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Article
Publication date: 1 April 1993

Bruce Gunn

The transition to the information age is shifting thedecision‐making authority structure in organizations from politicalsystems and subjective appraisals to management systems and…

Abstract

The transition to the information age is shifting the decision‐making authority structure in organizations from political systems and subjective appraisals to management systems and objective personnel evaluations. The critical need to adopt the management system and objective evaluation procedures is based on the truism that timely, relevant, accurate feedback is a primary motivator of people.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 31 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 August 2017

Eziaku Onyeizu Rasheed and Hugh Byrd

The purpose of this literature review is to investigate the reliability of self-evaluation as a method for measuring the effect(s) of indoor environment quality (IEQ) on the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this literature review is to investigate the reliability of self-evaluation as a method for measuring the effect(s) of indoor environment quality (IEQ) on the productivity of office workers. The aim of this review is to identify the various constraints to its adequacy in measuring productivity.

Design/methodology/approach

Thirty studies were selected from peer-reviewed sources and reviewed on their method of measuring productivity. These studies used self-evaluation (questionnaires or interview) as the sole method of measuring the effect of IEQ on productivity/performance.

Findings

This review provides insight on the insufficiencies and biases prevalent in self-evaluation. Various issues that compromised the reliability of self-evaluation results in an office environment were discussed. It was concluded that self-evaluation is not reliable and does not accurately measure occupant productivity.

Research limitations/implications

This study has been a review of past studies and their findings. Further studies that will provide empirical evidence are required to solely test the reliability of self-evaluation in measuring productivity and the effect of factors such as IEQ on it.

Practical implications

The paper calls for further debate on occupant productivity measurement and how the various factors that affect it can be quantified into measurable entities.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified need to revisit the technique of self-evaluation as a method for measuring occupant productivity.

Details

Facilities, vol. 35 no. 11/12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

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Article
Publication date: 1 April 1989

Pradip K. Ray and S. Sahu

Critical analysis of previously developed white‐collar productivitymanagement techniques focuses on the existing shortcomings of severalmeasurement and evaluation methodologies of…

Abstract

Critical analysis of previously developed white‐collar productivity management techniques focuses on the existing shortcomings of several measurement and evaluation methodologies of white‐collar personnel and functions. An analytical method of defining and measuring various pertinent characteristics of both routine and non‐routine white‐collar jobs helps in the development of a more suitable productivity management methodology. A systematic procedure is described for the measurement and evaluation of white‐collar productivity for an individual, a group of individuals or a department. The recommended measures, viz, operations‐based productivity measures for routine and non‐routine jobs, explain in detail the relationship of different white‐collar job characteristics and individual and group productivity at the middle management level. A case example is cited which illustrates the proposed approach. The advantages, along with some limitations, of the methodology are also highlighted.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 9 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

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Article
Publication date: 1 December 2004

Mohan P. Rao and David M. Miller

The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of productivity management and potential expert systems applications at each stage of productivity analysis. Based on…

2468

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of productivity management and potential expert systems applications at each stage of productivity analysis. Based on literature reviews it discusses the strengths and limitations of these technologies. Describes several tasks in the measurement, interpretation and evaluation phases and examines the appropriateness of an expert systems application. Finds that expert systems applications could be useful in interpretation and evaluation. Focuses on productivity analysis at the organizational‐level only. Opines that business managers with limited or no knowledge of productivity models may want to have expert systems applications developed to diagnose problems and take corrective actions in a timely manner. The paper could be useful to business practitioners as well as researchers. Contributions include a detailed description of productivity analysis and how and where expert systems applications could make a difference. Productivity management is critical for long‐term business survival.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 104 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

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Article
Publication date: 2 September 2019

Ernesto Tavoletti, Robert D. Stephens and Longzhu Dong

This study aims to assess the effect of peer evaluations on team-level effort, productivity, motivation and overall team performance.

