Country Competitiveness Essay

11213 Words45 Pages
05-Shenkar-45427.qxd 11/12/2007 4:53 PM Page 129 COUNTRY COMPETITIVENESS FIVE OPENING CASE DO YOU KNOW? 1. Why do countries differ in their overall competitiveness in the global marketplace? 2. Why is a country’s competitiveness more salient in some industries? For example, why do Swiss watches or pharmaceuticals dominate the world market, as do German upscale cars or Italian gold and silver jewelry? 3. What roles should firms and individuals play in shaping country competitiveness? For example, can Japanese firms’ total quality management improve their country’s competitiveness? 4. How does a foreign country’s competitiveness influence the strategies and decisions of MNEs (multinational enterprises)? Singapore’s Competitive Advantage in the Hard Disk Drive Industry S Photo 5.1 The Raffles Statue was officially unveiled on June 27, 1887, to commemorate the founder of modern Singapore. ingapore is known as one of the most competitive nations in the world. Between 1995 and 2001, the country ranked second in the national competitiveness scoreboard released by Swiss-based IMD (International Institute for Management Development). Hard disk drive (HDD) production in Singapore reached about $10 billion and accounted for approximately 70% of the world’s production of HDDs in 1999. HDDs are highly standardized and easily transportable. Demand is primarily driven by their technical and operating characteristics. This allows manufacturing to be located in distant locations away from consumers. Many world MNEs (multinational enterprises) and domestic companies use Singapore as their platform of HDD manufacturing and as the gateway to international markets, particularly to other Asian countries. Seagate, a world leader in the industry and the largest industrial employer in Singapore, has built a $130 million facility there for assembling disk

More about Country Competitiveness Essay

Open Document