Asian aquaculture has made remarkable progress in the last three decades, contributing most of the total world aquaculture production. Such progress has been largely achieved through enhanced production efficiency with improved techniques, stock management, and sea ranching, among others. These improvements have successfully transformed aquaculture from a traditional livelihood activity to a profit-oriented industry in the region.

The unprecedented increase in aquaculture production was, however, accompanied by many serious environmental and socio-economic problems, mainly due to the short-term, profit-driven strategies adopted by investors. The unrestrained use of water, land, and other natural resources coupled with the lack of proper aquaculture health management resulted in land subsidence, deterioration of groundwater, emergence of disease epidemics, and destruction of coastal ecology. This situation demands more active involvement of the government to ensure better conservation of common resources and sustainability of the aquaculture industry through effective monitoring and regulation.

To discuss the recent developments as well as issues and problems in the production and management of aquaculture in member countries, the APO organized the Seminar on Aquaculture Management, which was hosted by the Republic of China, in 2001. This publication is a compilation of the papers and proceedings of that seminar.

• planning;
• analysis;
• integration; and
• action.

The planning phase identifies the scope of the project topic for benchmarking, the development of the data collection instrument, the briefing of participants on the approach to be adopted for best practice benchmarking, and the collection of data. The analysis phase determines the strengths and learning needs of participating organizations and they initiate sharing and learning and identify external benchmark organizations for learning purposes, if required. The integration phase consolidates the sharing of knowledge and learning from best practices and the development of action plans by the participating organizations based on the learning. Finally, the action phase involves the implementation of action plans developed by the participating organizations, monitoring of improvements made, and review and improvement of the benchmarking methodology.

This benchmarking training manual is designed to help NPOs:

• recognize the usefulness of the APO BPN methodology framework;
• learn how to apply the steps in the methodology;
• understand their role as well as the role of other parties in applying the framework;
• understand the deliverables for each step of the methodology; and
• brief and train their participating client organizations.

This benchmarking training workshop manual is structured as a practical â?oehow-toâ??guide that will help NPOs and their clients (supported by the NPO Working Group) adopt the methodology framework. The manual is restricted to the â?oelearning and sharingâ?? aspects of benchmarking, which is the basis for the APO BPN. Other platforms of support will be available to NPOs that would like more assistance in benchmarking. Application of the benchmarking principles and methodology will be via interactive classroom discussion and syndicate group activities. Participants are encouraged to complete the activities. Finally, this manual is intended to be a useful reference for participation in the APO BPN.

Knowledge of best practices provides a competitive advantage for organizations in the knowledge-based economy. Whether in manufacturing or services, private or public, organizations must benchmark themselves against the best standards or practices worldwide to achieve competitive advantage and business excellence. The knowledge gained can also be used to adapt and innovate on the best practices and thus introduce methods that are "better than the best."

Such best practice benchmarking, however, is not very easy for an individual organization to carry out on its own. Major difficulties are unfamiliarity with sources of best practices, especially sources from other countries; lack of support from best practice organizations in sharing knowledge on best practices; and prohibitive cost of gaining best practice knowledge.

The APO BPN was specifically established to help organizations overcome the above challenges and enable them to perform international benchmarking. The network is designed to address accessibility problems, thus facilitating the transfer of knowledge on the best practices of organizations in other countries to the participating countries. The network will leverage on its linkages with the national productivity organizations (NPOs) located throughout Asia and other productivity and quality organizations worldwide.

More importantly, the best practice knowledge generated from the APO BPN will be useful for NPOs in helping their client organizations achieve best practice performance standards, thus positioning NPOs as leaders in this knowledge transfer.

The APO is continuously devoting itself to the improvement of productivity and accelerating the economic development in the Asia and Pacific region through the sharing f experiences and expertise. After the Rio Summit, from the viewpoint of sustainable economic growth, the APO has been emphasizing Green Productivity (GP), so that the region can remain competitive in a business environment that is globalizing at an ever faster rate.

Japan has accumulated vast experience in environmental management and the

APO, recognizing this, established in 2003 the GP Advisory Committee (GPAC), comprising more than 40 Japanese companies for advice and support on GP-related activities. The committee, chaired by Mr. Yoichi Morishita, Chairman of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.,

Ltd., recommended that the APO focus on promoting environmentally friendly products and services, establishing green supply chains, organizing eco-product exhibitions in Asia, and publishing eco-products databases for wider dissemination of environmentally friendly products and services.

This Eco-products Directory 2005 is an updated version of the Eco-products Directory

2004, which was published in conjunction with the Eco-products International Fair 2004, held in Malaysia. It is our great pleasure to publish this updated version on the occasion of

Eco-products International Fair 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand.

