McColl rescue of Ferguson shipyard a high point in year of ups and downs

In the world of business journalism, you are often asked whether the number of good news stories is increasing. It is not surprising to hear this question, with the issue of whether good or bad news stories are in the ascendancy being viewed, understandably, in a similar way to the needle on a barometer.

The fact of the matter is that, even in the depths of the 2008/09 downturn, there were plenty of good news stories from within the Scottish business community.

Often, these success stories were all the more impressive because the achievements were made against the odds, with the economy in dire shape.

And, even in the better times, there are bad news stories.

Unfortunately, for example, announcements of job losses by companies seem ever more like permanent features of the business landscape. There appears to be ever-less relief these days from such bad news even when the economy is supposedly faring a bit better.

In this regard, the question of whether the management consultants are just having too much of an impact often comes to mind.

When they are called into companies, it frequently seems that they are unlikely to resist the opportunity to advise taking out, say, a certain further percentage of the workforce. It is easy to make such a suggestion if you are not particularly familiar with the operations of a business and its requirements.

Such approaches, of top-down management seeking to squeeze efficiencies out of businesses, sadly often appear to figure more prominently than moves by companies to invest for future growth.

The highlight of the year, in terms of the good news stories, was Scottish engineering entrepreneur Jim McColl's rescue of the Ferguson shipbuilding yard at Port Glasgow.

When Ferguson, the last commercial shipbuilder on the Clyde, fell into administration, it was easy to fear the worst.

Originally posted here:
McColl rescue of Ferguson shipyard a high point in year of ups and downs