Productivity: Improving Organizational Results, Slides of Business Management and Analysis

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Productivity

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

• Productivity is the amount of results (output) an organization gets for a given amount of inputs such as labor and machinery. - Many organizations are trying to improve productivity because of the stiff competition from both American and foreign organizations.

• Employee attitudes and skills can also limit productivity. - Employees may be unable or unwilling to meet standards.
• Government regulations and work rules defined by union contracts are other limits to productivity.

• The two basic ways of improving productivity are - to increase the amount of output without a similar increase in inputs or costs, or - to decrease costs without decreasing the amount of output.

• Many employees are fearful of productivity improvements because many organizations make them by - laying off some employees and - giving extra work to the remaining employees.

• Supervisors can respond to these fears by
  • keeping employees informed about the organization’s plans,
  • emphasizing the benefits of productivity, and
  • listening to employees.

• It is not an absolute number of items produced. - Producing a higher number of items will not necessarily result in higher productivity, because if both the inputs and outputs go up or down at the same rate, productivity will remain the same.

• Productivity is the result of a complex combination of inputs and outputs. - Productivity is a measure used to evaluate the overall output of an organization. - It is a ratio which can be used to compare units of work. - Some may confuse productivity with being productive, or working to fill some type of quota or standard.

• Stiff competition from around the world has forced American business to pay attention to productivity.

Constraints on Productivity

• There are several constraints on productivity that limit the impact of a supervisor or even of higher management. - Some of the most important constraints on productivity are - management limitations, - employee attitudes and skills, - government regulations, and - union rules.

• Supervisors should set a good example by demonstrating through actions and words that they are interested in the department’s productivity.
• Jobs that are done right the first time and the effective use of resources are general ways to develop productive departments.

• To assure jobs are done right the first time, it is necessary to have trained employees who have adequate information available to do the job. - Supervisors should be aware of what resources are needed and how effectively they are utilized. - They must communicate both up and down the organization to assure adequate resources are available. - Employees need to be informed about the use and care of resources.

Employee Attitudes and Skills

• Improving productivity involves making changes. - If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.
• Some changes may seem relatively small, such as adding one small task to a person’s job or changing the way a form is filled out

• Employees will not be motivated to change if they have negative attitudes about productivity improvements. - Part of the supervisor s job is to identify employee attitudes and, when necessary, to help employees take a more positive view.