2732

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to assess the effect of peer evaluations on team-level effort, productivity, motivation and overall team performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study explores the impact of a peer evaluation system on 895 multicultural and transnational global virtual teams (GVTs) composed of 5,852 university students from 130 different countries. The study uses a quasi-experiment in which the group project is implemented under two conditions over two sequential iterations. In the first condition, team members do not receive peer evaluation feedback during the project. In the second condition, participants completed detailed peer evaluations of their team members and received feedback weekly for eight consecutive weeks.

Findings

Results suggest that when peer evaluations are used in GVTs during the project, teams show: higher levels of group effort; lower levels of average productivity and motivation; and no clear evidence of improved team performance. Results cast doubts on the benefits of peer evaluation within GVTs as the practice fails to reach its main objective of improving team performance and generates some negative internal dynamics.

Practical implications

The major implication of the study for managers and educators using GVTs is that the use of peer evaluations during the course of a project does not appear to improve objective team performance and reduces team motivation and perception of productivity despite increases in teams’ perceptions of effort and performance.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the scanty literature regarding the impact of peer evaluation systems on group-level dynamics and performance outcomes.

Details

Team Performance Management: An International Journal, vol. 25 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-7592

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 September 2022

Anas Al-Refaie, Ali Alashwal, Zulkiflee Abdul-Samad, Hafez Salleh and Ahmed Elshafie

Weather is one of the main factors affecting labour productivity. Existing weather-productivity models focussed on hot and cold climates paying less attention to the tropics. Many…

Abstract

Purpose

Weather is one of the main factors affecting labour productivity. Existing weather-productivity models focussed on hot and cold climates paying less attention to the tropics. Many tropical countries are expected to be the most areas affected by accelerated climate change and global warming, which may have a severe impact on labour health and productivity. The purpose of this paper is to assess whether the existing models can be used to predict labour productivity based on weather conditions in the tropics.

Design/methodology/approach

Five models are identified from the literature for evaluation. Using real labour productivity data of a high-rise building project in Malaysia, the actual productivity rate was compared with predicted productivity rates generated using the five models. The predicted productivity rates were generated using weather variables collected from an adjusting weather station to the project.

Findings

Compared with other models evaluated in this paper, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) was found to be the best model to predict productivity based on the case study data. However, the result shows only a 57% accuracy level of the USACE model indicating the need to develop a new model for the tropics for more accurate prediction.

Originality/value

The result of this study is perhaps the first to apply meteorological variables to predict productivity rates and validate them using actual productivity data in the tropics. This study is the first step to developing a more accurate productivity model, which will be useful for project planning and more accurate productivity rate estimation.

Details

Built Environment Project and Asset Management, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-124X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 February 2020

Ingrid Nappi, Gisele de Campos Ribeiro and Nicolas Cochard

The purpose of this study is to evaluate how the relationship between employees’ workspace satisfaction and their respective perceptions of workspace support to labour productivity

1299

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to evaluate how the relationship between employees’ workspace satisfaction and their respective perceptions of workspace support to labour productivity interacts with two emotional experiences as follows: workspace attachment and job stress.

Design/methodology/approach

Web-based surveys conducted before and after a company’s short-distance relocation. Study 1 concerned 66 employees and was conducted a few weeks before the relocation. Study 2 concerned 84 employees and was conducted six months after the relocation. Ordinary least squares regression, moderation and mediation analysis were performed.

Findings

After the relocation, the employees experienced greater job stress, less workspace satisfaction, and they felt less attached to their workspaces. However, the evaluations of workspace support to labour productivity did not change. Contrary to expectations, employees’ workspace satisfaction is not related to their evaluation of this workspace as supporting labour productivity. Instead, this relationship is moderated by job stress. The hypothesis that workspace attachment mediates the relationship between workspace satisfaction and respective evaluation of this workspace as supporting labour productivity was not verified.

Practical implications

Corporate real estate managers and any manager leading short-distance relocation projects should consider incorporating change management in the projects to maintain employees’ positive attitudes and emotional bonds with their workspace.

Originality/value

This research improves the knowledge of how employees perceive the workspace as supporting their work duties.

