The times, they are a-changing...some more

The times they are a-changing [1]

What's that they say about death and taxes? The only certainties in life are... well, I can think of one other big certainty which makes life worth living, but other than that, its pretty close.

Looking at people's needs, you would probably say with fairly high certainty that doctor's will always be in demand, as sick people (of which there are many) need doctors. Well, according to this Fin24 article, that's not necessarily true. The article talks of how the landscape is changing for regular GP's, and goes on to explain how the entire business model is changing, with the main driver of this change being... you guessed it - attempts to reduce medical costs.

So does this mean that value means nothing? I have always taken the view [although not always easy to do] that cost is not the main focus, rather value is. The old economic conundrum about price vs quality comes to mind here.

Does this mean that value is out the window? As we advance technologically, [not just good but excellent] systems become commonplace and barriers to entry in many industries continue to dwindle... it seems cost is becoming a very large focus indeed. Having trained as an accountant, its easy for me to see why this is important, but something within me balks at the thought of every decision, every business being concentrated on minimising costs.

Just think of what we would be missing out on if this were the case.



Or is it just me?

Lesson in this [one of them, anyway] - in the changing times, cost has become a large driver for many businesses and decisions. We have two choices: accept it, join the hordes and beat that supplier down... or face it head-on and try to prove that value still has its place - after all, if you can deliver an excellent product or service, surely someone will be willing to pay for it?