Challenge
Results for Challenge
- MediaToward a More Competitive US
At an event at Harvard Business School that was three parts analysis and one part rally, participants tried to chart a new path forward for the sluggish U.S. economy — a move that may require a new definition of "competitiveness."
- MediaMaking the United States Competitive
Business leaders expect the nation's competitiveness to deteriorate, with companies less able to compete globally, pay workers well, or both, according to a new report released by Harvard Business School.
- MediaU.S. Broadband Policy and Competitiveness
Some experts fear the United States is falling behind other developed nations in broadband adoption and performance, but others say such concerns are often exaggerated and unsupported by analysis.
- MediaUS economy: wake-up call for Washington
The US is becoming less competitive partly because it refuses to address mounting debt problems. Federal policymakers in Washington DC have to make some tough choices to put the nation's finances in order and improve economic prospects.
- MediaAmerica's real infrastructure test
America's public infrastructure — roads, bridges, airports, seaports, waterways and even sidewalks — is a mess. You can see it for yourself every day. It's not just a nuisance; it's bad for our economy.
- MediaIs The United States Ready To Take Manufacturing Back?
The return of a few companies' manufacturing is encouraging. But the big question is: To what extent is the United States capable of taking back manufacturing on a significant scale? The challenges are great.
- MediaDefining a Microeconomic Strategy for Global Competitiveness
The United States has been using fiscal and monetary solutions as a base for its economic growth policy. But these macroeconomic strategies by itself are not leading to long-term growth. If we want to create more jobs, increase per capita income and reduce poverty, we need a shift in focus towards regions as the drivers of the national economy.
- MediaAs FCC Chairman Leaves Post, Challenges Persist in Broadband Expansion
Current policy measures will accomplish only the bare minimum to improve U.S. competitiveness in the global information economy. According to recent FCC data, gigabit broadband connections are available in only about 40 communities across 15 states.
- MediaUK beats US to become fifth top tourist destination in the world
The United Kingdom has beaten the United States to become the fifth top tourist destination in the world, according to a new report.
- MediaA Half Century Never Looked So Old
The US has an international tax system that puts American companies and workers at a disadvantage as they try to compete in a new world.
- MediaCurrent fiscal policy harms U.S. competitiveness
Political skirmishes and impasses around short-term events are distracting us from the real danger ahead: Our reckless fiscal trajectory that threatens America's competitiveness. Insights by David Walker and Robert Kaplan.
- MediaStudy Gives High Marks to U.S. Internet
Contradicting earlier studies, conventional wisdom and politicians' rhetoric, European researchers say that the Internet infrastructure of the United States is one of the world's best and getting better.
- Media
Housing prices in Silicon Valley remain defiantly high. New BMWs and Saabs cruise Highway 101. But for the first time there are signs that the current economic downturn is taking its toll on the country's cradle of technology and innovation.
- MediaOur Challenge in an Era of Global Competition
For innovation, entrepreneurship, and startups, the U.S. continues to be unparalleled. But in spreading economic benefits broadly throughout the economy, we have not done well the last 30 years.
- MediaU.S. Losing Ground from Higher Corporate Tax Rate
The U.S. economy will be between 1.5 and 2.6 percent smaller over the long-term because other nations' corporate tax rates are considerably more competitive, according to a new study by Ernst & Young and the RATE Coalition, a group lobbying for lower corporate tax rates.
- MediaHarvard Survey: Have the United States lost its edge?
The news from Washington certainly isn't very good. Intransigence and partisan politics are really just distracting us from what's really important — our lack of competitiveness in the world. Have we lost our edge? Harvard Business School's Michael Porter, Jan Rivken and Rosabeth Moss Kanter seem to think so.
- MediaHarvard Survey: U.S. Competitiveness at a Crossroads
Concerned about long-term structural issues such as the educational system, the tax code, and partisan politics, business leaders are continuing to voice pessimism about the state and direction of U.S.competitiveness, according to a new survey by the Harvard Business School (
- MediaHarvard poll: U.S. losing its zeal
Business leaders are warning that the federal budget morass is one symptom of a far more troubling problem: long-term challenges to U.S. competitiveness that are sapping America's strengths, according to a Harvard Business School survey.
- MediaThe Public Has No Idea How Much Of A Threat Emerging Markets Are To The US
Recently, the results of the second year of Harvard Business School's survey on US competitiveness were released. This time, in addition to asking both the public and of business leaders how the economy was doing, the survey asked their opinions of specific policies.
