Fighting Climate Change: Who Killed Chut Wutty?

The recent death of the prominent Cambodian environmental activist reveals the  terrible risks that people must take to  try to stand up to the despoilers of the land. Chut Wutty had since the 1990s  taken a stand against illegal logging and  deforestation in his home country. Just as in neighbouring Thailand, timber  products represent an expensive prize for those who are able to cut them down  and get them to the market – enough money for it to tempt those involved to use  violence against people who oppose them.

Read the full article here.

Management Issues in Cambodian Industrial Estates

Walsh, John, “Management Issues in Cambodian Industrial Estates,” paper to be presented at the International Conference on Global Business Environment (ICGBE) (Bangkok: Feburary, 2012).

Abstract

The theoretical argument for industrial estates – special economic zones bounded in time and space in which different legal systems apply and industrialization and globalization take place – has become well-established since first being set down by Marshall. Industrial estates have subsequently become important parts of most efforts at creating versions of the East Asian Economic Model (EAEM) – that is, the state-led development model that focuses on import-substituting, export-oriented, low labour-cost manufacturing approach. For many people, the experience of the EAEM is to enter the factory age, with all the opportunities and alienation that provides. This same approach is now becoming apparent in Cambodia, which is a relatively poor Mekong Region country with a lengthy recent history of warfare, genocide and instability. Across the country, industrial estates are being opened with a view to attracting both domestic and international capital for investment in factories there, currently primarily in the textiles and clothing sectors but with a view to expanding production in line with new opportunities emerging in the international market generally and as a result of the forthcoming ASEAN Economic Community in particular. However, the management of industrial estates at a variety of scales and levels can be problematic, as has been seen in the similar approaches used in other East Asian countries. This paper draws upon the experiences of other East Asian countries in managing the industrial estate project and highlights some of the principal issues that are likely to need to be resolved in the foreseeable future.

Okhna Mong Port Co. Ltd. in G.D. Sardana and Tojo Thatchenkery, eds., Building Competencies for Sustainability and Organizational Excellence

Announcing: Walsh, John, “Okhna Mong Port Co. Ltd.,” in G.D. Sardana and Tojo Thatchenkery, eds., Building Competencies for Sustainability and Organizational Excellence (Macmillan: New Delhi, 2011), pp.253-61.

It’s the same abstract as the one from a few posts ago but I am going to put in back again:

Okhna Mong Port Co. Ltd. is part of Cambodia’s Mong Reththy Group and was created in 2002 to develop some 64 hectares of land in the southwest of the country as a private sector port, integrated with special economic zone, resort area and other facilities. Cambodia has been moving towards the factory age or the East Asian Economic Model, in which low labour costs provide competitiveness for large-scale manufacturing of mostly low value-added products primarily aimed at exporting. Clearly, an efficient port and attendant infrastructure will be of great assistance in promoting industrialization of the country. Further, infrastructure is an enabling technology that should provide benefits to anyone who wishes to take advantage of it, from individuals right up to the largest corporations. However, there is some concern that making this vital part of the country’ economic development solely part of the private sector is a form of the new enclosure of the commons and that, since it will reduce the role and effectiveness of state agencies within its confines, workers’ rights and protections will be compromised. This case study uses thick description of the Cambodian market, in the context of Mekong Region industrialisation more generally, to analyse the extent to which infrastructure provision is likely to benefit the country as a whole, the equitable distribution of new income opportunities and the social development of the country. Students will be asked to consider whether the existing public-private relationship may be considered to be optimal and what alternatives might be suggested. Additionally, they will be encouraged to debate the various routes to economic development and which of these should be chosen both by Cambodia and by other countries facing the same developmental goals.

Keywords: Cambodia, infrastructure, corruption, economic development, government

Okhna Mong Port Co. Ltd.

I am off on Wednesday morning for my annual trip to New Delhi for the Case Management Conference, which this year is based at Greater Noida. The abstract is below:

Okhna Mong Port Co. Ltd.

Type of Case: Teaching

Focus of Case: the business-government relationship, globalization of emerging economies, ethics of investment

Abstract: Okhna Mong Port Co. Ltd. is part of Cambodia’s Mong Reththy Group and was created in 2002 to develop some 64 hectares of land in the southwest of the country as a private sector port, integrated with special economic zone, resort area and other facilities. Cambodia has been moving towards the factory age or the East Asian Economic Model, in which low labour costs provide competitiveness for large-scale manufacturing of mostly low value-added products primarily aimed at exporting. Clearly, an efficient port and attendant infrastructure will be of great assistance in promoting industrialization of the country. Further, infrastructure is an enabling technology that should provide benefits to anyone who wishes to take advantage of it, from individuals right up to the largest corporations. However, there is some concern that making this vital part of the country’ economic development solely part of the private sector is a form of the new enclosure of the commons and that, since it will reduce the role and effectiveness of state agencies within its confines, workers’ rights and protections will be compromised. This case study uses thick description of the Cambodian market, in the context of Mekong Region industrialisation more generally, to analyse the extent to which infrastructure provision is likely to benefit the country as a whole, the equitable distribution of new income opportunities and the social development of the country. Students will be asked to consider whether the existing public-private relationship may be considered to be optimal and what alternatives might be suggested. Additionally, they will be encouraged to debate the various routes to economic development and which of these should be chosen both by Cambodia and by other countries facing the same developmental goals.

