whythawk ratings: measuring effective development

1. South Ossetia: Russia and Georgia's dangerous game
(Analysis/Analysis)

...embassy in Russia were followed by a systematic and aggressive attempt to bring down the entire Estonian Internet infrastructure; disabling the websites of government ministries, political parties, ne...

2. No way out; ducking the Eskom bullet
(Analysis/Analysis)

...deavour and encourage investment by businesses and corporations. All businesses require an upfront investment in infrastructure and capacity prior to being able to deliver their products. This is tr...

3. Taxing the Future, Confusing the Present
(Analysis/Analysis)

...9;s children into supporting the system, but it is slow. Meanwhile, a government that has lost track of critical infrastructure, given up on dealing with crime, but continues to pay for Jacob Zuma...

4. Overcoming the Conservation of Energy
(Analysis/Analysis)

...63. The underground allows 3 million people a day to get in and out of the city. The benefit to London of such infrastructure is incalculable and has been vastly exceeded by its original costs. At...

5. Netscape, the Internet and Creative Destruction
(Analysis/Analysis)

...ware. Cost isn't what is keeping the world's poor from using the Internet. It is state ownership of the infrastructure required to access it that does it. The Eskoms of the world are not ac...

6. Funding departments instead of people cheats everyone
(Analysis/Analysis)

...mplies around 25 patients per professional per day. No wonder doctors and nurses are exhausted and public health infrastructure is imploding under the strain, and 31% of posts are said to be vacant. ...

7. Podcast: China's expansion in Africa offers risk and opportunities
(Podcasts/Emerging Market Risk)

...#39;s largest investor.  They require little in the way of good governance and are aggressively creating new infrastructure in their drive to secure resources for their own industrial expansion.&...

8. Africa, China and Investment
(Analysis/Analysis)

...nstability, warfare, or plain disregard for economic rights the most capable Africans have fled leaving shattered infrastructure behind. A mining company investing in Cameroon also has to build railro...

9. Investment cannot happen if the market isn't private
(Analysis/Analysis)

...y is far too important to leave to private initiative. And all of this is being justified by the need to improve infrastructure in time for the football world cup in 2010. The reason we are spending...

10. Black Swans, Cost Overruns and Industrial Tariffs
(Analysis/Analysis)

...r hospitals. The latest on this is that government is to reduce tariffs on products needed for its R 400 billion infrastructure development programme. The products affected include a range of electr...

11. Zimbabwe: the Hollow State
(Analysis/Analysis)

...len from them - they may no longer have the capacity or interest to start again in a land that has eaten them. Infrastructure constraints: the general exile of capacity has degraded everything from...

12. South Africa's two tiers
(Analysis/Analysis)

...nomies and make two different sets of rules for them? There is no incentive for any formal business to invest in infrastructure and manufacturing plants in townships if they are still taxed at the sa...

13. When equality becomes unfair: South Africa's two economies
(Analysis/Analysis)

...39;s greatest unresolved itches.  Here we have fair-skinned folk living in shiny new cities with first-rate infrastructure and access to all the best that science, technology, literature, art an...

14. One Laptop Per Child, now costing 75% more ...
(Analysis/Analysis)

...ange anything. AMD with their 50x15 project has a more practical approach of putting computer labs into existing infrastructure, but it is still counterproductive.  All of this tells African gov...

15. What market is worth R 100 billion a year and is growing at 10.9%?
(Analysis/Analysis)

...formal markets:  contracts are unenforceable; pricing debt-defaults into goods dramatically increases costs; infrastructure limits make product support and delivery expensive Either your product ...

16. Demonstration Enterprise Development Consultant B
(Ratings Demonstration/Demonstration)

...7  Individual Scorecards  Managerial Scorecard: A Front Office Staff Scorecard: BB Infrastructure Capacity and Utilisation: CCC Financial Stability and Sustaina...

17. Demonstration Enterprise Development Consultant A
(Ratings Demonstration/Demonstration)

...  Individual Scorecards  Managerial Scorecard: A Front Office Staff Scorecard: BBB Infrastructure Capacity and Utilisation: B Financial Stability and Sustainabi...

18. Demonstration Health HIV / AIDS Orphanage B
(Ratings Demonstration/Demonstration)

... Previous rating: BB Date assigned: 23 November 2006  Individual Scorecards  Infrastructure - Managerial, Recording and Fund-raising Capacity: A Infra...

19. Demonstration Health HIV / AIDS Orphanage A
(Ratings Demonstration/Demonstration)

...k: stable Previous rating: not rated Date assigned: 25 January 2007  Individual Scorecards  Infrastructure - Managerial, Recording and Fund-raising Capacity: AA Infrastruc...

20. Demonstration Table of Ratings
(Ratings Demonstration/Demonstration)

...e Organisation Current Overall Score Last Reviewed Outlook Management & Infrastructure Finance & Sustainability Operational Effectiveness ...

21. Unions, the leverage of the highly skilled, and the future of work
(Analysis/Analysis)

...send the design specifications by email. The rise of just-in-time manufacturing means that companies have set up infrastructure to ensure that, if there is a problem, then they can still get the work...