- MediaVideo: US Crisis Like Villian in a Horror Movie
Jan Rivkin, professor and chair of the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School, discusses the structural issues facing the United States and as a result, the multiple short term crises. He speaks on Bloomberg Television's "Market Makers."
- MediaVideo: U.S. Competitiveness Project on Charlie Rose
Michael Porter, University professor at Harvard, talks to Charlie Rose about the United States in the global economy.
- MediaWhy the Middle Class Is Declining: Michael Porter
The American middle class is "hollowing out" as the U.S. economy fails to compete effectively in a globalized world, Harvard economist Michael Porter told CNBC's "Closing Bell" this week.
- MediaWhat the Superdome Blackout Says About American Competitiveness
The electrical blackout at the Super Bowl wasn't about New Orleans. It speaks more to the pressing challenge of ensuring our infrastructure is capable of enabling America to be competitive in a global economy.
- MediaGDP contracts, jobs outlook sours
Weak conditions abroad and flagging U.S. competitiveness caused exports to contract $27 billion and businesses anticipating a further slowdown slashed inventories by $40 billion in the fourth quarter.
- MediaErskine Bowles: National Debt Threatens U. S. Innovation
Mounting debt obligations threaten the very foundation of US business, placing at risk our competitiveness and innovation leadership in the world.
- MediaThe Economist: An Eight-Point Plan to Restore American Competitiveness
Harvard Business School Professors Michael Porter and Jan Rivkin lay out policy steps for the president and Congress to follow in order to make American companies more competitive and their employees more prosperous.
- MediaAmerican Competitiveness Crucial to US Economy
In this video from the Nightly Business Report, Harvard Business School Professor Michael E. Porter says the US needs to make structural changes to restore its competitiveness.
- MediaFaster, Sooner: Why The U.S. Needs 'Gigabit Communities'
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski says making sure that the U.S. has super-fast, high-capacity, ubiquitous broadband networks is essential to economic growth, job creation, and U.S. competitiveness.
- MediaBalancing US competitiveness, coveted summer vacation at heart of longer school year debate
Longer winter breaks and shorter summer vacations are ideas being tested around the country as school districts debate whether to extend the school year.
- MediaAmerican Competitiveness Report--An Issue of National Security
Our ability to compete in a global economy, attract the world's brightest workers and nurture a functional political system is slipping. This weakness is now at a point where it threatens to erode the pillars upon which America's national security rests. America's competitiveness is now a matter of national security.
- MediaSetting the Stage: Reviving US Competitiveness and Economic Growth
Until recently, the debate about tax reform has focused mostly on the corporate side and mostly on the international side, but in the negotiations about the fiscal cliff, the debate has moved into a discussion about individual taxation.
- MediaFor D.C. freshmen, a crash course in U.S. competitiveness
Two Harvard Business School professors warn a group of incoming congressional freshmen that it would be a mistake to separate concerns about the economy from the broader and increasingly urgent problem of America's waning competitiveness in the global world of business.
- MediaIntel report sees U.S. losing superpower status by 2030
A report by the National Intelligence Council predicts that the United States will lose its superpower status by 2030, but that no country -- including China -- will be a hegemonic power. Instead, the report says, power will shift to "networks and coalitions in a multipolar world."
- MediaSeattle competitive today; what about future?
The Puget Sound region, for all its strengths, is only a few Chinese leaps in software, airplanes and biotechnology from becoming Akron, Ohio, with ferries, columnist Jon Talton says.
- MediaWhat Washington must do now
America's success in restoring competitiveness will define the opportunities and economic mobility of American citizens as well as America's influence in the world, according to Harvard Business School's Michael Porter and Jan Rivkin.
- MediaMichael Porter on Competitiveness
Video Harvard Business School Professor Michael E. Porter, a co-leader of the United States Competitiveness Project, suggests three simple and bipartisan actions that may help boost productivity in the US.
- MediaIncreasing US Competitiveness: Building a New Relationship Between Business and Academia
At Rochester Institute of Technology, working together with several corporate representatives, we have developed a template agreement in which the university agrees to a different kind of research relationship with an interested company.
- MediaIncreasing US Competitiveness: Building a New Relationship Between Business and Academia
- MediaU.S. Economy Faces Challenges But Optimism Remains
The United States faces a number of steep economic challenges to its continued economic growth, but a group of business and policy experts said they believe the Obama administration, working with Congress, can solve daunting short-term issues that threaten to derail economic recovery.