As the Asian region takes up the position of a production hub in the global market, we can look forward to expanding green markets in Asia. I hope that this publication will contribute to an appreciation and expansion of the eco-product markets in the region.

The Internet is playing an increasingly vital role in enhancing business opportunities, productivity and competitiveness in the developed countries. Moreover, it is also affecting in a profound manner the way we think about trade, markets, products and services, business transactions, intellectual property, and public policy, to name a few. While this is taking place in the developed world, there is a growing concern that the developing countries are falling far behind in utilizing information technology (IT) for their social and economic development, and that the digital divide between these two groups of countries is widening. To be viable and successful in this age of globalization and rapid IT advancements, there is a great need for companies in developing countries to quickly develop and improve their capabilities to use IT for business, for increasing productivity and for providing better services to their customers.

In recognition of this need, the APO organized in Japan in January 2001 the Seminar on E-commerce. Its objective was to help industries and businesses in member countries harness the opportunities provided by the IT revolution, and to share in the experiences of those member countries who are already making good progress in e-commerce. This publication is a report of the proceedings of the seminar. It provides a summary of the deliberations of the seminar, and includes the resource papers and country papers presented during the sessions. It is my hope that this publication will prove useful as a reference text to companies considering the adoption of e-commerce as a new business strategy, as well as to those who are already actively involved in it.

The APO is most grateful to the Government of Japan for hosting this very importantseminar and to the Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economical Development and the Electronic Commerce Promotion Council of Japan for their excellent organization and implementation of the program. I would also like to thank all the organizations that accepted our participants for visits and discussions, and all the resource persons and participants for their valuable contributions.

The increasing globalization and rapid changes in the economic environment mean that the National Productivity Organizations (NPOs) must reckon with these changes and necessitate a major paradigm shift in order to survive the turbulent environment. NPOs must realign with the requirements of the new economy to become learning organizations, less dependent on government, and more reliant on networking among member countries. More discussions and actions are needed for the NPOs to respond to these challenges.

The efforts of the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) to help develop and strengthen NPOs, especially the less-advanced NPOs, have been reinforced over the years through the provision of a host of projects. In line with this thrust area of the "Development of National Productivity Organizations," the APO launched a new annual series of projects to enhance the core competence of NPOs, namely, their capabilities to provide more effective services to various stakeholders in the country. As a start of this annual series, the first workshop on enhancing NPO's core competence in consultancy activities was organized from 23 to 25 January 2001 in Lahore, Pakistan. This workshop was attended by12 participants from 11 member countries. They were heads of NPOs, heads of consultancy divisions of NPOs, as well as government representatives from Pakistan. The workshop provided a platform to facilitate the exchange of experience among NPOs in developing and extending consultancy services.

Their deliberations resulted in a set of strategies, plans, and programs for enhancing the core competence of NPOs, in addition to identifying the role that the APO could play and the support it could render. This publication contains the resource papers and selected country papers presented at the workshop. It also contains a summary of the recommendations made. On behalf of the APO, I would like to thank the Government of Pakistan for hosting the meeting, and the resource speakers for their insightful presentations to make the workshop a success.

Health care is one of the most fundamental concerns of a society. Its efficient and effective delivery is essential to improving the quality of life of the people. The provision of health care services today faces a number of challenges. Among them are the folowing global trends: a dramatic decline in crude death rates, an equally dramatic increase in life expectancy, an increasingly aging population, more demand for chronic care services, the emergence of nuclear family and its implications for elderly care, and the migration of people from rural to urban areas. Advances in technology and communication systems are also revolutionizing health care delivery systems. In addition, there is the issue of the development of health care professionals. Modern health care management has to take all these into consideration.

In August 2000, the APO co-sponsored with the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, State of Hawaii, USA, a study meeting in Hawaii on health care management. The objective was to enable medical care providers, governmental policymakers, public health executives, and medical academicians from APO member countries to learn from the American experience and practice in health care management useful insights on delivering more and better medical and health services, and with greater productivity. This publication highlights the presentations made by the resource persons. It is also a compilation of the country papers prepared by the participants as part of their contributions in the program. It is my fervent hope that this publication will prove to be a useful reference text for all those who are involved in or who have a keen interest in health care management in Asia and the Pacific.

Infrastructure, in all its forms, is a pre-requisite for economic development. Well planned and managed infrastructure facilitates trade, aids businesses, supports industrial activities, and improves productivity. Indeed, it has been widely recognized that countries with good infrastructure are better positioned to be competitive than those with poor infrastructure.

