Chapter 3 - International Competitiveness, Productivity and Quality

1. Chapter 3 - International Competitiveness, Productivity and Quality

2. S. 3.4 – Canada’s Global Challenge 1a)Standard of Living – pg. 90 • determined by measures like • Average household income and expenditures • Number of doctors per person • Literacy percentages • Birth and death rates • Ownership of durable goods like phones, computers • United Nations uses Human Development Index • Fraser Institute uses Index of Human Progress

3. S. 3.4 – Canada’s Global Challenge 1c)Canada’s challenges for 21st Century • Sovereignty (control of land and policy) • Possible challenges from U.S. over use of resources like water e.g. Great Lakes. • Travel through Canadian territorial waters in the Arctic (e.g. Climate Change causes melting of the Arctic ice and allows for ship travel). • Border security – North American perimeter?

4. S. 3.4 – Canada’s Global Challenge 1 c) Continued • Maintain high standard of living • Aging population = higher health care costs • Fewer births = less workers, less social capital, and less tax revenue for government programs • International competition = pressure on government to reduce tax rates and services like education and health care

5. S. 3.4 – Canada’s Global Challenge 1 c) Continued • Climate Change & Growth of Oil Exports • Need to reduce CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) and other gas emissions as per Kyoto Protocol • Oil production and use increases CO2 emissions • Climate change will lead to melting of glaciers, sea ice and rapid changes in Canada’s North • Flooding of coastal areas may occur

6. S. 3.4 – Canada’s Global Challenge 2a) Intellectual Capital – pg. 92 • The total sum of knowledge, skills, intellectual property (e.g. ideas, music, computer code), experience and talent • Intangible (can’t touch or feel it) • Hard to measure and value in financial terms • Also called “Human” or “Social” capital

7. S. 3.4 – Canada’s Global Challenge 2 b) Intellectual Capital and Competitiveness • We live in a ‘high-tech’ information age • Customers want problems solved quickly • Creating new solutions from new ideas creates new products to be sold for profit • E.g. Google (search tool), YouTube (internet videos) small ‘start-ups’, now are worth billions of dollars because of the value of their ideas

8. S. 3.4 – Canada’s Global Challenge • Other examples of successful ‘start-ups’ include: • Microsoft (PCs, Windows) • Apple (Ipods, computers) • Dell (laptops and PCs) • RIM (Research in Motion) – Waterloo ON maker of the Blackberry device (email, phone, etc.)

9. S. 3.4 – Canada’s Global Challenge 3a) Business Rationalization (pg. 95 - 97) • Changing or adjusting what is produced or how it is produced to become more efficient, productive and competitive. E.g.Wal-Mart changing store designs, lumber companies closing mills to consolidate work • Involves many things – new products, new technology, new locations, closing factories, outsourcing work (to other countries)

10. S. 3.4 – Canada’s Global Challenge 3b) Rationalization / Country Competitiveness • Training programs to increase worker skills • Improved infrastructure – roads, bridges, city transit (subways, buses), railways • Privatization – private sector supply of products like electricity, health, prisons • Public Control – more border / airport security post 9-11 by the government

11. S 3.5 Quality Control / Improvement 1a)Kaizen (ki-zan) • Japanese for continuous improvement • Promotes everyone working together to improve, eliminate waste in processes and systems by examining root causes 2a) W. Edwards Deming • 14 management principles adopted by Japanese after WW II (in 1950s-60s Japanese products were considered low quality). Now Japanese cars are considered to be high quality.

12. S 3.5 Quality Control / Improvement 3a) ISO – International Organizationfor Standardizatoin • Voluntary quality standards run by NGO (non-governmental organization) • ISO 9000 standards are worldwide and verified by auditors • ISO certification is a competitive advantage