Top Class Competitors

ISBN-13: 9780470025697 / Angielski / Twarda / 2006 / 256 str.

Stephane Garelli

Opis

Three decades ago competitiveness was unheard-of; today it has taken the world by storm. But what is it? And will it last? In Top Class Competitors Stephane Garelli - professor at IMD business school where he is also head of the World Competitiveness Centre, professor at the University of Lausanne, and former managing director of the World Economic Forum - defines competitiveness as the ability of a nation, company or individual to manage a set of disparate competencies to achieve prosperity. For instance, along with traditional policies a nation must tackle education and security to sustain economic development. Companies must manage soft issues such as brands to beat the competition. And individuals must reinvent themselves to survive. These fields of research did not exist until recently - now, competitiveness makes the link. Top Class 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 competitiveness works, Stephane 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.

Recenzje

"this book aims to provide the answers to these and much more" ( Credit Control , May 2006) " a fresh perspective worth a read." ( Gulf Business , August 2006) " a forward–looking book could easily be a reference text for students of economics, business studies Well written and authoritative " ( Edge , November 2006)

Spis treści

Acknowledgements ix

Credits xi

Prologue xiii

1 Competitiveness: Changing the Mindset 1

2 The Long and Winding Road to Competitiveness 31

3 Working out National Competitiveness: The Cube Theory 61

4 The Extended Enterprise 117

5 Competitiveness and Work: A Love Hate Relationship 153

6 Competitiveness and Value Systems 181

7 Competent People and Competitive People: They Are Not The Same . . . 217

Epilogue: A Beautiful, Competitive Mind 251

References 259

Index 265

O autorze

Stéphane Garelli is a world authority on competitiveness, having pioneered work in the field for 25 years. He is a professor at the Institute of Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he heads the World Competitiveness Centre, and also an associate professor at the University of Lausanne where he teaches competitiveness of enterprises and nations. He was Managing Director of the World Economic Forum and director of its well–known Davos Annual Meetings for many years. Besides his academic career he has worked closely with several large global enterprises, in particular as a special advisor to Hewlett–Packard in Europe. He is also closely involved with public management and politics, having been an elected member of the Constitutional Assembly of his local state in Switzerland. He is a member of numerous international institutions and boards, regularly speaks at major conferences on competitiveness, and is chairman of the Swiss newspaper Le Temps.

Blurb

"Every global leader will find this book not just important, but a necessity."
Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Management, University of Southern California and author of On Becoming a Leader

"Competitiveness is top of our agenda at Nestlé. Stéphane Garelli s research, writings and teaching have had a major impact on the way we approach this fundamental challenge."
Peter Brabeck–Letmathe, Chairman and CEO, Nestlé S.A.

"Moving into highly consumer–driven markets, we at HP learned that inventing and building the best products no longer guaranteed competitiveness. Stephane Garelli s work helped us to better understand the new criteria of success."
Franz Nawratil, former Chairman and CEO, Hewlett Packard Europe.

"Global competition has significantly changed most industries. Stephane Garelli brings interesting, eye–opening insights to this key topic."
Matti Alahuhta, President, KONE Corporation

"The world has never been as competitive as today. Stephane Garelli reminds us all that, unless one can make it and stay in the Top Class, the years ahead may become quite painful."
Daniel Borel, Co–founder and Chairman, Logitech S.A.

"As China becomes a new member of WTO, competitiveness becomes the key issue for Chinese companies existence and development. Top Class Competitors will be a key concern and a shining example."
Pan Chengliegh, Deputy Director–General, China Enterprise Confederation

"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."
Ahmad bin Byat, Director General, Dubai Technology, Electronic & Media Free Zone

"A typically insightful exposition of the what, the why and the how of competitiveness – surely the key to success for companies and societies!"
Jonathan Leslie, CEO, Sappi Limited

Competitiveness 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.

Top Class 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.