22. Cricket, corruption and the match-fixing that leads to murder
(Analysis/Analysis)

...y, most daily attention is aimed at internal politics, scheming to increase profits while allowing the underlying infrastructure to rot, and blaming poor performance (like the current rolling power-ou...

23. Aggregation and collaboration: a guide to making money and doing good in poor nations
(Analysis/Analysis)

...rest nations; the so called “Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid”.  With its mix of world-class infrastructure and gut-wrenching poverty it is significantly easier to develop product...

24. Lies, damned lies, and curriculum vitae; or why ratings may be the future of education
(Analysis/Analysis)

...et have been excited at his largesse.  Much money is being handed to departments to, finally, start massive infrastructure and development spending.  This morning, at the Deloitte Budget Br...

25. General Scorecard Overview and Summary
(FAQs/Rating FAQs)

...ing Scorecards  Summary Rating: Outlook:  Individual Scorecard Summary  Management & Infrastructure: Finance & Sustainability: Operational Effectiveness: ...

26. "On your left is an Orc fighting a Troll" - travels in hyper-reality offer lessons for the poor
(Analysis/Analysis)

...d the world via the web to small businesses in poor nations, is a good place to start. Poor countries, bereft of infrastructure and even the most basic services, are rich in opportunities.  Ever...

27. "Heads or Tails" ... resolution to a difficult choice
(Analysis/Analysis)

...single contract to a qualifying entity and, thereafter, give the others a shot at it. So, ACME cc sets up, builds infrastructure, learns, makes a few mistakes, concludes the contract and - now equippe...

28. We're from Mars and we want to help: four lessons in development
(Analysis/Analysis)

... If development organisations are really serious about ending poverty then we recommend the following approach: Infrastructure development: ensure that local skills exist to build the necessary infr...

29. World Cup 2010 asks for big sacrifices from the poor
(Analysis/Analysis)

...e cost R 2.6 billion, will now cost R 3.6 billion. In other words, the total cost of the setting up stadiums and infrastructure could be over R 500 billion.  We will be spending about R 100 for ...

30. The Martians Really Care: four points to govern development
(Analysis/Ideas and Challenges)

...nt a thousand years ago.  They are corrupt, their systems of governance are expensive and patronising, their infrastructure is nowhere good enough.  This is going to be hard.” We woul...

31. Should charitable organisations be allowed to compete with businesses?
(Analysis/Analysis)

...stock against past graduates of its school.  But at much lower prices, since the fabric, sewing machines and infrastructure are sponsored and the profits aren’t taxed.  They would be w...

32. Enterprise - Ratings and Scorecard overview
(FAQs/Rating FAQs)

Individual Rating Scorecards Managerial Scorecard: Front Office Staff Scorecard: Infrastructure Capacity and Utilisation: Financial Stability and Sustainability: Fi

33. A revitalised UN may improve development in Africa
(Analysis/Analysis)

...st of the agricultural land in South Africa is already farmed but the country, with its deep-water ports and good infrastructure, would be a perfect gateway for agricultural manufactures to the rest o...

34. The danger of wanting to believe in the power of good intentions
(Analysis/Analysis)

...nt to local warlords who traded it for influence.  The vast bulk simply rotted in warehouses for lack of the infrastructure to deliver it (and the will of the government who care more about power...

35. Poverty: when second best isn't good enough
(Analysis/Analysis)

...e power supplies and scaled-down communications services. They won't work. Poverty is not caused by a lack of infrastructure. That is simply a correlation. The US did not become wealthy because th...

36. Senescence, the death of development
(Analysis/Analysis)

...elopment a thousand years ago. They are corrupt, their systems of governance are expensive and patronising, their infrastructure is nowhere good enough. They have terrible working conditions; they wor...

37. Interpreting the Emerging Market Risk Curve
(Static Content)

...onalised or "stolen" through dubious legal sleights-of-hand. Growth can exceed the capacity of critical infrastructure (such as energy) and result in sudden collapses. Asset-price over-valua...

38. Why Use Whythawk
(Static Content)

...p; All parties to a rating can be sure of our complete objectivity. Ratings components include: A management and infrastructure rating An financial disclosure and sustainability rating A delivery eff...

39. Ratings Methodology
(Static Content)

...ur of the organisation’s office is helpful to gain a better understanding of the level of investment in the infrastructure. In addition, a tour sometimes is valuable to allow Whythawk analysts t...

40. Interpreting the Emerging Market Risk Curve
(Static Content)

...onalised or "stolen" through dubious legal sleights-of-hand. Growth can exceed the capacity of critical infrastructure (such as energy) and result in sudden collapses. Asset-price over-valua...

41. Why Use Whythawk
(Static Content)

...p; All parties to a rating can be sure of our complete objectivity. Ratings components include: A management and infrastructure rating An financial disclosure and sustainability rating A delivery eff...

42. Ratings Methodology
(Static Content)

...ur of the organisation’s office is helpful to gain a better understanding of the level of investment in the infrastructure. In addition, a tour sometimes is valuable to allow Whythawk analysts t...