are now experiencing. The new DCU strategic plan, which will be launched over the next month or two, will point a way forward beyond the current difficulties and will, I hope, give the university community some sense of purpose.
We do however also need a sense of national purpose and vision. I still hope that this will be set out clearly and confidently before long. We need it.
Explore posts in the same categories: economy, higher education, politics, universityTags: confidence, recession, shopping, strategy, vision
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University Blog 
March 9, 2009 at 12:54 am
I think this is just a difficult time for everyone to believe or trust in anyone or anything! And spending money on anything that isn’t necessary is not on the forefront of people’s minds!
March 9, 2009 at 9:34 am
I agree that it is difficult for people to put themselves in a spending frame of mind right now. This needs to be stimulated and encouraged by government, which on the whole is actually doing the opposite at the moment…
March 9, 2009 at 2:58 pm
It could be contended that the current economic crisis will in-fact be to Ireland’s long term benefit, given the right guidance of course! For too long our country has taken the wrong path of Direct investment from other countries often at the expense of our own innovative start-ups, coupled with a huge unsustainable dependence on the building sector, the very fact that the current economic crisis is global gives us the chance (again with the correct guidance) to abruptly change our economic course without losing ground to other economies as would happen if other countries were not suffering in the global downturn. Our greatest challenge will likely be within our education system, which will have to stoke the fire to blaze this new trail, but with probably fewer resources and likely a tighter fiscal budget, whoever this again has the potential to yield a new generation of well educated but resourceful and innovative people.
July 15, 2009 at 4:27 pm
As someone mentioned Recession is not in the market but in the mindset of management. The more recession activities that management continues, recession shall continue even in employees.