Eliminate time wasting to raise productivity

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management

ISSN: 1741-0401

Article publication date: 1 April 2006

189

Citation

(2006), "Eliminate time wasting to raise productivity", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 55 No. 3/4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijppm.2006.07955cab.004

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2006, Emerald Group Publishing Limited


Eliminate time wasting to raise productivity

The Proudfoot 2005 international productivity report found that almost everyone was “busy doing the wrong things” to raise productivity. Thus, while executives (and ministers) think it is all a matter of capital investment, in fact it’s much more important to get the most out of existing resources – eliminating wasted time, for instance.

“The tendency to exaggerate the importance of new projects … is also reflected in over-optimistic expectations of cost savings and productivity gains from offshoring [and outsourcing],” the report adds.

The source of the ills can be narrowed down further. According to Proudfoot, three-quarters of the wasted time is down to poorly planned and managed work and inadequate supervision. Supervisors, Proudfoot found, were spending more than half their time on administration and non-value-adding activities; all managers overestimate their effectiveness.

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