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Do you want to be five times more productive at work? Better yet, do you want the people who report to you to be five times more productive? Well, theoretically, [...]

Public relative performance feedback (RPF) on an individual worker's productivity metrics is used in various organizations with the hopes of improving worker productivity, but its effects are not well understood. We examine whether public RPF could be leveraged to facilitate adoption of best practices in an organization by enabling the validation of best practices shared by identifiable top performers. We use data from two emergency departments, both of which shared best practices for improving productivity and one of which changed from privately to publicly disclosing RPF to physicians. The public disclosure of RPF allowed workers to identify their top-performing coworkers, which in turn enabled the identification and validation of best practices within the work group. We find that the intervention is associated with a 10.9% improvement in physician productivity. We also find evidence for a significant reduction in variation in productivity across providers, which stems from bottom-ranked workers exhibiting differentially large improvements in productivity. These effects hold without sacrificing system- level performance, service quality, or worker attrition. Our results suggest that public disclosure of RPF, along with the validation of the best practices being shared, can improve worker productivity. History: Accepted by Serguei Netessine, operations management. Funding: The authors acknowledge support from the Division of Research and Faculty Development at Harvard Business School. Supplemental Material: The online supplement is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2745. Keywords: productivity * workflow * relative performance feedback * social comparisons * best practice validation * empirical operations, 1. Introduction Improving workers' performance can be beneficial for organizations, but it is challenging to find--and to get workers to adopt--better ways of carrying out work. A potential lever, particularly [...]

Although the current economic downturn has eased the stress of broad skilled labour shortages, it is reasonable to believe that the shortage will return when the U.S. economy rebounds. The shortage could become more substantial because the U.S. construction industry is poised to make a significant demographic shift with Baby Boomer workers approaching retirement and Generation Y workers joining the workforce. This paper investigates how different generations of craft workers perceive the factors affecting labour productivity. The data was collected through a survey of 1996 craft workers on 28 U.S. construction sites in 2004 and 2005. The analysis results reveal that: (1) Generation Y, Generation X, and Baby Boomers actually have consensus on the relative impact of productivity factors; and (2) significant differences were also observed on individual productivity factors and the primary differences among the generations were associated with tools and consumables, labour, engineering drawing management, and project policy. Key words: labour productivity, generation, craft workers, United States. Bien que le ralentissement economique actuel ait soulage un peu la contrainte causee par la penurie generalise d'ouvriers specialises, il est raisonnable de croire que la penurie reviendra une fois que l'economie des Etats-Unis reprendra. La penurie pourrait s'aggraver parce que l'industrie de la construction americaine est mure pour entreprendre un virage demographique important lorsque les travailleurs du baby-boom arriveront a la retraite et que les travailleurs de la Generation Y entreront sur le marche du travail. Le present article examine comment les differentes generations d'ouvriers specialises percoivent les facteurs touchant la productivite de la main-d'oeuvre. Les donnees ont ete recueillies lors d'un sondage de 1996 ouvriers specialises sur 28 sites de construction aux Etats-Unis en 2004 et en 2005. Les resultats de l'analyse montrent que (1) la Generation Y, la Generation X et la generation du baby-boom s'entendent sur l'impact relatif des facteurs de productivite et (2) il existe de grandes differences quant aux facteurs individuels de productivite et les differences fondamentales entre les generations etaient liees aux outils et aux matieres consommables, a la main-d'oeuvre, a la gestion des dessins techniques et a la politique de projets. Mots-cles : productivite de la main-d'oeuvre, generation, ouvriers specialises, Etats-Unis. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction The U.S. construction industry has been struggling with the skilled craft workers shortage over the past decade (CII 2000, 2003; Gomar et al. 2002; Thomas and Horman 2006). Although [...]

Recognizing that gains historically attributed to trade capture instead the roles of institutions and geography, we estimate the relationship between labor productivity and trade for a panel of countries, 1980 [...]

The learning phenomenon has proved applicable in various industries, especially those associated with mass productions such as aircraft and automobile assembly. The learning process in labor-intensive industries is assumed to be more significant in the sense that automated work is constrained by the fact that machines cannot benefit from previous experience and therefore would not 'learn' to run any faster or increase the rate of production. Several previous investigations into the applicability of learning curve theory to the construction industry proved the importance of this concept to labor productivity. Nonetheless, a thorough examination of the literature revealed a dearth of research into the effect of learning on the rebar fixing trade. Therefore, the objective of this research is to explore the influence of recurring building floor configurations on rebar fixing labor productivity. To achieve this objective, fixing labor inputs of beams and slabs from 21 multistorey residential building floors were collected and analyzed using the straight-line learning curve model. Fixing labor inputs for each cycle, i.e., floor, and its associated cycle number were modeled using the least-squares method. According to the learning curve theory, labor inputs are expected to decrease by a certain percentage as the cycle number increases. Contrary to the basic principle underlying the theory, the majority of buildings observed exhibited either an increase or a negligible reduction in labor inputs as the cycle number of recurring floors increased. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000236 CE Database subject headings: Labor; Productivity; Construction management; Theories. Author keywords: Learning curve theory; Labor inputs; Learning phenomenon; Labor productivity; Rebar fixing.

