ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to identify the progressive stages a less developed country (LDC) quite probably would go through on its way up the development path. While every nation is different in pursuit of development, all the steps presented here have been taken successfully by an LDC
The rise of globalization in the late 1960s began to erode rapidly the political, economic, ideological and cultural borders that had been the products of national histories. Contributing substantially to this erosion was the increasing competitiveness and declining profit margins of industrialized nations. To retain profitability, these nations faced two strategic choices: reduce costs or improve productivity. American corporations, always with an eye on a quick return on investments, typically chose the former. In contrast,
Japanese corporations carved out their comparative advantage largely on the basis of productivity increases stemming from the introduction of flexible manufacturing – not just new technology but new management methods and shop floor organization, along with an emphasis on quality. Thus they did not grow to depend on low cost labor locations as much as U.S. industry did.1