- MediaCompetition on the Cliff
Harvard Business School Professor Michael E. Porter on US competitiveness and the "fiscal cliff."
- MediaCEOs Discuss U.S. Competitiveness
Video Samuel R. Allen, chief executive officer for Deere & Co., James Hagedorn, CEO for Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., Keith D. Nosbusch, CEO for Rockwell Automation Inc., Michael E. Porter, professor at Harvard Business School, and Edward M. Smith, CEO for Ullico, Inc., talk about U.S. productivity and economic growth outlook. They speak at the National Competitiveness Forum in Washington. Bloomberg's Al Hunt moderates.
- MediaFortune: What Business Should Do to Restore US Competitiveness
It's time for business to lead in restoring American competitiveness, rather than waiting for Washington to act, write Harvard Business School professors Michael Porter and Jan Rivkin.
- MediaObama's 4 Biggest Economic Challenges
A recent survey of Harvard Business School graduates found 58 percent expect U.S. competitiveness to worsen over the next three years. This would be a good time for Obama to prove them wrong.
- MediaProtecting the American Dream Should Be the President's Top Priority
For the first time in our lives, the promise of upward mobility -- the core of the American Dream -- can no longer be taken for granted. The top priority for President Obama is to enact policies that support job growth and reduce worker anxieties.
- MediaReport: U.S. competitiveness in manufacturing on the wane
The United States will slip to fifth place from third in manufacturing competitiveness in the next five years as India and Brazil race ahead, according to a report published Friday.
- MediaHarvard on Detroit: It's a long road to recovery, but our "Vacancy" sign is clear to all
Wanna be a rock star? Come to Detroit. That's one takeaway a group of Harvard Business School professors had Thursday night during a presentation on their year-long project on U.S. competitiveness.
- MediaMany U.S. shippers face limited rail choices
Shippers say the limited choices many face give railroads too much power, which allows them to dictate price increases or arbitrarily impose extra fees, such as for diesel fuel to power their locomotives.
- MediaMany U.S. shippers face limited rail choices
Shippers say the limited choices many face give railroads too much power, which allows them to dictate price increases or arbitrarily impose extra fees, such as for diesel fuel to power their locomotives.
- MediaHow the United States Can Maintain Its Global Edge
Over the next four years, U.S. President Barack Obama has an opportunity to help the U.S. remain competitive in a rapidly globalizing, recalibrating world.
- MediaU.S. businesses seek a more competitive economy
Next week, a coalition of business leaders will press a longer-term to-do list on Washington's politicians. Its 200 items include cutting corporate taxes, streamlining regulations, upgrading the nation's crumbling infrastructure and creating a more highly skilled workforce.
- MediaTo Lead Change as an Incumbent, Obama Needs New Allies
In an open letter to President Obama, Rosabeth Moss Kanter advises, "You have been reelected at a time when no one is satisfied with the status quo. You must show that your are serious about solving problems by a willingness to act quickly on a big, national campaign to get action throughout the country."
- MediaThe Risks of Reviving a Revived Economy
History shows that four to five years after a financial crisis is usually when a country either moves slowly but surely into a sustained recovery or lapses back into recession.
- MediaA New U.S. War: Restoring Our Competitiveness
If the United States economy is to restore itself to earlier levels of full employment, prosperity and financial soundness, the American manufacturing community must engage in a national effort to resurrect its global competitiveness.
- MediaA New U.S. War: Restoring Our Competitiveness
If the United States economy is to restore itself to earlier levels of full employment, prosperity and financial soundness, the American manufacturing community must engage in a national effort to resurrect its global competitiveness.
- MediaWSJ: Executives Lack Confidence in U.S. Competitiveness - Survey
Executives from around the world are profoundly pessimistic about the ability of companies operating in the U.S. to compete in the global economy and to pay high wages to American workers, a survey of more than 6,800 Harvard Business School alumni found.
- InsightThe U.S. Competitiveness Project—View From The Field
Harvard Business School alumna Chitra Nawbatt provides a "view from the field" as the School continues its U.S. Competitiveness Project.
- MediaNational leaders meet to discuss manufacturing innovation
A group of national leaders seeking to make the United States more globally competitive chose Lehigh University for their venue this week when they met to discuss manufacturing and innovation. The event was sponsored by the Washington D.C.-based Council on Competitiveness, the Allentown, Pa.-based company Air Products, and Lehigh.