Information technology (IT) has been used to increase automation and integration of information systems on construction projects for over two decades. However, evidence that overall costs have been reduced or project performance has been improved with IT in construction is limited and mostly focused on application specific studies. A comprehensive understanding of the relationship between IT and project performance helps industry practitioners better understand the likely outcomes of implementation of IT application and likewise benefits researchers in improving the effectiveness in their IT development efforts. An opportunity to examine new evidence exists with the emergence of the Construction Industry Institute's Benchmarking and Metrics database on construction productivity and practices. This article presents an analysis of that data to determine if there is a relationship between labor productivity and level of IT implementation and integration. Data from industrial construction projects are used to measure the relationships between the automation and integration of construction information systems with productivity. Using the independent sample t-test, the relationship was examined between jobsite productivity across four trades (concrete, structural steel, electrical, and piping) and the automation and integration of various work functions on the sampled projects. The results showed that construction labor productivity was positively related to the use of automation and integration on the sampled projects. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO. 1943-7862.0000024 CE Database subject headings: Construction management; Productivity; Information technology (IT); Automation; Labor.

Wasted effort in problem-solving teams is investigated in relation to managing capability effectiveness. Findings show that managerial interventions aimed at reducing wasted effort may fail if problems connect with each other or if used for the wrong problem. The situations in which some standard types of managerial interventions may not result in less wasted effort are discussed.

Continuous flight auger (CFA) piles are widely used in the US and the UK as well as in many other countries. This paper focuses on developing simulation models to provide productivity and cost for various pile sizes and depths. Two simulation models were developed. Based on these models, various charts were developed to assess productivity and cost of the CFA process. Results showed that productivity is approximately 14, 24 and 93 piles (holes)/day for 0.36 m diameter piles at 21.34 m, 12.19 m, and 3.05 m depths, respectively. In addition, a pile of 0.36 m diameter and 12.19 m depth costs approximately US$790.00; however, it costs approximately US$1200/pile for 21.34 m depth. For the same pile size, the cost per unit volume is approximately US$620.00/[m.sup.3]. The developed tools play an essential role in the CFA decision-making process. The results of simulation models are validated with an average validation factor (VF) of 1.01. This paper provides charts for practitioners' usage to schedule and price CFA pile construction projects. In addition, it provides researchers with a methodology for applying simulation to the CFA pile construction process and its limitations. Keywords: Civil engineering, Construction, Construction engineering, Construction management, Continuous flight auger, Cost, Decision-making processes, Models, Productivity, Simulation, Introduction A model is a representation of a real-world system in order to investigate and analyse that system. Models vary widely in their precision of representing the real world systems [...]

Abstract: Inquiry into how people experience environmental conditions at work is a growing area of study. Until the 1980s, there was insufficient research on 'workspaces' -and on office environments in [...]

The labor process theory (LPT) was the core of critical management studies for a long time, but currently post-structuralist approaches have been taking over LPT. The author argues that LPT disregards the fundamental contradiction Marx saw between the progressive socialization of the labor process and the persistence of capitalist valorization constraints. Taylorism and lean production were reinterpreted, and useful ideas were gathered by demonstrating how the socialization of the labor process represented by new management principles and associated skill development was affected by valorization pressures.

This article examines the role of control change transactions, such as acquisitions, in shaping productivity and wages from the neoclassic economic perspective.

A strategy for increasing labor productivity in the bucker brigade system is discussed. Bucket brigade system is a method of transporting goods by means of buckets that are passed from person to person.

