Digicel vs Lime

Technology And Its Impact on the Competitiveness of Countries and Companies

Technology can be defined as the goods and services provided through the application of scientific knowledge, especially in industry. Competitiveness refers to the extent to which an entity strives to outperform another. For a country, competitiveness describes its economic strength and usually reflects the standard of living of its citizens. This is because the standard of living is reflected by the amount of wealth (GDP and GNP) created by a country. Technological advancement in a country is a major contributor to its economic competence, as it can be seen that countries that are more advanced in technology have greater wealth than those that are not. However, this is a two way street, as in order to achieve a competitive level of technological advancements, a country would have to attain significant wealth to invest first. Technology improves quality of life by making tasks easier, both in the household and in business. For example, by providing safe, secure transfer of money, Vodafone's M-PESA system has:

* Helped small businesses become more financially secure

* Provided a safe way for wage earners to send money back home to their families

* Solved the problems of carrying around large amounts of cash.

Following these achievements in Kenya, Vodafone has extended M-PESA into other emerging markets including Tanzania and Afghanistan.

The competitiveness of a country mostly depends on the competitiveness of the companies within it. For a company, competitiveness refers to its position in the marketplace with respect to its competitors. It requires a company to use technology to exploit ideas and other resources efficiently to meet or exceed the demand and satisfaction of its customers. Companies should understand the dynamics of technological innovation, use it as a strategic competitive weapon, facilitate the implementation of new technologies and measure their impact....