" Productivity has become the buzz word of business enterprise. " why? Define productivity. Mention the problems in measuring productivity of knowledge workers. what different types of productrities can be calculated and how?
Productivity is one of the major concerns of managers of today and will be more of a matter of concern for managers of tomorrow all over the world. Infact, Productivity of an enterprise and provides opportunities to an enterprise for remaining, competitive and successful in an era of global competition. As such Productivity has become the buzz word of business enterprise in the present day times.
There is no general agreement an a universal meaning of the term Productivity. However it may be defined as the output input ratio, within a given time period and with due consideration for quality of performance. In terms of an equation Productivity can be expressed as follows:
Productivity= Output
Input (Within a given time period, with due consideration quality)
Professor Peter F. Drucker defines productivity as that balance between all factors of production that will give the greatest output for the smallest effort.
From the above discussion we conclude that :
1. Productivity refers to output - input ration for a given time period, as Productivity in the past and in future may be must different from the Productivity calculated for a given time period in the present. Actually Productivity depends an many factors which may change radically with the passage of time.
2. While determining Productivity, the quality factor must not be lost right of Productivity is really Productivity only when it is coupled with qualitative performance.
3. Productivity can be improved by increasing output with the same inputs or by decreasing inputs but maintaining the same input or by increasing output and decreasing input.
Problems in measuring productivity of knowledge workers :
Measurement of the Productivity of skill workers is easier but it becomes more difficult to measure the Productivity of knowledge workers ( like managers, engineers, programmers). Skilled workers mainly operate on the basis of their techincal skills whereas knowledge workers mostly use their knowledge which is their basic assets. ( Skilled workers like mechanics, butchers, bricks layers)
Productivity of knowledge workers is more difficult to measure because of the following reasons.
1. Knowledge workers contribute indirectly to the final product that engineers.
2. Knowledge workers provide assistance to other organizational units for example, it is difficult to say how much improvement in the sales is due to the efforts of the advertising manager or how much improvement is there in Labour management relations because of the efforts of the personal managers.
3. It is difficult to measure the quality of the actions of the knowledge workers. Fir example, the success of a strategy formulated by the general managers may not be known for years as the success of failure of the strategy depends on many external factors over which the managers has no control.
Despite the limitations of measuring Productivity of knowledge workers, it is a fact that greatest scope for increasing Productivity lies in the work performed by knowledge workers that managers, engineers cost accounters etc.
Types of Productivity :
Productivity mainly measure on an aggregate basis ( that considering all inputs taken together) or on an individual basis (that an taken each input separately). According Productivity may be of following types :
1. Total productivity = Total output
Total input
2. Productivity of labour =output
No. Of workers or No. Of man hours
3. Productivity of management =output
Total cost of management
4. Productivity of capital = output
Material consumed
5. Productivity of machine =output
Machine hours worth
6. Productivity of land = output
Area of land used
7. Productivity of material = output
Material consumed
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