Economy > Business efficiency: Countries Compared

The International Institute for Management Development measures business efficiency based on five factors: productivity, labor market, finance, management practices, and attitudes and values. <p>Productivity criteria include: GDP per employed person; the percentage of change in real GDP per employed person; GDP per person employed per hour; related GDP per person employed in agriculture; related GDP per person employed in industry; and related GDP per person employed in services.<p>Some of the labor market criteria include: total hourly compensation for manufacturing workers; gross annual income in services professions; salary, bonuses and long-term incentives for management; <a href=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/lab_hou_wor>average number of working hours per year</a>; <a href=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/lab_str>annual number of working days lost to industrial disputes per 1000 population</a>; and the <a href=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/lab_lab_for_cap>labor force</a> as a percentage of the population.<p>Finance criteria include: banking sector assets as a percentage of GDP; number of credit cards issued and credit card transactions per capita; and value traded on stock markets. <p>Under management practices, examples of the criteria examined are: the adaptability of companies; the implementation of ethical practices; the emphasis placed on customer satisfaction; and the extent of entrepreneurship in the economy. <p>Attitudes and values criteria include: attitudes towards globalization; whether a country’s image abroad encourages business development; and if the national culture is open to foreign ideas.