International competitiveness is, “the ability of a nation to compete successfully internationally and sustain improvements in real output and wealth. There is no unique measure of competitiveness. We can use tangible measures such as unit labour costs and long run average growth of a real GDP and qualitative indicators of the kind to be found in the IMD’s competitiveness league table.” Simply put the situation of being competitive in international trade.
There are two different types of competitiveness, price competitiveness and non-price competitiveness.
Price competitiveness includes;
COSTS – unit wage costs, raw materials, energy, transport etc.
PROFIT MARGINS – the difference between actual cost and sale price
EXCHANGE RATES – a variable that determines whether it is more cost effective to import/export to or from the UK or alternative countries at any given time.
Non – price competitiveness includes;
Quality – how good is a product or service compared to alternatives.
Service -Customer satisfaction determines the standards of a service whether it is in the form of a product or customer service which would take in to account how the sales person interacts with a client, presenting product, giving information or explaining the functions of a product. Staff training is paramount to have a competent team to maintaining a good reputation.
Reliability – can be tested by carrying out research into the products or physically test for capabilities and limitations, for example car manufacturers will carry out vigorous tests to establish the safety and survival rate in case of accidents. The companies maintain their prestige by producing reliable cars such as Benz, BMW, and Datsun etc.
Main factors influencing British firms’ competitiveness:
Relative Inflation Rates – when the inflation rate in the UK is higher than its EU competitors, it will have an impact on economy and can lead to fall in demand for goods. If there was inflation rise globally then the impact is less as every country will be under similar pressure.
Exchange Rates – UK is not a member of the European Union, exchange rates can have a significant effect on competitiveness. The cost of exporting British goods across Europe and globally would be higher if the exchange rate of British Sterling pound against the Euro was higher. A firm in Germany can opt out for similar product cheaper from China with better exchange rate between Euro and Chinese Yuan rather than importing from Britain at higher rate. On the other hand if the UK pound was weaker than Euro, then Europeans will get better value for money spending in UK but will affect imports to UK. This will create the opportunity for rival firms to take advantage. Small businesses are usually worst hit as it will cost them more in freight charges and costs. It can be argued that devaluation can reduce the incentive to cut costs in the long term.
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Wages – Cost of manufacturing goods and some companies paying minimum wage or less to work force recruited from Europe has created tension among British workers. However, low wages play an important part in international competitiveness. Some British companies have been out sourcing to India and China. Over the course of 2010 China exported over £28bn worth of goods into the UK, shown in the chart from HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics
Offering wage increases and bonuses as incentives to motivate staff is expected to increase levels of productivity. However, in China wages do not reflect a workers’ input at the factory level.
Whole World Imports – Top 20 Trading Partners:1
2003 to 2010
General Trade
£ millions
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Germany
33,142
35,606
37,507
40,004
44,197
44,460
39,628
44,529
United States
24,177
22,975
22,993
26,367
26,365
28,877
28,422
31,378
China
8,554
10,628
13,194
15,559
18,794
21,968
22,871
28,228
Netherlands
15,672
18,010
19,102
20,673
22,785
25,327
21,561
25,953
France
19783
19,794
20,149
21,295
21,666
23,191
20,524
21,694
Norway
6,591
8,806
12,444
14,791
14,595
20,646
15,085
19,459
Belgium
12,189
12,719
13,306
14,274
14,825
16,103
14,894
16,941
Italy
11,720
12,055
11,935
12,549
13,188
14,061
12,100
13,894
Irish Republic
10,031
10,108
10,005
10,417
11,249
12,020
12,264
12,723
Spain
8,445
8,780
9,641
10,442
10,112
10,291
9,124
9,901
Switzerland
3,924
3,574
4,000
4,474
4,878
5,955
5,724
8,434
Hong Kong
5,641
5,894
6,719
7,494
6,988
7,659
7,178
7,553
Japan
8,247
8,237
8,732
7,984
7,981
8,106
6,232
7,537
Canada
3,796
4,278
4,242
5,040
5,868
6,251
5,270
6,810
Sweden
4,593
5,121
5,239
5,750
5,224
6,702
5,423
6,487
Poland
1,568
1,843
2,180
3,191
3,675
4,240
4,604
5,919
India
2,147
2,340
2,833
3,188
3,773
4,266
4,325
5,447
Russia
2,481
3,548
5,063
5,826
5,488
6,694
4,452
5,172
Turkey
2,732
3,370
3,617
4,037
4,729
4,676
4,317
5,050
South Africa
3,025
3,349
4,012
3,989
3,158
4,536
3,583
4,114
China can manufacture goods at a lower rate than the UK as the UK’s average wage is much higher than in China which benefits from an elastic supply of labour keeping prices down.
However, less labour intensive industries such as the financial services in UK has an advantage over China for its expertise and knowledge obtained over years of growth in this particular field.
Technological Developments – this factor relies on UK firms being innovative and being able to invest in new technologies, are integral part of developing dynamic efficiency.
Productivity – It is the output per worker, Improving education, training, levels of motivation and increased use of advanced technologies all will contribute to increased productivity and competitiveness for the UK.
Influences and conclusion:
The Global Competitiveness Report which ranks global competitiveness on the Global Competiveness Index (GCI) ranks the UK 12th this year, a place up on last year. The criteria or the pillars for competitiveness are; institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication, and innovation.
These pillars offer British firms criteria to achieve high levels of competitiveness on a macro level. The frameworks need to be in place to assure these pillars are met at national level.
The micro level independent firms and industries need to develop strategies TO, improve education, training, technology and working practises to maximise their competiveness and contribute to the overall long term improvement in global competitiveness.
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