Plowing the Sea: Nurturing the Hidden Sources of Growth in the Developing World

Fairbanks, Michael, and Lindsay, Stace

ISBN 10: 0875847617 / ISBN 13: 9780875847610

Published by Harvard Business School, Boston, MA, 1997

About this Item

25 cm, 289, illus., index. Foreword by Michael E. Porter. The authors' own journeys from Peace Corps teaching and grass-roots development work to the knowledge-intensive world of management consulting give them a unique perspective on the challenging road that developing nations and their leaders must travel. Seller Inventory # 36177

Bibliographic Details

Title: Plowing the Sea: Nurturing the Hidden ...

Publisher: Harvard Business School, Boston, MA

Publication Date: 1997

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: very good, good

Edition: First Printing.

About this title

Synopsis:

The authors address the issue of competitiveness in the developing world. Using the Colombian cut-flower industry as a backdrop (and drawing from a variety of industries in Bolivia, Venezuela, and Peru), they identify seven core elements of the failed model of competitiveness in which much of the developing world appears to be trapped. These patterns include an over-reliance on basic production factors and natural resources, inadequate supplier and distributor relationships, and insufficient tools for performing customer and competitor analysis. In a challenge to conventional economic development theory and practice, Fairbanks and Lindsay propose an "action framework, " emphasizing strategic and microeconomic approaches to growth, based on a partnership between the public and private sectors. The authors argue that only by identifying common goals, committing to a long-term perspective, investing in human resources, and assigning new leadership roles for businesspeople and policymakers alike, can developing countries break out of the vicious cycle of underperformance.

Synopsis:

The focus of this book is how developing nations can learn to compete successfully in the global economy by applying the principles of competitive analysis. Seven key patterns of underperformance are identified and principles and practices are offered for overcoming them.