世界経済・社会統計 = World development indicators

The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century Thomas L. Friedman Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005 Thomas Friedman is a widely-acclaimed journalist, foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times, and author of four best-selling books that include From Beirut to Jerusalem (1989). His eminence as a journalist is clearly demonstrated in the way he prepared for The World is Flat. He traveled throughout the world, interviewing in depth the political and business leaders who have the most direct, hands-on knowledge of the truly incredible developments occurring in the business structures and technology of globalization. Only a journalist who moves freely at the highest levels could interview the likes of Sir John Rose, the chief executive of Rolls-Royce; Nobuyuki Idei, the chairman of Sony; Richard Koo, the chief economist for the Nomura Research Institute; Bill Gates of Microsoft; Wee Theng Tan, the president of Intel China; David Baltimore, president of Caltech; Howard Schultz, founder and chairman of Starbucks; Nandan Nilekani, CEO of Infosys in Bangalore - and many others, each of whom gave him the inside story of how, specifically, the barriers of time and space separating economies, workforces, sources of capital, and technical abilities are crumbling. The result of this unfolding story, already far along but with much farther to go, according to Friedman, is that "the world is flat." With some notable exceptions in sub-Saharan Africa and the Islamic swathe, everything is connected with everything else on a horizontal basis, with distance and erstwhile time-lags no longer mattering. Friedman describes in detail the galloping globalization that has unfolded in even so limited a time as the past five years. Under the impetus of a worldwide network of interconnectivity, the world economy is much-changed from what it was at the turn of the century a mere half-decade ago. Friedman quotes the CEO of India's Infosys: "What happened over the last [few] years is that there was a massive investment in technology, especially in the bubble era, when hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in putting broadband connectivity around the world, undersea cables," while (Friedman paraphrases him) "computers became cheaper and dispersed all over the world, and there was an explosion of software - e-mail, search engines like Google, and proprietary software that can chop up any piece of work and send one part to Boston, one part to Bangalore, and one part to Beijing...." Microprocessors today have 410 million transistors compared to the 2800 they had in 1971. And now, "wireless is what will allow you to take everything that has been digitized, made virtual and personal, and do it from anywhere." The effect on productivity is revolutionary: "It now takes Boeing eleven days to build a 737, down from twenty-eight days just a few years ago. Boeing will build the next generation of planes in three days, because all the parts are computer-designed for assembly." The most strikingly informative aspect of this book, however, is not about technology. Most especially, Friedman explores the rapidly evolving global business systems, each constantly regenerating itself to keep ahead of the others. These are systems that span the continents seeking the lowest-cost providers of everything from expert scientific and engineering work to the lowliest grunt work. Friedman points out that India produces 70,000 accounting graduates each year - and that they are willing to start at $100 a month. It is no wonder that Boeing employs 800 Russian scientists and engineers for passenger-plane design when "a U.S. aeronautical engineer costs $120 per design hour, a Russian costs about one-third of that." Friedman describes a call center in India where outbound callers sell "everything from credit cards to phone minutes," while operators taking inbound calls do "everything from tracing lost luggage for U.S. and European airline passengers to solving computer problems for confused American consumers. …

The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century

London: Hurst and Company, 2006, ISBN: 1-85065-821-8, 329 pp In this illuminating book, Christopher Cramer challenges the widely held view that development and peace are mutually reinforcing He a

Civil War is Not a Stupid Thing: Accounting for Violence in Developing Countries

When the state fails to supply basic security and protection of property, violent entrepreneurs not only seize the opportunity of plundering, but some also enter the protection business and provide protection against plunderers. This uncoordinated division of labor is advantageous for the entire group of violent entrepreneurs. Hence, in weak states a situation may arise where a large number of violent entrepreneurs can operate side by side as plunderers and protectors squeezing the producers from both sides. The problem reached new levels at the end of the cold war. As military forces were demobilized without civilian jobs to go to, many countries got an oversupply of qualified violent people for crime, warfare and private protection. In this 'market for extortion' the entry of new violent entrepreneurs enhances the profitability of them all. The supply of violence creates its own demand; an externality of violence that is detrimental to the development in poor countries.

Plunder & Protection Inc

In the past, simply fulfilling economic performance alone was critical to ensuring the success of companies and their shareholders, but this traditional perspective is not compatible with society's current demands, as there is increasing social pressure on organizations to become more sustainable and reduce impacts on the environment, promoting sustainable results in their business processes. In this context, the specialized literature states that human resources management (HRM) is considered a central aspect for building sustainable organizations, in particular, the area of green human resources management (GHRM). Thus, this study analyzes the relationship between GHRM and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Brazilian companies. Company's age, size, ISO 9001 and 14001 certifications are the control variables.,The authors adopted a quantitative approach in conducting the survey. Four waves of email were sent to HR and CSR managers from 853 Brazilian companies from the metallurgical, automotive and chemical industries. In total, 79 questionnaires were fully answered, higher than the minimum sample calculated by the G*Power 3.1 software, which corresponds to a return rate of 9.26%. For the analysis of the results, the partial least squares method was used.,This research identifies that GHRM practices, in fact, positively influence CSR practices. The findings evidence that practices of performance evaluation, teamwork and recruitment and selection are the most important for a better CSR performance. The research results indicate that the “ISO 9001 certification” control variable also has a positive and significant effect on CSR and that the size of the company, the age of the company and the ISO 14001 certification, in the analyzed sample, were not relevant (as control variables) for CSR.,Current literature highlights the gap between GHRM and CSR. This relationship is not explored in Brazil. The study uses a new theoretical model, and it fills the gap identified in the literature. This paper brings important theoretical and managerial contributions. It is the first in the literature to show, in an empirical way, the positive relationship between GHRM and CSR, contributing in an original way to the state of the art of the GHRM and CSR theme. In addition, this research adds empirical evidence on GHRM and CSR in Latin America/South America/Brazil.

