CHAPTER 29
Safety, Health, and Competition in the Global Marketplace
Competitiveness Defined
- the ability to consistently succeed and prosper in the marketplace whether it is local, regional, national,
or global
-out perform to competitors in the long run
- The most competitive companies are those that doing the following:
1.Consistently outperform their competitors in the key areas of quality, productivity, response time,
service, cost, and corporate image.
2.Continually improve all of these areas.
- cheaper – sell more
- Better – charge higher profit
- Faster – technology
- The two key concepts associated with competitiveness are:
Peak performance
Continual improvement
In order to compete, industrial companies must continually and consistently combine the best people
and the best technologies with the best management strategies.
Productivity and Competitiveness
Productivity = Output/Input
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-Value added is the difference between what it costs to produce a product and what it costs to
purchase it.
-Value added is increased when productivity is increased.
Rule-of-thumb
-Productivity is declining when
1. Output declines, and input is constant; or
2. Output is constant, but input increases.
-Productivity is improving when
3. Output is constant, but input decreases; or
4. Output increases, and input is constant.
When productivity is improved, quality must also improve or at least remain constant.
A Global View
-Pressure to increase productivity often results in actions that are detrimental to safety and health
of workers.
-Won a battle only to lose the war.
Quality and Competitiveness
-Quality without productivity results in costs that are too high to be competitive.
-Productivity without quality results in a shabby product that quickly tarnishes the corporate
image.
-Quality is a measure of the extent to which a product or service meets or exceeds customer
expectations
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A Global View : Pressure to improve quality generally supports safety and health.
How Safety and Health Can Improve Competitiveness
-When the pressure of competing becomes intense, it is not uncommon for Safety &Health to be
given a lower priority.
-Mental ability became more important than physical ability; suddenly, the number of qualified
applicants got smaller.
-Serious implications for the global competitiveness of U.S. companies:
-Illiteracy problem
-Aging workforce
-Rapid and continual technological change
Productivity and Cost
-Productivity is a function of people, technology, and management strategies.
-Safety &Health have a direct effect on the first two.
The more productive a company, the more competitive it can be in setting prices for its products.
Quality
-Those practices that enhance quality also tend to enhance safety & health.
Response Time
- like productivity in that it is a function of people, technology, and management strategies.
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Service
-Can have a significant impact on customer satisfaction and, in turn, on corporate image.
-It is not a component to be used when trying to gain a commitment to S&H.
Image
Image of being concerned about :
-Employee Safety &Health
-Product safety
-Environment
Safety &Health contribute to competitiveness in the following ways:
-By helping companies attract and keep the best people
-By allowing employees to focus peak performance without being distracted by concerns for their
Safe & Heath
-By freeing money that can be reinvested in technology updates
-By protecting the corporate image.
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