- MediaCommon ground key to building businesses
Harvard Business School's U.S. Competitiveness Project aims to engage local leaders, find paths to prosperity
- MediaSharpening America's Competitive Edge
Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria and Professor Michael Porter discuss America's declining competitiveness and possible solutions. Their appearance begins at about the 1:20 mark.
- MediaJeff Immelt gives positive assessment of U.S. economy
The chairman and CEO of General Electric outlined five areas where he believes the United States needs improvement: the number of math and science majors should double, the manufacturing sector should increase, globalization has to be accepted, energy independence is necessary, and the value placed on training and education should be greater.
- MediaVideo: Forum on American Competitiveness
Speakers at the forum included former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter; and Aspen Institute CEO Walter Isaacson. Former presidential advisor David Gergen moderated the event.
- MediaHarvard's 'wise men' tell Silicon Valley: Our country is losing its competitiveness
Three Harvard Business School professors made a stop in Silicon Valley to warn that the economic competitiveness of the United States is lagging. Their message was laced with hopes that entrepreneurship will save the country, but the facts they carried with them would depress members of any political party.
- MediaDeloitte : US Must Transcend Political Gridlock to Address America's Unemployment
Job creation in the United States is hampered by supply and demand, but not in a traditional sense, according to new research from Deloitte. Specifically, the demand for highly skilled and adaptable workers is accelerating, but the skill set of the country's available talent is either outdated or out of stock, Deloitte reports.
- MediaSurvey finds US competitive ranking down again
The United States' ability to compete on the global stage has fallen for the fourth year running as confidence in the country's politicians continues to decline, an annual survey from the World Economic Forum found Wednesday.
- MediaA New Look at U.S. Economic Competitiveness
Michael Porter and his colleagues at Harvard Business School have taken a new look at national competitiveness, one that raises deep questions about our economy, our businesses, and our politics.
- MediaObesity weighs down U.S. competitiveness
Business groups complain that taxes, regulations and unfair trade practices hurt their international competitiveness. Now, we can add the weight of the American workforce to that list.
- MediaUS lags behind in broadband access
The US is still lagging behind other developed nations in levels of broadband internet availability. Nineteen million Americans still lack broadband access, according to the Eight Broadband Progress Report, issued by the Federal Communications Commission.
- MediaTransportation choke points could threaten global competitiveness of U.S. soybeans
The United Soybean Board reports that transportation reliability and efficiency will be taxed as soybean production and global demand rises, threatening the agricultural product's ability to remain competitive on a worldwide scale.
- MediaCan America Compete? Strategies for Economic Revival
Does the United States face insoluble economic challenges? In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession, growth has been sluggish--with unemployment devastating far too many Americans. Yet the real problem, obscured by this acute, cyclical downturn, may be a long-term erosion of competitiveness in a more challenging global economic era.
- ForumAmerica's Prosperity Depends on Outwitting Our Broken Political System
Nearly every member of Congress has blocked steps that would help their constituents prosper. The answer? Sol Erdman and Lawrence Susskind discuss advocacy plans for the Center for Collaborative Democracy.
- MediaCrowd Sourced Innovation and competitiveness: How to encourage the next great U.S. inventions
Few doubt that to grow, the nation must innovate -- but how? We invite readers to post their specific ideas for accelerating development of the products, technologies and ideas we need to compete in global markets.
- MediaWe're number ... 24? How the U.S. stacks up
As the United States celebrates its independence, where does it stand in the world? The glut of global rankings generated by think tanks, nonprofit groups and global agencies gives a jumbled picture of how the U.S. stacks up on everything from happiness to health spending.
- MediaNew York, London and Tokyo most competitive cities in the world: CASS
Among cities, New York, London and Tokyo are some of the strongest competitors in the world. Even so, their dominance is being threatened by the ongoing economic crisis, a top Chinese think tank said in a report.
- MediaHarvard's prescription for a broken American political system
Is there any hope for America's political process? Not much, was the answer from the group of Harvard Business School faculty gathered in Washington D.C.'s Newseum last week.
- MediaHarvard Business School to Convene More Than 400 Leaders in Washington to Discuss the Business and Politics of Improving U.S. Competitiveness
Leaders from the U.S. Senate, Small Business Administration, media, business and labor will join HBS in an interactive discussion about areas of agreement around the actionable steps that can be taken to address America's structural competitiveness challenges
- MediaCan the U.S. Revitalize its Infrastructure?