Green human resource management and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from Brazilian firms

Large-scale investments in fragile states – in Latin America, Africa, the former Soviet Union and Asia – become magnets for conflict, which undermines business, development and security.

International policy responds with regulation, state-building and institutional reform, with poor and often perverse results. Caught up in old ways of thinking about conflict and fragility, and an age-old fight over whether multinational corporations are good or bad for peaceful development, it leaves business-related conflicts in fragile states to multiply and fester.

Surveying a new strategic landscape of business and conflict, Brian Ganson and Achim Wennmann conclude that neither company shareholders nor advocates for peaceful development need, or should, accept the growing cost of business-related conflict in fragile states. Drawing on decades of experience from mainstream conflict prevention and violence reduction efforts, as well as promising company practice, they show that even acute conflict is manageable when dealt with pragmatically, locally and on its own terms.

The analysis and conclusions of this Adelphi book will interest policymakers, business leaders and community advocates alike – all those hoping to mitigate today’s conflicts while helping to reduce fragility and build a firmer foundation for inclusive development.

Business and Conflict in Fragile States: The Case for Pragmatic Solutions

This paper was written as part of the research initiative entitled Engaging the Business Community as a New Peacebuilding Actor. It is a joint project of the Africa Centre for Dispute Settlement (ACDS), CDA Collaborative Learning Projects (CDA), and the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project aims to fill the large gap in evidence regarding the effectiveness of business efforts for peace, providing a framework and practical guidance for more effective planning and evaluation of businesspeace initiatives, policies and practices. The paper is in the process of revision for publication. Comments, critiques and corrections are welcome. The literature on business and peace posits a number of ways in which international business may play a deliberate, positive role in supporting peaceful development in a particular conflict-prone environment, ranging from job creation to the importation of international norms and standards. The conflicting evidence suggests, however, that there is no set of business activities which can be characterized as unambiguously peace-positive. Rather, it appears that it is not only what businesses do, but the manner in which they do so, the alliances of which they are part, and the context in which their actions unfold that may be more determinative of their impact. The fact that these insights are not more central to contemporary debate highlights that most analysis of business and peace, emerging as it does largely in response to the literature on the causes of conflict, seems profoundly disconnected from the contemporary peacebuilding literature. That literature reflects practice that increasingly deemphasizes specific tools or approaches in favor of conflict systems analyses and questions for strategic engagement. Current modes of analysis may therefore invite policymakers, corporate actors and their partners to fall into conceptual traps that lead to suboptimal outcomes or even unintended negative consequences with relation to business and peace. They may also de-emphasize the capabilities, relationships, resources and enabling factors required for businesses to be constructive peacebuilding actors. This review surveys the state of play in the business and peace literature broadly construed, analyses gaps, and suggests new questions to guide both further research and strategic thinking in the field.

Business and peace : A need for new questions and systems perspectives

While normative frameworks proscribing and prescribing company action in conflict-prone environments grow in number, both the practice-oriented and more theoretical literature have been relatively silent on the question of whether and how a company’s distinctive organizational capabilities contribute to conflict risk mitigation or conflict resolution in fragile contexts. This paper links the practical experience of company managers with conflict management theory to posit that organizational capabilities are a crucial explanatory variable for the gap between desired and observed company performance in fragile contexts. It models a management system for conflict prevention with empirical and theoretical referents. The model provides practitioners useful diagnostic entry points as they work to improve company operations. At the same time, it brings together diverse conflict management perspectives on company operations in fragile environments so that future case data may be ordered and compared and further theoretical propositions developed and tested.

Business in Fragile Environments: Capabilities for Conflict Prevention

While normative frameworks proscribing and prescribing company action in conflict-prone environments grow in number, both the practice-oriented and more theoretical literature have been relatively silent on the question of whether and how a company's distinctive organizational capabilities contribute to conflict risk mitigation or conflict resolution in fragile contexts. This article links the practical experience of company managers with conflict management theory to posit that organizational capabilities are a crucial explanatory variable for the gap between desired and observed company performance in fragile contexts. It models a management system for conflict prevention with empirical and theoretical referents. The model provides practitioners with useful diagnostic entry points as they work to improve company operations. At the same time, it brings together diverse conflict management perspectives on company operations in fragile environments so that future case data may be ordered and compared and further theoretical propositions developed and tested.

Our objective is to advance the understanding of the nexus between business environment reform (BER) and conflict, fragility, and underdevelopment. We examine the evidence and the lessons of BER in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS), based on the experience of four African countries (Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Ethiopia) that have or are transitioning from a fragile environment to greater stability and more sustained economic growth. We use a qualitative case study approach that draws on several data sources to inform its analysis, including one-on-one interviews, roundtable focus groups, and an analysis of documents, reports, and data. A total of 83 respondents participated in our research. We develop a systems approach rather than a transactional approach to recognize the complex network of interconnected and interacting business interests, agendas, and systems in FCAS. We argue that BER has the greatest potential to advance achievement of sustainable development when it is attentive to three objectives at the same time: stimulating broad-based economic growth, expanding economic opportunity in formal and informal markets, and addressing drivers of conflict and fragility. The implications for international businesses entering or operating in FCAS are substantial and may require atypical capabilities.

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Brian Ganson

Papers

Business and Conflict in Fragile States: The Case for Pragmatic Solutions

Business and peace : A need for new questions and systems perspectives

Business in Fragile Environments: Capabilities for Conflict Prevention

Business in Fragile Environments: Capabilities for Conflict Prevention

Business environment reforms in fragile and conflict-affected states: From a transactions towards a systems approach