HBS survey on U.S. Competitiveness

[katsy]

It's an interesting read.

http://www.hbs.edu/competitiveness/pdf/hbscompsurvey.pdf

Hopefully people smarter than I will shed some light on some of the finer points of the study which I read as a negative outlook on the whole.

It is a survey of some 10,000 Harvard Grads.

[mbperrin]

1. First, it's a view of the world shared by a rather elite group (just 1/8 of Harvard alumni, nobody

else).

Second, the questions are push questions - they seek to elicit a given response, rather than seeking an honest response.

Third, the definitions are definitely off. By claiming competitiveness means competing with everyone else in the world, it guarantees downward pressure on wages and benefits and emphasizes "productivity" as something to be desired. Productivity means working harder and getting paid less.

It's the usual - a commercial for companies looking for a reason to relocate, cut wages, eliminate benefits.

I mean, do we REALLY want to be competing with garbage dump pickers in South America? Really?