Keywords: Cambodia, infrastructure, corruption, economic development, government

I will probably be out of contact for a few days during the conference but will be back home on Sunday. Monday is a holiday and Father’s Day (it’s the King’s Birthday) and back in the office on Tuesday.

Incidentally, sometimes it is spelt ‘Okhna’ and sometimes ‘Oknha.’

Slavery in the Modern World

Just landed on my desk is the handsome, two volume set of Slavery in the Modern World: A History of Political, Social, and Economic Oppression from ABC-Clio (http://abc-clio.com/product.aspx?isbn=9781851097838). I mention this because I have half a dozen entries inside:

Walsh, John, “Burma” (Vol.1, pp.151-3), “Cambodia” (Vol.1, pp.158-60), “State Law and Order Committee” (Vol.2, pp.501-3), “Thailand” (Vol.2, pp.517-9), “World Bank” (Vol.2, pp.586-8) and “World Trade Organization” (Vol.2, pp.591-3), in Junius P. Rodriguez, eds., Slavery in the Modern World: A History of Political, Social, and Economic Oppression (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio, 2011).

Order a set for your library or buy one for your friends, if you have any.

Entrepreneurship in the Mekong Region: Opportunities in Cambodia

As Cambodia is entering into the factory age, there are clearly opportunities available in providing inputs for manufacturing, in addition to investing in factories themselves. At this early stage of economic development, there is a general lack of technical capacity and therefore a wide range of needs for training, management development, consultancy and research. To be successful in one of these fields, it is likely to need a local presence and a degree of local knowledge and awareness.

Some people will want to take management classes, and a resource for learning more is http://www.businessmanagementdegree.

Read the full article here.

Entrepreneurship in the Mekong Region: Cambodia

It is going to take a long time for Cambodian society to recover from the depredations of decades of civil war, the Khmer Rouge rule, invasion and occupation and all the other troubles the suffering Khmer people have had to suffer. However, life does go on and, in recent years, Cambodia has entered into its own version of the Factory Age with workers being drawn into establishments manufacturing garments, primarily, with some other products also beginning to be made.

Read the full article here.

Cambodian Migrants in Thailand: Working Conditions and Issues

Announcing: Walsh, John and Makararavy Ty, “Cambodian Migrants in Thailand: Working Conditions and Issues,” Asian Social Science, Vol.7, No.7 (July, 2011), pp.23-9, available at: http://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/view/8797/7980.

Abstract: The significant differences in standards of living available across the Thai-Cambodian border are influential in encouraging large numbers of Cambodian migrants to travel for work in Thailand on a temporary or permanent basis. Demand for labour is generally in labour-intensive industries with low value added and the low wages provided act to depress overall earnings. This situation contributes to social tensions and means otherwise uncompetitive work is continued which would otherwise be discontinued because of lack of profitability. Using the findings from qualitative, in-depth interviews with 59 Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand, this paper investigates the types of work that Cambodian migrants are undertaking in Thailand and the conditions in which they live, which is partly determined by the type of work they undertake. Living conditions will in turn determine to some extent the ability of workers to modify their future prospects as remittances change their future prospects.

Keywords: Cambodia, Thailand, Migrant labour, Living conditions, Demand for labour

Review of Slocomb’s Economic History of Cambodia in the Twentieth Century

 

In previous work, notably her book Colons and Coolies, Margaret Slocomb has demonstrated her understanding of the workings of Cambodia’s economy and society in the context of the colonial rubber plantation industry.

Read the full review here.

Impacts of Culture on Organizational Learning in Cambodia

Congratulations to Dr Makararavy Ty, who was recently awarded her PhD at Shinawatra University for her thesis entitled ‘Impacts of Culture on Organizational Learning in Cambodia.’

 Abstract:

In an intensely competitive world, each organization is supposed to find the most efficient and effective organizational strategy to cope with change. This pressure also forces organizations to act ever more quickly. To enhance their capability to respond to change, organizations should seek to identify what are their core competencies and the competitive advantages which are their keys to success. At first inspection, people might consider the knowledge and skills embodied in the organizational workforce because they are the most precious assets. The term “organizational learning” has become a term of interest to most academics and practitioners. Simultaneously, organizations have to consider the cultural context in environments in which they act. This study explored the impacts of culture (both national and organizational culture) on the organizational learning in Cambodia. The survey questionnaire, constructed on the basis of a solid literature review, was distributed to more than 2000 employees working in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. 417 responses were obtained with reliability value of 0.895 calculated by Cronbrach’s Alpha, which is above the acceptable value of 0.70 (Zikmund, 2000) and analyzed by utilizing Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The questions related to culture and organizational learning were factor analyzed using principal component analysis followed by Varimax rotation before utilizing regression tools to test the relationship between independent and dependent variables. Generally, the results showed that culture had strong relationships with learning capabilities of organizations in Cambodia. Simultaneously, some subhypotheses were rejected and it is not surprising because the author created the questions based on literature reviews and logical thinking. The study concluded by following some recommendations for Cambodian organizations to take into considerations in order to strengthen their levels of performance.

Keywords:  Cambodia, Culture, Impacts, Organizational Learning