Chapter 3 - International
Competitiveness, Productivity and
Quality
S. 3.4 – Canada’s Global Challenge
1a) Standard of Living – pg. 90
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determined by measures like
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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
S. 3.4 – Canada’s Global Challenge
1c) Canada’s challenges for 21st Century
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Sovereignty (control of land and policy)
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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?
S. 3.4 – Canada’s Global Challenge
1 c) Continued
 Maintain high standard of living
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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
S. 3.4 – Canada’s Global Challenge
1 c) Continued
 Climate Change & Growth of Oil Exports
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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
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
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
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E.g. Google (search tool), YouTube (internet
videos) small ‘start-ups’, now are worth billions of
dollars because of the value of their ideas
S. 3.4 – Canada’s Global Challenge
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Other examples of successful ‘start-ups’
include:
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Microsoft (PCs, Windows)
Apple (Ipods, computers)
Dell (laptops and PCs)
RIM (Research in Motion) – Waterloo ON maker
of the Blackberry device (email, phone, etc.)
S. 3.4 – Canada’s Global Challenge
3a) Business Rationalization (pg. 95 - 97)
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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)
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
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.
S 3.5 Quality Control / Improvement
3a) ISO – International Organization for
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