Uncovering the effects of privatization is difficult, because privatization of a particular firm usually is not an accident. This paper tests the effects of privatization on productive and allocative (market) efficiency using a rich panel data set of 22 privatized cement plants from Turkey in the 1983-99 period. Since all public cement firms were privatized and we have preand post-privatization data for all, we are able to avoid the problem of endogeneity associated with sample selection. Our analysis goes beyond just examining the privatization effects and explores how privatization really works. Changes in objectives of the firm (ownership effect) and changes in market structure (environment effect) may both be responsible for privatization outcomes. We find that ownership effects are sufficient to achieve improvements in labor productivity. Our results on allocative efficiency, however, are dependent on changes in the competitive environment. While all plants seem to improve labor productivity through work force reductions, plants privatized to foreign buyers also increase their capital and investment significantly. Key words--SOEs, privatization, efficiency, Middle East, Turkey

Byline: Richard Nahuis (1) Keywords: R&amp D spillovers; productivity growth; general purpose technology; skill premium; O31; O33; O41; J31; F43 Abstract: The 'computer revolution' took very long to pay off in productivity growth in the computer-using sectors. The relative wage of skilled workers, however, has risen sharply from the early days of the 'computer revolution' onward. As skilled workers' wages reflect their productivity, the two observations together pose a puzzle. This paper provides a micro-based explanation for the long diffusion period of the 'computer revolution'. The general equilibrium model of growth zooms in on the research process and provides an explanation for sluggish growth with booming relative wages of the skilled. Technological progress in firms is driven by research aimed at improving the production technology (innovation) and by assimilation of ideas or principles present outside the firm (learning). A new General Purpose Technology (GPT) like the 'computer revolution' generates an initial slowdown in economic growth and an increase in the skill premium. Author Affiliation: (1) CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis and Utrecht School of Economics, Van Stolkweg 14, 2508 GM, The Hague, The Netherlands Article History: Registration Date: 01/01/2004 Received Date: 28/10/2002 Online Date: 02/08/2004 Article note: Acknowledgement I am indebted to Theo van de Klundert for suggestions and encouragement. Suggestions by Jan Boone, Bas Jacobs, Patrick Francois, Henri de Groot, Lex Meijdam, Niek Nahuis Sjak Smulders, Harald Uhlig and anonymous referees have contributed to the paper.

Byline: Juin-jen Chang (1), Chun-chieh Huang (2), Ching-chong Lai (3) Keywords: Keywords:aefficiency wages, working time.; JEL classification:aJ41. Abstract: There is a body of literature that argues that workers' productivity is significantly influenced by their hours of work. This paper attempts to set up a shirking model of efficiency wages with endogenous working time to investigate how the endogenous working time decision critically influences work effort and undermines the efficacy of efficiency wages. We believe such a model might conceivably support the empirical finding that there exists a possibly perverse relationship between worker's effort and wages. Author Affiliation: (1) Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei 115, Taiwan and Department of Economics, Fu-Jen Catholic University, Taiwan (e-mail: jjchang@econ.sinica.edu.tw), TW (2) Graduate Institute of Economics, National Cheng Chi University, Taipei 116, Taiwan (e-mail: teamo1314@yahoo.com.tw), TW (3) Sun Yat-Sen Institute for Social Sciences and Philosophy, Academia Sinica, and Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei 115, Taiwan, and Department of Economics, National Taiwan University, Taiwan (e-mail: ccLai@ssp.sinica.edu.tw), TW Article note: Received July 10, 2001 revised version received March 21, 2002 Published online: November 11, 2002

Byline: Bee-Yan Aw (1) Abstract: Using firm level data from Taiwan, this paper examines the link between firm size, growth and productivity. It shows that firms grow because they are more productive and not because they are larger in size. Indeed, the statistical analysis shows that while employment growth among Taiwanese firms was positively related to initial levels of total factor productivity, it was negatively related to initial size. The paper also shows that the productivity-size relationship has a virtuous cycle built in. More productive firms get larger and, in the process, obtain access to resources and information which enables them to become more productive. One implication of these results is that public policies should target productivity rather than size and should support reforms that make it possible for market mechanisms to weed out low productivity firms while facilitating the entry or growth of high productivity firms. Taiwan's ability to keep entry and exit costs low is one reason why productivity gains there have been high. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Economics, The Pennsylvania State University, 501 Kern Graduate Building, University Park, PA, 16802, U.S.A Article History: Registration Date: 13/10/2004

This article discusses Russian domestic economic policy, emphasizing universal economic rules such as the influence of productivity growth on the attainment of a leading international economy and the improvement of the standard of living. The authors assert the need for an efficient use of labor and resources, focusing mainly on the maximization of labor productivity, which they claim has been ignored in the 1990s; comparisons with Japan, Western Europe and US handling of labor productivity during periods of economic crisis are provided.

The bell-shaped density curve has frequently hampered efforts to boost productivity. The fact that firms need to address wider issues of organizational culture is highlighted.