Global Report 2006-2007

Switzerland, Finland and Sweden are the world’s most competitive economies according to The Global Competitiveness Report 2006-2007, released by the World Economic Forum.

Denmark, Singapore, the United States, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom complete the top ten list, but the United States shows the most pronounced drop, falling from first to sixth.

The rankings are drawn from a combination of publicly available hard data and the results of the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum, together with its network of Partner Institutes (leading research institutes and business organizations) in the countries covered by the Report. This year, over 11,000 business leaders were polled in a record 125 economies worldwide. Order the report>>

"The top rankings of Switzerland and the Nordic countries show that good institutions and competent macroeconomic management, coupled with world- class educational attainment and a focus on technology and innovation, are a successful strategy for boosting competitiveness in an increasingly complex global economy."

Country Rankings 2006-2007

1. Switzerland
2. Finland
3. Sweden
4. Denmark
5. Singapore
6. US
7. Japan
8. Germany
9. Netherlands
10. UK
11. Hong Kong
12. Norway
13. Taiwan,China
14. Iceland
15. Israel

Global Information Technology Report 2006-2007

Since it was first launched in 2001, The Global Information Technology Report has become a valuable and unique benchmarking tool to determine national ICT strengths and weaknesses, and to evaluate progress. It also highlights the continuing importance of ICT application and development for economic growth.

The Report uses the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) to measure the degree of preparation of a nation or community to participate in and benefit from ICT developments.

The NRI is composed of three component indexes which assess:

• environment for ICT offered by a country or community
• readiness of the community's key stakeholders (individuals, business and governments)
• usage of ICT among these stakeholders.

1. Denmark
2. Sweden
3. Singapore
4. Finland
5. Switzerland
6. Netherlands
7. US
8. Iceland
9. UK
10. Norway
11. Canada
12. Hong Kong SAR
13. Taiwan, China
14. Japan
15. Australia

The Global Gender Gap Report 2006

The Nordic countries, Sweden (1), Norway (2), Finland (3) and Iceland (4), top the latest Gender Gap Index. Germany (5), the Philippines (6), New Zealand (7), Denmark (8), the United Kingdom (9) and Ireland (10) complete the top 10 countries with the smallest "gender gap".

The Global Gender Gap Report 2006 covers all current and candidate European Union countries, 20 from Latin America and the Caribbean, over 20 from sub-Saharan Africa and 10 from the Arab world. Together, the 115 economies cover over 90% of the world’s population. The index mainly uses publicly available "hard data" indicators drawn from international organizations and some qualitative information from the Forum’s own Executive Opinion Survey. The Global Gender Gap Report 2006 includes an innovative new methodology including detailed profiles of each economy that provide insight into the economic, legal and social aspects of the gender gap. The Report measures the size of the gender gap in four critical areas of inequality between men and women:

• Economic participation and opportunity – outcomes on salaries, participation levels and access to high-skilled employment
• Educational attainment – outcomes on access to basic and higher level education
• Political empowerment – outcomes on representation in decision-making structures
• Health and survival – outcomes on life expectancy and sex ratio

This year marks an important progression in the Report’s methodology, with the adoption of a new tool that focuses on the relative size of the gender gap rather than levels of women’s empowerment and access. The new methodology is the result of collaboration between Ricardo Hausmann, Director of the Center for International Development at Harvard University, Laura D. Tyson, Dean of the London Business School and Saadia Zahidi, Head of the World Economic Forum’s Women Leaders Programme.

Gender Gap Index 2006

1. Sweden - 0.8133
2. Norway - 0.7994
3. Finland - 0.7958
4. Iceland - 0.7813
5. Germany - 0.7524
6. Philippines - 0.7516
7. N. Zealand - 0.7509
8. Denmark - 0.7462
9. UK - 0.7365
10. Ireland - 0.7335

Source: World Economic Forum, 2007

Boost Performance with Performance Reviews

Small businesses (Small Governments) that skip this corporate ritual are missing opportunities to improve productivity.

Note: Mayors, City Managers, Public Officials - Everywhere it says “corporate” or “company” or “business” make your own appropriate substitutions.

One of the allures of running your own business can be getting away from the bureaucratic nonsense that puts sand in the gears of many big organizations. But one ritual of big business—if carried out correctly— can make your enterprise far more effective. It is the employee performance review.