Details

Journal of Corporate Real Estate , vol. 22 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-001X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 6 June 2006

Shelley J. Correll and Stephen Benard

Gender inequality in paid work persists, in the form of a gender wage gap, occupational sex segregation and a “glass ceiling” for women, despite substantial institutional change…

Abstract

Gender inequality in paid work persists, in the form of a gender wage gap, occupational sex segregation and a “glass ceiling” for women, despite substantial institutional change in recent decades. Two classes of explanations that have been offered as partial explanations of persistent gender inequality include economic theories of statistical discrimination and social psychological theories of status-based discrimination. Despite the fact that the two theories offer explanations for the same phenomena, little effort has been made to compare them, and practitioners of one theory are often unfamiliar with the other. In this article, we assess both theories. We argue that the principal difference between the two theories lies in the mechanism by which discrimination takes place: discrimination in statistical models derives from an informational bias, while discrimination in status models derives from a cognitive bias. We also consider empirical assessments of both explanations, and find that while research has generally been more supportive of status theories than statistical theories, statistical theories have been more readily evoked as explanations for gender inequalities in the paid labor market. We argue that status theories could be more readily applied to understanding gender inequality by adopting the broader conception of performance favored by statistical discrimination theories. The goal is to build on the strong empirical base of status characteristic theory, but draw on statistical discrimination theories to extend its ability to explain macro level gender inequalities.

Details

Advances in Group Processes
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76231-330-3

Article
Publication date: 10 October 2018

Brandon Bortoluzzi, Daniel Carey, J.J. McArthur and Carol Menassa

The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive survey of workplace productivity key performance indicators (KPIs) used in the office context. Academic literature from the…

1906

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive survey of workplace productivity key performance indicators (KPIs) used in the office context. Academic literature from the past 10 years has been systematically reviewed and contextualized through a series of expert interviews.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors present a systematic review of the literature to identify KPIs and methods of workplace productivity measurement, complemented by insights semi-structured interviews to inform a framework for a benchmarking tool. In total, 513 papers published since 2007 were considered, of which 98 full-length papers were reviewed, and 20 were found to provide significant insight and are summarized herein.

Findings

Currently, no consensus exists on a single KPI suitable for measuring workplace productivity in an office environment, although qualitative questionnaires are more widely adopted than quantitative tools. The diversity of KPIs used in published studies indicates that a multidimensional approach would be the most appropriate for knowledge-worker productivity measurement. Expert interviews further highlighted a shift from infrequent, detailed evaluation to frequent, simplified reporting across human resource functions and this context is important for future tool development.

Originality/value

This paper provides a summary of significant work on workplace productivity measurement and KPI development over the past 10 years. This follows up on the comprehensive review by B. Haynes (2007a), providing an updated perspective on research in this field with additional insights from expert interviews.

Details

Journal of Corporate Real Estate, vol. 20 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-001X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 August 2018

Farshid Baniassadi, Amin Alvanchi and Ali Mostafavi

Safety and productivity are key concerns in the construction projects. While safety looks to the construction workers need to work in a safe environment, productivity affects the…

Abstract

Purpose

Safety and productivity are key concerns in the construction projects. While safety looks to the construction workers need to work in a safe environment, productivity affects the project’s profitability and is of a paramount importance from the project owner’s view. The different perspective to the safety and productivity from these two major players in construction projects poses a potential for the conflict between the two. This problem can be fundamentally addressed by methods concurrently improving project safety and productivity. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

To this aim, a discrete event simulation (DES) based framework applicable was proposed for complex and hazardous operations. The utility of the framework was tested using a case study of an eight-story residential building in the north-east part of Tehran, Iran. The excavation and stabilization operation was identified as the most hazardous and critical operation in this case. The framework could improve safety and productivity of this operation by 38 and 4 percent, respectively.

Findings

This framework is a complement to the conventional construction project safety and productivity planning methods. Its main application is in complex and hazardous construction operations.

Originality/value

For the first time, a comprehensive framework for concurrently improving safety and productivity of an entire project was proposed in this research. DES was used as the main modeling tool in the framework to provide an ex-ante evaluation foundation applicable to a wide range of construction projects.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 25 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

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