Global Competition

It is human nature to strive to be the best, and once that task is accomplished, there is a greater desire to maintain it. However, that is where the major challenge comes into play. Achieving highest honors is remarkable, but maintaining that status can pose major challenges. No one wants to be told that they are no longer the best, or even hear that they are in danger of not being the best. Instances like that call for major changes and transformations, sometimes bigger than ever expected.

The United States can be classified as a highly competitive country; however, for the past several years, there has been a continual decline in rankings among other countries in the world. According to the Global Competitiveness Report of 2011-2012, the United States is ranked fifth in the world, trailing behind Finland (4th), Sweden (3rd), Singapore (2nd), and the top country Switzerland. The decrease has come about due to various reasons, including a lack of microeconomic stability, a weak level of trust in the politicians, and the fact of spending resources in a wasteful manner (World Economic Forum, 2011). The United States is also lacking in the field of technology and education. A study completed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development concluded that “America appears to be losing an important edge in the global knowledge economy.” That leads to the vital question, “What can be done to change that?”

The number of individuals that continue their education beyond high school increases every year, narrowing the advantage for countries like the United States and Japan. Developing countries like Korea and China are pushing for more college-educated individuals to enter the working population, as are the countries of Ireland and France as well. The United States is expected to lose their high standings and rankings because there is no apparent growth in the numbers of individuals that attend college now than the number of individuals that attended college a generation ago. Another reason for this continual decrease in the United States is because those entering the work force are no more educated than those who are leaving the labor market! (Goodwin, 2011).

Over time, these issues have grown, having a greater impact on the United States. President Barack Obama predicts that over the next ten years, nearly half the jobs will require an education beyond high school. The United States has already fallen behind in some key areas, specifically math and science; and because of that, companies struggle to find qualified Americans to be able to serve the role in the workforce. In order to get the United States back up to where it belongs, change needs to occur. President Obama and his administration have aimed to make education top priority by working to make colleges more affordable, launching a nationwide initiative to connect graduates to businesses that need their skills, revitalizing community colleges, and enacting reforms like “Race to the Top.” With these changes, President Obama is hopeful that a great invention, like the next Google or the next Intel, will be created in America and American workers will be hired to run the company.

The United States has the ability to increase their rankings, and be known as the prestigious nation it once was. President Obama sees the “bold entrepreneurs, bright new ideas, and world-class colleges and universities” as stepping stones to achieving this success of our nation. “If we want to win global competition for new jobs and industries, we’ve got to win the global competition to educate our people” (President Obama, 2009). Just wanting to be the best is no longer good enough; although it may serve as a good foundation, actually make strides to achieve the task is how success is measured.



References
Goodwin, Liz. (2011). American Losing Ground in Global Competition for College-educated Workers. Retrieved from http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/america-losing-ground-global-competition-college-educated-workers-125749668.html.

U.S. Must Win Global Competition in Education: Obama. 2009. Deccan-Herald. Retrieved from http://www.deccanherald.com/content/139144/us-must-win-global-competition.html.

World Economic Forum. (2011). The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012. Retrieved from http://www.weforum.org/issues/global-competitiveness.