Pushing the limits of an aging infrastructure, U.S. manufacturers face a future of increasing costs and instability unless new technologies and new investments can rejuvinate the system.
- MediaPew survey finds China seen as top economic power
For the first time, people responding to a global survey are more likely to view China and not the United States as the world's leading economic power.
- MediaAmerica has more competitive advantages than we may think.
U.S. competitiveness was ranked second for 2011 for by the IMD, behind Hong Kong. The bad news is that it was first in 2010 and most years before, but it's worth contemplating the advantages that a group of international business executives and analysts still can find in the U.S. economy.
- MediaMorning Joe: Fundamental Changes Required to Boost US Competitiveness
Professor Michael Porter joins a roundtable discussion on a potential Romney administration, Wall Street regulations, and the fundamental issues facing the US as a worldwide economic competitor. The 7-minute conversation on competitiveness begins at about the 8:40 mark of the video.
- MediaAmerica is losing the cybersecurity war; China hacked every major US company .
Four top government cybersecurity officials say America is getting attacked by nation state hackers and is vulnerable to much more.
- InsightU.S. Competitiveness Project—A Need for Systems Thinking
The current state of U.S. competitiveness is not the problem, but rather, a symptom of a larger systemic one, says Andrew McKeon, founder of business-climate.com. Fixing U.S. competitiveness will require a systems perspective much broader and more holistic than American management has practiced in the last 40 years.
- MediaHow Can the U.S. Stay Competitive? Professor Jan Rivkin and Others at HBS Explore Problems and Potential Solutions
- MediaWhat Business Would Do to Restore U.S. Competitiveness
CEOs are waking up to the idea that companies have a role to play in addressing weaknesses in the business environment — in the United States or elsewhere — and that business needs to invest in the "commons" to prosper, not just pursue its narrow self-interest. By Harvard Business School's Michael Porter and Jan Rivkin.
- MediaU.S. Competitiveness: What American Business Can and Should Do (In Its Own Interests)
The Harvard Business School's U.S. Competitiveness Project is challenging beliefs that have become deeply ingrained among many U.S. business leaders as the global economy has expanded and growth has accelerated in emerging markets.
- MediaWhy Companies Are Leaving the United States, and How to Get Them Back
Why are big companies not investing more in the United States? Findings from Harvard Business School's U.S. Competitiveness Project were discussed at a fascinating meeting of business leaders in New York Monday evening.
- MediaHBS Urges Business to Take Lead in Reviving US Competitiveness
At an HBS-hosted event devoted to action, not academics, more than 600 New York City business and civic leaders gathered at Lincoln Center Monday evening to explore causes and business-led solutions to the nation's decline in global competitiveness.
- MediaHarvard Alumni Urged to Help the U.S. Compete
When a business school solicits alumni, it's usually to ask for donations. Last night, though, the school hit them up for something they may find harder to give: a commitment to use whatever influence they have to get their companies to invest in the local workforce, raise U.S. median wages, and support local suppliers.
- MediaU.S. Competitiveness Report Cites Business Fears
Harvard Business School professors Michael Porter and Jan Rivkin released a new report (PDF) where business community respondents suggest the root of U.S. competitiveness problems may lie in the country's tax code, political system, K-12 education, macroeconomic policies, legal framework, regulations, infrastructure, and workforce skills.
- ResearchThe Looming Challenge to U.S. Competitiveness
Professors Michael E. Porter and Jan W. Rivkin frame the HBS project on U.S. competitiveness by defining "competitiveness," assessing the state of U.S. competitiveness, and pinpointing dynamics that threaten America's competitiveness.
- ResearchMacroeconomic Policy and U.S. Competitiveness
Across the political spectrum, there is consensus that the United States faces challenges to its competitiveness. Current U.S. fiscal policy is, unfortunately, part of the problem rather than the solution, according to Professors Richard H.K. Vietor and Matthew C. Weinzierl.
- ResearchChoosing the United States
Over the last four decades companies have dispersed more and more of their activities across the globe. Data and analysis from Michael E. Porter and Jan W. Rivkin suggest that the U.S. is losing out on location decisions at an alarming rate, even for high value adding activities such as R&D that it should be able to attract.
- ResearchA Jobs Compact for America's Future
It’s generally understood that the United States can’t be competitive—and won’t be able to support high, and rising, living standards—without a well trained, well paid, and continuously improving workforce that can compete with the best that other countries have to offer. Yet, at all levels of the economy, we behave as if we don’t believe this, opines Thomas A. Kochan.