Infrastructure development requires huge outlay of financial capital and many countries, especially the developing ones, do not have the capacity to meet the cost involved. One alternative open to them is to attract local and foreign investors to build and manage the infrastructure as a business. The government's role is then shifted from being the exclusive financier and provider of infrastructure services to being the facilitators and regulators of the services provided by the private sector. Experience has shown that private sector participation in infrastructure development and management improves the quality and quantity of infrastructure services. However, getting them involved is a challenging task. This is because the returns on investment are not attractive, and the payback period is long. On top of this, in many instances, governmental policies and regulatory framework are not conductive enough to attract investors. The issue here, therefore, is how to create an environment and would stimulate local and foreign investors to take part in infrastructure development.

To study this issue in-depth and to help member countries develop effective strategies for attracting private sector investment in infrastructure, the APO held a seminar on Infrastructure Development for Higher Productivity in Sri Lanka on 27-31 March 2000. This publication is a report on the proceedings of the seminar. It also includes the resource papers and country papers presented in the seminar. It is my hope that this publication will prove useful to policy makers, planners and industry leaders concerned with infrastructure development.

Horticulture has become a major industry in Asia and the Pacific in recent decades, providing not only ample income to farmers but also generating significant export revenues for the economy. The growth of the industry has been attributed to the increase in demand, especially for vegetables and fruits, brought about by rising incomes, changing lifestyles, and significant shifts in food consumption patterns. More and more people, for instance, are now consuming less rice and more non-cereal based foods.

To be able to meet future demand, the industry needs to improve its current production practices, and its marketing and distribution system. The marketing system is specially critical because of the perishable nature of the produce and the variability in their production. The horticulture industry is generally characterized by substantial post-harvest losses, inadequate grading and standardization, and lack of facilities for handling, storing, packaging and transporting the goods. There is, therefore, an urgent need to enhance the efficiency of the marketing system for vegetables and fruits if the growth of the horticulture industry is to be further accelerated.

To assess the present status of the marketing of vegetables and fruits in member countries and to find out ways for further improving the system, the APO organized the Seminar on Marketing of Vegetables and Fruits in Islamabad, Pakistan, from 4 to 9 October 1999. This publication is a compilation of the papers and proceedings of the seminar. I hope it will be a useful reference text for those involved in the horticulture industry.

The Asian Productivity Organization (APO) has been at the forefront of efforts to raise productivity and competitiveness in the Asian region. Through various mechanisms such as the publication of technical studies prepared by experts and the organization of regionwide conferences, workshops, and other fora, the APO has contributed in no small measure to the progress being made by its member countries and their stakeholders to achieve higher productivity and greater competitiveness.

Microfinance has been recognized as a key instrument in economic growth and poverty reduction. Worldwide experience has shown that it gives microentrepreneurs access to financial services, basically loans and deposit facilities, that they have failed to obtain from traditional banking systems. It is important that regulatory frameworks contribute to the stability of microfinance institutions and the protection of depositors, especially the millions of household depositors. Appropriate regulatory frameworks will contribute to the productivity and competitiveness of microfinance institutions and provide the necessary safeguards.

Keeping the above background in view, the APO conducted a survey in November 2003 to study the legal and regulatory framework for microfinance prevailing among selected member countries. This publication highlights the results of the survey in nine countries: Bangladesh, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. The papers included in this volume were written by the national experts selected from the above member countries. The individual papers and the integrated report discuss the emerging structures for microfinance in Asia to assist policymakers in developing appropriate regulatory regimes. The topic chosen for this volume, “Regulatory Architecture for Microfinance in Asia,” is both timely and critical.

In 2003, the APO embarked on a Basic Research Project to understand the role of social capital in Asia. Social capital has been found to make a critical difference in the economic and social development of nations. Developed countries in the West are known to be resilient in the midst of crises. Social capital in the West manifests itself in specific institutions but do such institutions exist in Asia, and how do they affect businesses, transactions, and business transformations?

As a basic research project, the work was carried out in phases to investigate issues of fundamental and strategic importance to productivity improvement. In the first phase of this research, the intention was to examine the concept of social capital as it applies in Asia, define its framework, attempt to measure trust and social norms, and study its linkages with productivity and economic growth. 

The event brought together a panel of distinguished experts from India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of China, and Singapore to examine social capital and productivity. Professor Heon Deok Yoon from the Republic of Korea acted as the chief expert leading the team in its investigations of 

• Dimensions and sources  of social capital in Asia
• Benefits and costs of social capital
• Impacts of social capital on productivity

In phase I of the research project, the study team learned that all three dimensions of norms, networks, and trust could be found in the participating countries and that:

• Social capital has proven impacts on productivity improvement.
• The impact of social capital on productivity improvement is only “speculative,” although there was a consensus that a high level of social capital would be linked to high productivity.
• Income, education level, firm size/stage of growth, etc. affect the level of social capital.
• Different stages of economic and social development result in different levels of social capital.