According to studies over the past decade by Mark Huselid, professor of human resource strategy in the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University, businesses that conduct regular employee appraisals and use other “best practices” of human resource management are able to increase the overall effectiveness of their organizations, enjoying improved morale, increased performance, higher productivity—and a dramatic boost in profitability, as a result.

By how much? According to Huselid’s data, companies that implement top-notch human-resource practices have reduced turnover by 7%, increased sales-per-employee by more than $27,000 a year, enhanced profitability by more than $4,000 per employee, and increased their market value by more than $18,000 per employee.

Regular performance reviews are not just about offering encouragement to good performers and addressing the shortcomings of others. They can help you uncover hidden problems. And, they let employees know how critical their contributions are to the firm’s success. “They send the message to employees that you care, you know them, and you’re on top of things,” says Michael Lara, CEO of Benison International Group in Miami, a provider of tech products and consulting services. “They keep you on track for excellence.”

So why do so many small businesses neglect to review employees? “People are uncomfortable judging people,” says Robert Chanin, director of human resources for The Alcott Group, a professional employer organization that provides HR and other services. “A lot of managers dread the thought of sitting across from somebody for that annual one-on- one, especially if they don’t have pleasant news.”

As many as one quarter of American workers don’t get regular appraisals, according to a 2006 survey by Adecco Staffing North America, a global provider of workforce services. “They simply may think they don’t need to,” says Bernadette Kenny, Adecco's chief career officer

But, without performance reviews, you may be flying blind. “In a small business in particular, the performance review is like a dashboard—it gives you all kinds of gauges about quality, job knowledge, customer service,” says Chanin. “If there isn’t any gauge, you don’t know if your business is doing well or not.”

The performance review process can be a great motivational tool, too. “They’re one of the tools businesses can use to get employees more involved, increase their motivation, and help them achieve success,” says Barrie Gross, a human resources expert and employment law attorney who heads Barrie Gross Consulting, a San Francisco-based HR training and consulting firm.

Evaluations can also help you transform sub-par people into performers, rather than lose them, says employment law attorney Lynn D. Lieber, the CEO and founder of Workplace Answers in San Francisco, a provider of Web-based training in human resources, financial, legal, and ethics compliance. “The key,” Lieber says, “is to give the person notice that there’s a problem, and offer them a sincere opportunity to improve.”

In her own shop, Lieber used a performance review to let a sales rep know that she was spending too much time yakking and surfing the Internet. “We told her, ‘Here’s how many people you need to call per day, you need to check in with this number of existing customers a week, no more gossiping, no celebrity Web sites in between phone calls, and you have to check in with your manager once a week so we can make sure there’s progress,’ ” Lieber says. She also gave the employee 90 days to clean up her act. “The woman worked very hard to correct the behaviors,” Lieber says. “And at the end of the 90 days she was working at top capacity.”

Patricia Thorp, president and founder of the Coral Gables, Fla.-based public relations firm Thorp & Co., credits an annual performance review with saving her company from a disastrous talent exodus. “One of my most valued employees told me she’d just turned down a job that offered her 25% more money,” says Thorp. “That was really a red flag for me.” She realized that industry salaries had taken a sudden leap upward, and Thorp & Co. risked losing key staffers. “I immediately raised the woman’s salary to match the offer, and everybody at her level got a heck of a raise, too,” Thorp says.

Lara, of Benison International, a former Army staff sergeant, says his military background convinced him of the value of frequent performance reviews. During their 90-day probationary period, he reviews new employees every 30 days—and every six months afterward. In between, he uses evaluation tools like “mystery shoppers” to test how employees perform. “Twelve years in the military sold me on the importance of this,” notes Lara. In the service, he says, monthly sit-downs with soldiers keeps them motivated and revealed potential problems.“I realized early on it would work for my business, too,” he says.

Lara, who used downloaded free performance- review forms from Web sites such as HR.com, is now upgrading to a comprehensive “human capital management” program from Success Factors. Starting at about $8 per user per month, it allows managers to create online appraisal forms, set goals, track employee progress and get detailed reports on results. The system automatically sends evaluation forms to employees at review time.

In companies with fewer than 10 employees, a formal process—with multi-page evaluation forms and sophisticated software--might seem impractical. But, the experts say, it is important to create a routine review process. It’s an easy way to help the business owner learn what’s working well and what isn’t—and head off performance problems, before they start affecting the bottom line.

Source: Small Business Review, 2007