Joe Issa Urges Achievement of Greater Synergy in Latest Investment in Jamaica
Joe Issa, of the St Ann Chamber of Commerce Past Presidents Advisory Committee, has hailed the latest investment of $12 billion in agriculture, stating it could enhance the process of industrialisation in Jamaica, as more advantage is taken of the synergy which exists between agriculture and manufacturing.
Speaking in an interview, Issa cited United States research in HE.net, stating that “the solution to the puzzle of how industrialization can occur in a predominantly agricultural economy recognizes the possibility of synergy between agriculture and manufacturing.”
“I believe there is synergy between sectors of the economy such as agriculture and manufacturing. If we understand it and use it we can create something bigger than their combined contributions, like industrialisation.
“It’s like taking two different drugs which when interact increase their effectiveness in curing an ailment; in this case, the new drug created by their interaction is greater than their total contributions.
“The same has been said of the civil rights movement created by the synergy between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X, and how the movement is bigger than their combined contributions,” Issa explained further.
In reference to business, he adds: “Similarly, if agricultural and manufacturing businesses work together this can achieve synergy, which others have described as increased effectiveness, resulting from working together.”
Issa, a former student of the London School of Economics, also noted research which defines effectiveness as an outcome and that it’s about “doing the right thing”, unlike efficiency, which is about “doing the thing right”.
On the issue of which one — efficiency or effectiveness — is more important Issa, who has previously referred to them as the “hallmark of any operation” said they both have their place although, like research shows, he is concerned about firms that spend much time and resources trying to produce a product more efficiently even before they have produced anything.
Issa said in such circumstances he supports those who believe that “sometimes it is better to just dive in and do something the slow but proven way rather than to try to make it more effective at the get-go.”