Adverse effects of social capital were also found. For example, strong group bonds can exclude outsiders and create an undue focus on the group’s needs to the detriment of the broader group. Strong group norms and sanctions may also stifle individual expression and initiative.

The APO has recognized for some time that productivity and quality awards that which recognize excellent organizational performance have emerged as a significant component of productivity and quality improvement strategies of many countries. A leading example is the well-known Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, which the USA launched in 1988. Since then, it has become a major driving force in revitalizing the competitiveness of American firms in the global economy. Now recognized as a de facto global standard on management systems and practices that lead to performance excellence, It has influenced other countries in establishing similar awards such as the European Quality Award, the British Quality Award and the Japan Quality Award.

Many member countries have expressed a desire to promote sharing of experiences so as to enhance the effectiveness of such award systems and also motivate those member countries that have not adopted such systems. Against this background, the APO organized a Symposium on Quality and Business Excellence Awards in September 2001 in Fiji. The symposium was a platform for closer deliberations among participants from APO member-countries to gain new insights on the national strategies and initiatives for promoting quality and business excellence awards; discuss issues related to the design and promotion of such awards; and explore possible areas of collaboration in the areas of harmonization of awards including the framework and assessment process, exchange of best practice information, and joint research and studies.

This book is a compilation of contributions to, and discussions within, the symposium. We trust that the publication will be useful to member country governments who are contemplating on establishing national quality and business excellence award systems to improve the competitiveness of their industries.

Total factor productivity (TFP) as a measure of overall productivity has been gaining recognition and acceptance not only for its theoretical correctness but also for its practicality among policy makers and economic analysts. Some governments have begun to include the TFP growth rate as a target in national development plans. Against this background, the APO conducted a survey in 10 member countries in 1998. The basic objective of that first survey project was to develop a common understanding of TFP as well as to select and adopt a common approach for measuring and comparing TFP among member countries. For this purpose, the participating countries compiled TFP data at the macro level using a common framework. It was hoped that the estimation and use of TFP growth would become a widely adopted practice in member countries. The first survey was followed by a symposium in which the results of the survey were discussed along with the experiences of other member countries that did not participate in the survey. The symposium also deliberated on various issues to make TFP measurement an instrument for policy formulation.

The symposium recommended that measurement should be undertaken periodically to provide necessary inputs to decision makers. The necessity for further analysis of TFP, especially of which factors determine TFP growth, for sustained economic progress was recognized.

The APO embarked on a second survey project in 2001 as a follow-up to the first project to improve TFP estimation and to identify the determining factors of TFP growth. Twelve countries participated in this project. The results were discussed at a workshop held in Kuala Lumpur in November 2002.

This publication is a compilation of the finalized version of the national survey reports and findings presented at the workshop by the experts of the participating countries. We hope that this publication will prove useful to policy makers in member countries by helping them better understand the process of TFP growth, allowing them to formulate policies that will nurture an environment for TFP growth and ultimately achieve higher economic growth.

Along with the transition to the knowledge economy, knowledge workers are assuming increasingly important roles. They constitute an important part of a firm’s intangible assets and form key sources of competitive advantages. The central issue is how to develop appropriate training and education programs and strategies for these knowledge workers so as to attract and retain them, maximize their performance, and thereby enhance the intellectual capital of enterprises as a whole.

The APO launched a survey on “In-company Training Strategies for Knowledge Workers” to examine the situation in the Asia-Pacific region. The survey was launched in August 2002 and its primary objectives were to identify best practices in the training strategies of companies in the region and to define the critical success and hindering factors for dissemination to others. Mr. Enrique V. Abadesco, Jr. from the Philippines led the survey and served as the chief expert. This publication is a compilation of the reports prepared by the national experts participating in the survey. The five countries featured are India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. In each of
these selected countries, knowledge workers are increasing rapidly, in numbers as well as in their contribution to corporate excellence and competitiveness.

In the course of the survey, the national experts visited many companies and met their CEOs and senior management teams to obtain the necessary information and data. I would like to extend our deep appreciation to all these companies and their CEOs for opening their doors to the APO experts. Without their far-sightedness and cooperation in sharing willingly their in-company training practices, the APO could not have carried out this project. I hope that the experiences of the companies included in the present study contain practical lessons that may be emulated and widely replicated among other corporations and organizations in APO member countries.