Manufacturing organisation in developing countries with particular reference to Iraq

Industrially developed countries are able to absorb modern techniques of science and technology quite readily; this is not the case for less-developed countries. Attempts made by developing countries have been ineffective due to factors not readily admitted. This thesis highlights the areas that need to be developed by under-developed countries, and covers economic, scientific and technological, and social aspects as well as technology transfer. Economic areas considered acknowledge that within any one country there should be proper procedures for planning economic and industrial projects (plant design) supported by efficient economic development strategy. Scientific and technological factors considered include the major areas that need to be developed in order to produce and/or deal with scientific and technological issues for the interest of the national development. Technology transfer areas considered include the necessity of building up a national body (system) responsible for dealing with activities and tasks of transferring foreign-made technology so that it can be employed effectively within the environment of the country. Social factors considered include the need to develop human resources which can be employed efficiently into the whole process of development, and particularly for the above proposed systems. Education and training are the major elements that ought to be tackled to produce skilled manpower and to overcome the social and cultural values and traditions that are inherited by the society. This thesis highlights the above areas in an attempt to plan and organise the development of science and technology, and their implementation into the development as a whole. Whilst recognising the problems of creating this sort of development in developing countries, the author considers the benefits to be obtained are much greater in the long run.

Impact of FDI, ODA and migrant remittances on economic growth in developing countries:a systems approach

This article seeks to investigate the relative contributions of foreign direct investment, official development assistance and migrant remittances to economic growth in developing countries. We use a systems methodology to account for the inherent endogeneities in these relationships. In addition, we also examine the importance of institutions, not only for growth directly, but for the interactions between institutions and the other sources of growth. It is, we believe, the first article to consider each of these variables together. We find that all sources of foreign capital have a positive and significant impact on growth when institutions are taken into account. © 2013 European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes.

Some aspects of management in state-owned enterprises in the Republic of Vietnam:as a case study for developing countries

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Corporate social responsibility reporting in developing countries:the case of Bangladesh

Historically, the study of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting has largely been within the context of Western economies. However, in the wake of highly publicized incidents such as Bhopal and the struggle of the Ogoni people in Nigeria, many large corporations now claim to be taking steps to improve their environmental and social performance within developing countries. Using the lens of stakeholder theory, this book examines whether the current practice of CSR reporting in developing countries is motivated by a desire to discharge accountability to all relevant stakeholders or whether it is being driven by the imperative of advancing corporate economic interests. While concepts like CSR reporting have become more fashionable, they vary widely in different national contexts; this book therefore clarifies the types and roles of CSR reporting and the underlying corporate motivations. The author considers the current CSR reporting practices in a number of developing countries, with particular attention given to illuminating a case study of Bangladesh.

Technology transfer to developing countries : the case of physical asset management in South Africa

This research investigates technology transfer (TT) to developing countries, with specific reference to South Africa. Particular attention is paid to physical asset management, which includes the maintenance of plant, equipment and facilities. The research is case based, comprising a main case study (the South African electricity utility, Eskom) and four mini-cases. A five level framework adapted from Salami and Reavill (1997) is used as the methodological basis for the formulation of the research questions. This deals with technology selection, and management issues including implementation and maintenance and evaluation and modifications. The findings suggest the Salami and Reavill (1997) framework is a useful guide for TT. The case organisations did not introduce technology for strategic advantage, but to achieve operational efficiencies through cost reduction, higher quality and the ability to meet customer demand. Acquirers favour standardised technologies with which they are familiar. Cost-benefit evaluations have limited use in technology acquisition decisions. Users rely on supplier expertise to compensate for poor education and technical training in South Africa. The impact of political and economic factors is more evident in Eskom than in the mini-cases. Physical asset management follows traditional preventive maintenance practices, with limited use of new maintenance management thinking. Few modifications of the technology or R&D innovations take place. Little use is made of explicit knowledge from computerised maintenance management systems. Low operating and maintenance skills are not conducive to the transfer of high-technology equipment. South African organisations acquire technology as items of plant, equipment and systems, but limited transfer of technology takes place. This suggests that operators and maintainers frequently do not understand the underlying technology, and like workers elsewhere, are not always inclined towards adopting technology in the workplace.

Economic aspects of safety in the Greek construction industry

The thesis addresses the economic impacts of construction safety in Greece. The research involved the development of a methodology for determining the overall costs of safety, namely the sum of the costs of accidents and the costs of safety management failures (with or without accident) including image cost. Hitherto, very little work has been published on the cost of accidents in practical case studies. Moreover, to the author’s belief, no research has been published that seeks to determine in real cases the costs of prevention. The methodology developed is new, transparent, and capable of being replicated and adapted to other employment sectors and to other countries. The methodology was applied to three construction projects in Greece to test the safety costing methodology and to offer some preliminary evidence on the business case for safety. The survey work took place between 1999 and 2001 and involved 27 months of costing work on site. The study focuses on the overall costs of safety that apply to the main (principal) contractor. The methodology is supported by 120 discrete cost categories, and systematic criteria for determining which costs are included (counted) in the overall cost of safety. A quality system (in compliance with ISO9000 series) was developed to support the work and ensure accuracy of data gathering. The results of the study offer some support for the business case for safety. Though they offer good support for the economics of safety as they demonstrate need for cost effectiveness. Subject to important caveats, those projects that appeared to manage safety more cost-effectively achieved the lowest overall safety cost. Nevertheless, results are significantly lower than of other published works for two main reasons; first costs due to damages with no potential to injury were not included and second only costs to main constructor were considered. Study’s results are discussed and compared with other publish works.

