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Whistleblower
Joined: 03 Feb 2007
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 Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 4:41 pm Post subject: Nation 50% Less Productive Than US |
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This is quite a sureal article for a Korean newspaper. Nice to see that they notice their own disadvantages. Shame there is no more international news about Russia invading Georgia.
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Nation 50% Less Productive Than US
By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
Koreans work the longest hours in the industrialized world but their labor productivity lags far behind the United States and other advanced countries, meaning Koreans need to spend fewer hours in office and work more efficiently.
According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Sunday, the nation's labor productivity per hour stood at $20.4 in 2006, substantially lower than the $50.4 for the United States and the OECD average of $38.
The nation ranked the fourth lowest among the 30 member OECD economies. Only Turkey ($14.6), Mexico ($16) and Poland ($19.3) had lower productivity than Korea. Luxemburg topped the list with $72.2, followed by Norway with $71.
Labor productivity was calculated by dividing each country's gross domestic product (GDP) with its total work hours, which are the multiple of the number of employed and average time spent in the office or on factory floors.
``The country's labor efficiency ranks low among developed economies because local employees spent too much time at work. Long hours hurt workers' health and have a negative impact on productivity,'' a ministry official said.
Over the years, the number of work hours here has declined in line with improved labor rights and regulatory changes. But Koreans still spend more hours in the workplace than others around the world.
It is the only OECD member with average annual work hours of over 2,000. In 2007, Korean employees worked an average 2,261 hours.
Nearly half of all Korean workers had workweeks of more than 49 hours, the world's second highest and far higher than the global average, according to a survey by the International Labor Organization last year.
As for labor productivity in the services industry, the picture is even bleaker for the world's 13th largest economy. Korea's productivity in this sector was far lower because of the government's overemphasis on the manufacturing industry and heavy regulations.
Using labor productivity, value created by one employee during a one-year period, in the manufacturing industry with the baseline set at 100 in 1985, the services sector efficiency stood at 378 in 2005, substantially lower than the U.S. figure of 1,014, according to the Statistics Research Institute (RSI).
Japan's services industry labor productivity came to 1,083, while the average of Britain, France and other Western European nations was 928.
The institute suggested that Korea make all-out efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of its services sector in order to join the ranks of advanced countries.
The institute urged the country to produce skilled manpower and help the knowledge-based service providers offer better services at a competitive price, adding that strengthened industry competitiveness will spur growth and create well-paid jobs.
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Imrahil
Joined: 04 Feb 2008
Location: On the other side of the world.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 5:24 pm Post subject: |
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| And in other news. Korea's alcohol consumption has been found to be double that of the U.S.'s. |
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drkalbi
Joined: 06 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 5:28 pm Post subject: |
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| It's ironic that the president says that Koreans need to worked longer and harder, but his own minister says the opposite. |
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seoulsucker
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Location: The Land of the Hesitant Cutoff
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Having worked side-by-side with dozens of Koreans, this doesn't surprise me at all. What strikes me most are the institutionalized inabilities to plan ahead, multitask, and delegate. |
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spliff
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 5:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| meaning Koreans need to spend fewer hours in office and work more efficiently. |
That's a lot of the problem. Everybody wants to be a salaryman, nobody wants to actually work. So you have many salarymen sitting around the office surfing the net and factories have to import workers from other countries to do the work. And they don't work productive because they aren't really enfranchised and want to spread the work into overtime to make a decent salary. |
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caniff
Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Location: All over the map
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 5:50 pm Post subject: |
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| spliff wrote: |
That's a lot of the problem. Everybody wants to be a salaryman, nobody wants to actually work. So you have many salarymen sitting around the office surfing the net and factories have to import workers from other countries to do the work. And they don't work productive because they aren't really enfranchised and want to spread the work into overtime to make a decent salary. |
Even though spliff just crucified the English language in this post, I think he most likely hit the nail on the head. I work for some of the larger Korean conglomerates, and from what I have gleaned the execs would agree with him. |
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jkelly80
Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Location: you boys like mexico?
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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| caniff wrote: |
| spliff wrote: |
That's a lot of the problem. Everybody wants to be a salaryman, nobody wants to actually work. So you have many salarymen sitting around the office surfing the net and factories have to import workers from other countries to do the work. And they don't work productive because they aren't really enfranchised and want to spread the work into overtime to make a decent salary. |
Even though spliff just crucified the English language in this post, I think he most likely hit the nail on the head. I work for some of the larger Korean conglomerates, and from what I have gleaned the execs would agree with him. |
I think Breen mentioned in his book that Korea lacks a true managerial class--people who go to school to be managers. Everybody just goes for the scores and the connections and nobody's qualififed to be a middle manager here. God forbid you're born in '62 and your manager in '64--there'd be no way to tell people what to do. |
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billybrobby
Joined: 09 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 7:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Wow, this board is full of business acumen and not afraid to share it. I didn't realize we had so many high ranking managers on here. |
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jkelly80
Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Location: you boys like mexico?
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 7:09 pm Post subject: |
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| billybrobby wrote: |
| Wow, this board is full of business acumen and not afraid to share it. I didn't realize we had so many high ranking managers on here. |
We have thousands. |
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jdog2050
Joined: 17 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:58 pm Post subject: |
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| billybrobby wrote: |
| Wow, this board is full of business acumen and not afraid to share it. I didn't realize we had so many high ranking managers on here. |
You don't have to have experience as a manager to know what it takes to be a good manager. No one in this thread has made a bad point. |
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billybrobby
Joined: 09 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:14 pm Post subject: |
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| jdog2050 wrote: |
| billybrobby wrote: |
| Wow, this board is full of business acumen and not afraid to share it. I didn't realize we had so many high ranking managers on here. |
You don't have to have experience as a manager to know what it takes to be a good manager. No one in this thread has made a bad point. |
How do you know I didn't go down the same high-ranking-manager-to-esl-teacher career path everybody else did? |
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pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:19 pm Post subject: |
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I blame management. If management gave their workers a "To-Do" list at the START of the work day, then more things get done.
Now, they wait until 5 minutes before you go home to say, "Hey, you gotta do this." |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:19 pm Post subject: |
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| seoulsucker wrote: |
| Having worked side-by-side with dozens of Koreans, this doesn't surprise me at all. What strikes me most are the institutionalized inabilities to plan ahead, multitask, and delegate. |
Yeah, this finding doesn't surprise me the least bit. Just look at all the time wasted at pointless meetings. |
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monkinwonderland
Joined: 17 May 2007
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Are you trying to put forth some sort of argument here billybrobby? |
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jkelly80
Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Location: you boys like mexico?
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:47 pm Post subject: |
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| monkinwonderland wrote: |
| Are you trying to put forth some sort of argument here billybrobby? |
Being arch is apparently point enough. |
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