Cheap Labor and Executive Elevators

In a developing country where labor is cheap, you get all sorts of inefficiencies that you don't see in other countries.  Namely, you have "office boys" whose sole purpose in life is to bring people water, and make sure everyone has a bottle of water at their desks in the morning with a clean glass.

Additionally, in hotels, you have doorman and elevator-holders whose purpose in life is to open the door, and press the button to the elevator for you.  Yet, the exact same hotel chains in a more developed country where labor is expensive have automatic doors instead. 

Lots of folks in SE Asia have live-in help, which is something you would never dream of in the US.  Again, they can get away with it because they import cheap labor from other countries (something you'd never do in the US).  I hear that Malaysia is the training ground for help (they're paid about $150/mth), and then maids go off to other countries where the pay is higher - maybe $300/mth (e.g., Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and I think even China now). 

And as a result of cheap labor, people get lazy, and you have less of a "do-it-yourself" attitude, which I think breeds inefficiencies.  Yes, time is precious and can be expensive, but I suppose when you have employment problems, you find random jobs that you wouldn't have in other countries and create those positions.

Perhaps one of the most interesting thing is the notion of an "Executive Elevator."  Apparently it is reserved for executives and serves as an express elevator, bypassing the queues and whatnot, possibly creating even more of a disconnect between the have's and have-nots. 

All that being said, there is something to be said for a developing country where everyone is working hard, trying to make a living, and not ask for give-aways.  I'd say I'm very impressed with that about the Indonesians.  I've been to my share of places where people simply ask for the handouts and don't even try...