PrintCompetitiveness is the most used and abused term in modern economics. Three decades ago it was unheard-of; today a Google search produces more than 35 million matches. Competitiveness has taken the world by storm with frequent name-checks from politicians, business leaders, journalists and academics alike. But is competitiveness a fad or for real? And, incidentally, what is it exactly?
Competitiveness, as defined in this book, is the ability of a nation, company or individual to manage a totality of competences to attain prosperity. Success today depends on more than managing a few well-established core competencies. Along with traditional policies, a nation must also tackle education and security to sustain economic development. A company must manage ‘soft’ issues such as brands and perceptions to beat the competition. And individuals must reinvent themselves and expand their skills to survive. These fields of economic research did not exist a few decades ago. Today, competitiveness makes the link.
TopClass Competitors is a journey through the brave new world of competitiveness. What are its historical origins? How does it impact the management of a nation? How do companies thrive on it in an international environment? What is the impact on work structures and value systems? Above all, is there a competitiveness mindset? Exploring how the concept works and how its issues are intertwined, Stéphane Garelli shows why competitiveness is the most powerful tool available to unleash new levels of prosperity for nations, profit for companies and success for people.
Endorsements of the book
Global competition has significantly changed most industries. Stephane Garelli, with his IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook background, brings interesting, eye-opening insights to this key topic.
Every global leader will find this work not just important, but a necessity
The "world" has never been as competitive as today. Thanks to technological advances, the playing field has grown considerably wider. New and hungry entrants are claiming a share of the business. Established companies, as well as states and individuals, need to develop a new frame of mind and find new ways to enhance their competitiveness if they are to survive. The merit of Stephane Garelli’s book is to remind all of us that, unless one can make it and stay in the Top Class, the years ahead may become quite painful.
Today, competitiveness is on the top on our agenda at Nestlé. Stéphane Garelli is one of the most stimulating thinkers that I have met on the subject and his research, writings and teaching have had a major impact on the way we approach this fundamental challenge at Nestlé.
In a world, which is becoming increasingly globalized, Dubai is constantly reinventing itself in order to sustain its competitive advantage over other cities. Stephane Garelli's work has had a strong influence on our strategies by allowing us to focus on non-traditional means of building competitiveness.
A typically insightful exposition of the what, the why and the how of competitiveness, surely the key to success for companies and societies!
Moving into highly "consumer" driven markets, we at HP had learned that inventing and building the best products imaginable, regardless of price and availability, no longer guarantied competitiveness. Stephane Garelli’s work helped us to better understand the new criteria of success and to put in place the mindset and the organizational structure to create "Total Customer Satisfaction".
As China becomes a new member of WTO, Chinese companies emerge into the international arena of competition. Competitiveness becomes the key issue for their existence and development. Top Class Competitors will be a top concern and a shining example not only for China, but also for nations, companies and individuals both in developed and developing countries as well.
