Globalization, alliances and networking: A strategy for competitiveness and productivity
Joseph Prokopenko
1. Productivity, competitiveness and development
For many years productivity has been a key issue for national development strategies because of its impact on economic and social development. It is important as a source of income and as an integrative objective encompassing improved labour/management cooperation and worker participation, it is the criteria for enterprise competitiveness and a long-term strategy for governments, employers and employees to alleviating poverty and promoting human rights and economic democracy. It is a well-known fact that the most productive companies and government productivity-oriented policies are closely linked to the promotion of a better quality of working life, participation, market economic principles, individual initiative and creativity, and human-oriented management styles and practices.
Productivity objectives, accepted by all parties concerned, become the important instrument of just distribution of wealth, sound industrial relations and democratic workers' participation. Thus, productivity is a good tool to balance economic, social, technical and environmental objectives.
Productivity and poverty alleviation. There is strong macro-economic and statistical evidence that the more effective (productive and competitive) the national economy, the higher the personal income of workers and the lower the rate of inflation in the long-term. It also means more national income for social distribution for those who are young, old, handicapped or unemployed. Better productivity also provides more profit to invest in promoting economic growth in underdeveloped regions. Therefore high productivity, packaged with e ...