Competitive horizon
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) predicts an 8 percent growth in the country’s economy during the current fiscal year. This is slightly down on last year’s growth of 8.4 percent. Strong performance in manufacturing and electricity is expected to continue, though the organization remains concerned about the falling growth rate in the mining sector. A decline in the corporate and service sectors was likewise noted. The CII also emphasized the need to address trade deficit, after it grew to $39.6 billion in 2005-2006 from the $25.9 billion recorded in the previous year. Nevertheless, a different study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) concludes that India is set to remain one of the world’s fastest growing economies. The report, as published by The Economic Times (www.economictimes.indiatimes.com),claims that India will become the world’s 10th largest economy by 2020,accounting for over 12 percent of global economic growth. The EIU also predicts that the country will enjoy a 3.1 percent share in world consumer spending by that time. Last year, India’s share was 1.9 percent. However, the report suggests that long term growth may be driven by agriculture and manufacturing,rather than the country’s IT sector.
UK firms seek waste reduction help
A survey carried out by Envirowise has revealed waste reduction as a key issue for many UK businesses. This was especially found to be the case in the food industry and among other manufacturers. However, 41 percent of the 751 firms surveyed admitted to needing more help in implementing environmentally friendly practices. While around half the respondents sought information from the Internet, a report published by Clearlybusiness (www.clearlybusiness.com)reveals that 17 percent did not know where to find appropriate advice. Against a background of soaring energy costs and concerns about water shortages, the report points out the importance of obtaining such help. For its part,Envirowise is providing free advice at www.envirowise.gov.uk to help UK companies monitor and reduce their water consumption.
Namibia dependence on imports set to continue
High production costs in Namibia will see the country continue to import commodities it has the capability to manufacture locally, according to a report published by All Africa (www.allafrica.com). The government is aiming to reduce the level of imports but the Namibia Manufacturer’s Association (NMA) points out that the cost of energy and transport means that some goods cost twice as much to produce in Namibia than in countries such as South Africa. The report advocates diversification in order to produce high quality products to compete with imports, and some analysts believe that areas boasting abundant water supplies could easily produce cotton, sugar and tomatoes. This would then encourage others into sugar processing or cotton processing, and developing tomato puree plants. However, the Ministry of Trade and Industry recognizes that development of technology and better entrepreneurial and management skills will need to be acquired before real progress can be made. In the meantime, the Ministry has introduced two initiatives that allow businesses to tackle production costs by accessing a wider range of suppliers
How to get the most out of training
An article published by Score (www.score.org)points out that organizations should take training seriously if it is to prove effective. Employees need to be informed in advance the reasons for training and how they will benefit from undergoing it. Likewise, the company’s expectations should be spelled out clearly to make employees fully aware of training objectives and the improvements or behavioral changes that are desired. Dull training is ineffective training so it is imperative to make it interesting. Grab the employees’ attention by varying the delivery and encourage greater involvement by use of interactive techniques like role-play. The importance of measuring the outcome should also not be underestimated, while it is good practice for companies to recognize the efforts of employees who strive hard to meet expectations.