A comparison of road accidents in developing countries with special reference to Jamaica

This research was originally undertaken to aid the Jamaican government and the World Bank in making funding decisions relative to improvement of road systems and traffic control in Jamaica. An investigation of the frequency and causes of road accidents and an evaluation of their impact on the Jamaican economy were carried out, and a model system which might be applied was developed. It is believed that the importance of road accident economic and manpower losses to the survival of developing countries, such as Jamaica, cannot be overemphasized. It is suggested that the World Bank, in cooperation with national governments, has a role to play in alleviating this serious problem. Data was collected from such organizations as the Jamaica Ministry of Construction, Police Department, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization. A variety of methodologies were utilized to organize this data in useful and understandable forms. The most important conclusion of this research is that solvable problems in road systems and in traffic control result in the unnecessary loss of useful citizens, in both developed and developing countries. However, a lack of information and understanding regarding the impact of high rates of road accident death and injury on the national economy and stability of a country results in an apparent lack of concern. Having little internal expertise in the field of road accident prevention, developing countries usually hire consultants to help them address this problem. In the case of Jamaica, this practice has resulted in distrust and hard feelings between the Jamaican authorities and major organizations involved in the field. Jamaican officials have found confusing the recommendations of most experts contracted to study traffic safety. The attempts of foreign consultants to utilize a technological approach (the use of coding systems and computers), methods which do not appear cost-effective for Jamaica, have resulted in the expenditure of limited funds for studies which offer no feasible approach to the problem. This funding limitation, which hampers research and road improvement, could be alleviated by such organizations as the World Bank. The causes of high accident rates are many, it was found. Formulation of a plan to address this serious problem must take into account the current failure to appreciate the impact of a high level of road accidents on national economy and stability, inability to find a feasible approach to the problem, and inadequate funding. Such a plan is discussed in detail in the main text of this research.

Social and environmental accountability in developing countries

The principal aim of this chapter is to undertake a critical review of the social and environmental accountability of global business activities in developing countries. While global business activities have contributed to the economic development of developing countries they have many adverse social and environmental consequences which are often under-studied. I explore the role of accounting in making those consequences visible. The chapter, however, concludes that while social and environmental accounting has the potential to raise the visibility of social and environmental impacts of corporate activities it often fails to do so particularly under the current voluntary disclosure regime where corporations can choose what to report and how to report. This is even more pronounced in the developing countries because of their vulnerabilities arising from various social and environmental problems. The chapter argues for a case of ‘surrogate accountability’ as an alternative to the current corporate driven form of accountability.

New technology adoption in developing countries:the role of buyer-supplier relationships

Developing countries depend on foreign providers to ensure successful adoption of new technology. This paper investigates the role of buyer-supplier relationships (BSR) in technology adoption using a survey of 147 Malaysian firms. In particular the authors examined the impact on performance of different patterns of buyer-supplier relationship. Results show that firms demonstrating closer relationships with their suppliers are more likely to achieve higher levels of performance than those that do not. There are also insights that are especially pertinent to an improved understanding of buyersupplier relationships in the procurement of capital equipment, about which the current research literature is limited.

Environmental reporting in developing countries:empirical evidence from Bangladesh

Most environmental reporting studies have focused on developed countries. Only a handful number of studies are available on the developing countries, concentrating on the newly industrialized countries and African countries. No studies are available from South Asia except the widely quoted one of Singh and Ahuja (1983). Against this background, it is argued that an empirical study on environmental reporting practices in Bangladesh would make a significant contribution to the environmental reporting literature from the context of developing countries in general, and South Asian countries in particular. The study covers 30 recent annual reports of Bangladeshi companies relating to the year 1996. It shows that very limited environmental disclosure has been made. Although we have noted that 90% of companies made some environmental disclosures, the percentage of companies disclosing environmental information comes down to only 20 if we exclude disclosure related to expenditure on energy usage. In general, the quantity and the quality of disclosures seem to be inadequate and poor as compared to the environmental disclosures in the developed countries. The study concludes with an urge for further research in this regard.

Strategic decision-making for technology implementation in developing countries

Researchers and managers stress the importance of long-term technology strategies to develop technological capabilities for global competitive advantage. This paper explores the relationship between technology decision-making and strategy in technology transfer (TT) in developing countries, with special reference to South Africa. Earlier research by the authors considered technology and operations integration in developing countries and identified factors that were important to managers in the management of technology. The paper proposes five decision-making levels as the basis of a framework for TT, and investigates the strategic issues pertaining to TT at these levels. Four South African cases studies are used to propose a framework that combines important items in technology transfer and levels of decision-making. The research suggests that technology plays a limited role in strategic decisions in developing countries, and that expectations from new technology are largely operational. Broader implications for managers are identified.

Playing catch-up with China:challenges and strategies for smaller developing countries

This paper considers how smaller developing countries can compete with China by examining the cases of two such countries; Mauritius and Morocco. In order to supplement their more traditional extractive and agro-based industries they have developed important textile and apparel sectors, supplying principally the EU. However, the textile industries in both countries have recently come under intense competitive pressure from China with its much lower production costs and huge capacity. This paper compares and contrasts the conditions under which Mauritius and Morocco have developed their textile industries as well as exploring the challenges they now face from China and the ways in which they have reacted to them. It also examines the wider industrial policy of both countries and the extent to which they have acquired the capability to meet the threats that now face them. Some specific strategies and actions are also described and evaluated with a view to providing advice and guidance for other smaller developing countries that face similar challenges in these and other industries.