Table of contents
COMPETITIVENESS: changing the mindset
1. Managing the totality of competencies
1.1. Competitiveness is more than productivity
1.2. Competitiveness is more than what you can measure
1.3. Competitiveness is more than wealth
1.3.1. Natural resources: a blessing or a curse?
1.3.2. Past competitiveness — an unbearable burden?
1.4. Competitiveness is more than power
1.4.1. Larger markets dominate the world
1.4.2. The population boom changes the power game
1.4.3. Can smaller nations survive?
2. Competitiveness: A change in the mindset
2.1. Forget the past: competitiveness is now!
2.2. Winning is not enough
CHAPTER II: THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD TO COMPETITIVENESS
1. A short odyssey through competitiveness
1.1. Classicaleconomics provides the ground work
1.2. The law of comparative advantage still the cornerstone
1.3. The socio-political context really matters
1.4. Value systems are valuable
1.5. The destructive creativity of entrepreneurs
1.6. The rational thinking of managers
1.7. Knowledge and technology lead growth
1.8. Rivalry and clusters: The diamond theory of Michael Porter
2. Competitiveness of nations — a formal definition
CHAPTER III: WORKING OUT NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS: THE CUBE THEORY
1. The enterprise: at the core of the cube theory
2. The four competitiveness factors
2.1. Economic efficiency
2.2. Government efficiency
2.3. Business efficiency
2.4. Infrastructure efficiency
3. The four competitiveness forces
3.1. Attractiveness vs. Aggressiveness
3.2. Proximity vs. Globality
3.3. Assets vs. Processes
3.4. Individual Risk Taking vs. Social Cohesiveness
4. Combining the four forces of competitiveness
4.1. Globality and Risk Taking
4.2. Proximity and Social Cohesiveness
5. Competitiveness in perspective: the depth of the cube
CHAPTER IV: THE EXTENDED ENTERPRISE
1. What is the extended enterprise model?
1.1. The Core Enterprise and the Periphery
1.1.1. The Core Enterprise
1.1.2. The Periphery
1.2. The Extended Enterprise Model: in pursuit of efficiency
1.2.1. Process based competitiveness
1.2.2. Linking value chains through technology
1.2.3. Moving the periphery off-shore
1.2.4. The Periphery
2. Akey challenge: keeping in touch with customers
2.1. From order fulfilment to order generation
2.2. Locking customers into a relationship
3. New frontiers in the Extended Enterprise Model
3.1. Vulnerability
3.2. Complexity
3.3. Transaction in efficiencies
4. How can nations cope with the extended enterprise model?
CHAPTER V: COMPETITIVENESS AND WORK: A LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP!
1. The Extended Work Model
1.1. The uncertain glory of work at the centre.
1.2. Workin the first periphery: who is your boss?
1.3. Workin the second periphery: a world of mercenaries?
2. Workin the age of anxiety
2.1. The loss of the office as a status symbol
2.2. Working from home: a mixed blessing?
2.3. Canpart-time work be a real alternative?
3. The disappearance of work: really?
3.1. Workingless or more?
3.2. Manufacturing jobs are, indeed, disappearing
4. A Market value for work?
4.1. The employability of the workforce
4.2. Corporate value and market value for work
5. Workstructures: a point of no return for competitiveness?
CHAPTER VI: COMPETITIVENESS AND VALUE SYSTEMS
1. When the East meets the West
1.1. Japan: the land of hard work?
1.2. Europe and the US were there before
2. Valuesystems change over time
2.1. First phase: Hard work
2.2. Second phase: Wealth
2.3. Third phase: Social participation
2.4. Fourth phase: Self-achievement
3. From collective to individual values
4. How long do systems take to evolve?
5. Managing value systems for competitiveness
6. Diversity as the next phase for value systems
7. Combining national and corporate value systems
7.1. TheTiger – Cat – Bear model
7.1.1. The Tigers
7.1.2. The Cats
7.1.3. The bears
7.2. Moving through the Tiger – Cat – Bear model
7.3. Aligning National and Corporate value systems
8. Managing the proliferation of cultures in global companies
8.1. The Ethnocentric approach
8.2. The Polycentric approach
8.3. The Geocentric approach
9. A new trend: the emergence of the Third Culture
CHAPTER VII: COMPETENT PEOPLE AND COMPETITIVE PEOPLE: THEY ARE NOT THE SAME
1. A high level of energy
2. A more intense sense of urgency
3. A deeper sense of purpose
4. A stronger sense of resilience
5. A more acute sense of timing
6. A stricter sense of alignment
7. A higher degree of confidence, but not of arrogance
8. An enduring passion for reinvention and againstcomplacency
EPILOGUE: A BEAUTIFUL COMPETITIVE MIND
1. Competitiveness is not the accumulation of certainties
2. Competitiveness is developed through ‘trial and error’
3. Strong competitiveness models accept internal criticism
4. Competitiveness also thrives on thinking the unthinkable
5. The future is not what it used to be