The Productivity Of South Africa Essay

A primary objective in measuring productivity is to improve operations either by using fewer inputs to produce the same output, or to produce:

Theses similarities are associated with rapidly rising cost and large, underserved populations. It is also important to recognize the significant differences between the United States and South Africa. South Africa is also less developed and has fewer resources than the US. South Africa has a large private sector that is balanced to absorb management technology pioneered in the United States.

Historically, the South African economy has been largely unstable mostly due to political issues. Although, considering its counterparts, South Africa shows the most promise for economic development and growth (Jordaan, 2010 pg.5). In 1990 South Africa entered the global market after overcoming major political issues such as apartheid. Many economists agree that the changes the South African government has made to be able to compete globally, are for the better (Wessel, 2007). In the article “CAPITAL: Globalization Brings South

American and Native Americans felt that they were being denied economic independence and democratic self-government during the 19th century, because at the peak of western expansion and industrialization the government was manipulated by big corporations. The government needed money to fulfill this ‘destiny’ so big companies such as the railroads and the mining companies would pay out the government to establish their businesses. Many small local businesses were wiped out by these large and well-funded business. Many groups of people were affected by industrialization. Native Americans were forced to move out of their lands and assimilate to the U.S. government’s demands. In the South African Americans were strategically forced in to a certain type of slavery called sharecropping. As industrialization arouse, so did flocks of farmers and immigrants moved into the big cities to work in factories. The working class worked long hours in unsafe conditions at corporate facilities, they were treated as a number that could be replace the next day.

Productivity refers to what can be produced at a given time with the least resources and effort. Productivity can also be defined as the ratio that estimates ho properly an organization converts its resources into goods/services or financial results such as profit. Workplace settings can be perceived as the pressures, situations, stresses, aggressive, demographic, social, regulations and technological elements that affect the operations, survival, and growth of organizations.

The manufacturing sector in South Africa’s economy continues to hold a significant share of the economy

31%! These economic factors are a major reason for a lack of development in affected areas.

Productivity is the amount of resources a business uses, such as labor and capital, to create its end result or purpose of operation. It measures output per unit of input. A real life example could be, an assembly line. When another person is added to an assembly line, more outputs are expected. Therefore, the assembly line is more productive. I think that productivity is crucial to having a successful business. A business should do whatever they can to maximize productivity because the more productive the business is, the larger profits will be for the business, which creates a profitable and very successful business.

Structural changes have paved the way for allowing SSA to become competitive and attract investment; such changes have helped fuel the productivity revolution by helping companies to achieve economies of scale (McKinsey: 2010). Such improved governance has seen a number of African firms moving from informality to formality (OECD: 2006).

The superimposing factor that gives South Africa such an advantage over other prospective African business environments is that it possesses of a very powerful and sophisticated vantage-point geographically. South Africa is strategically located for manufacturing and exportation into several regions globally and can be an unmitigated platform for MNC’s who may be interested in a venture within this region. The important advantages include regional competitiveness, combined with reduced operational costs and a significantly prominent market access (Safrica.info, 2011).

Many of the contemporary issues in South Africa can easily be associated with the apartheid laws which devastated the country. The people of South Africa struggle day by day to reverse “the most cruel, yet well-crafted,” horrific tactic “of social engineering.” The concept behind apartheid emerged in 1948 when the nationalist party took over government, and the all-white government enforced “racial segregation under a system of legislation” . The central issues stem from 50 years of apartheid include poverty, income inequality, land ownership rates and many other long term affects that still plague the brunt of the South African population while the small white minority still enjoy much of the wealth, most of the land and opportunities

Production and Productivity Trends Labor productivity. Up until the 1970s, the Philippines’ agricultural performance, in terms of both agricultural Gross Value Added (GVA) and agricultural exports, compared well with its neighbors and other Asian countries (Figure 3a). But by the 1980s and 1990s, the country had lagged behind most of the countries in the region (Figures 3b and 3c). This came as agricultural output growth had slowed down dramatically through the decades (Figure 4). Moreover, the sector’s growth had been rather erratic in the 1990s, especially with the periodic occurrence of the El Niño phenomenon that had appreciable impact on weather patterns and, consequently, agricultural performance. Table 1 shows the average annual growth in GVA of major agricultural commodities since 1960. What is clear from the table is that growth rates of all commodities, except for livestock and poultry, have been slowing down over time. Furthermore, growth rates have been below the population growth rate, implying that production has not been able to keep up with increasing population. Erratic and decelerating growth over the past two decades is a major concern, as agriculture continues to employ a large

South Africa endured one of the worst colonialisation any country could have went through, whereby the Apartheid regime objectively disregarded the economic participation of the black over to those of the white population. However, the new democratic government would thereby be challenged with effectively having to deal with the challenges in which the past government had left behind. Therefore, in effectively trying to deal with the issues, alternative approaches have to be implemented in order to deliver on the challenges of the public. On the contrary, this essay will critically compare and discuss the liberal and free market, as well as the state interventionist approach as alternative solutions in dealing with current issues of social security, the health and school systems. Which would be able to transform current developmental challenges facing South Africa. In summary, the essay will thereby state which approach can transform South Africa in effectively dealing with developmental challenges currently facing South Africa.

Growth in the agricultural sector has been driven by increased production of major food crops such as maize, sorghum and cassava, but the sector’s performance remains below potential. In turn, the services and industrial sectors have shown strong growth. The nascent banking sector and expanding telecommunications sector are key drivers behind services growth, while construction, electricity generation, manufacturing and mining are salient sub-sectors in industrial activity. Looking ahead, the banking and telecommunication sectors will continue to support services growth, while increased electricity generation capacity will benefit the expansion of the manufacturing

South Africa is world leading in mining. The discovery of minerals in this country has attractive many investors and has been the backbone of the country’s economy – leading to many benefits that the people of South Africa could take advantage of. However, not all the benefits are shared equally, and there is a lot of exploitation surrounding the mining sector. This essay will be discussing the issues surrounding the labour exploitation in the mines and the resulting consequences.