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Begrijp de essentie van de wet van de afnemende meeropbrengsten (ook bekend als de wet van variabele verhoudingen, principe van afnemende marginale productiviteit of afnemende marginale opbrengsten) in slechts 50 minuten met dit praktische en beknopte boek. Deze fundamentele economische wet, ontwikkeld door de invloedrijke Britse econoom David Ricardo, toont aan dat, als de hoeveelheid van een bepaalde productiefactor wordt verhoogd, de marginale output van het productieproces afneemt, wat leidt tot een lager rendement. Dit boek biedt u een handige inleiding tot de toepassingen van de wet van de afnemende meeropbrengsten in de bedrijfseconomie, de sectoreconomie en de innovatietheorie. Het bevat ook een onderzoek van een casus, die de implicaties van de wet van de afnemende meeropbrengsten voor de olie-industrie illustreert, een bespreking van de tekortkomingen van de theorie, en een inleiding tot verwante modellen en uitbreidingen, zoals schaalopbrengsten en isoquanten.

Comme toutes les activités stratégiques, la communication nécessite d'être évaluée. S'il est possible de se fixer des objectifs pour guider les actions, il est complexe de mesurer réellement leurs effets. Les mesures existantes posent problème, car elles varient en fonction des besoins, des contextes ou encore des outils utilisés. S'il n'y a pas de recette miracle, il existe cependant des questionnements pertinents et des méthodes éprouvées afin d'accompagner au mieux les praticiens actuels et futurs dans l'évaluation de leurs pratiques. L'ouvrage Évaluer la communication des organisations est destiné aux praticiens, aux étudiants et à leurs enseignants. Il a pour visée de les guider dans l'évaluation de stratégies de communication. Pour cela, cet ouvrage court, didactique, et fondé sur les dernières avancées de la recherche, est construit autour de sept concepts fondamentaux. Chacun des concepts fait l'objet d'un chapitre long rédigé par un universitaire et d'un chapitre court, rédigé par un praticien, abordant leurs aspects numériques. Évaluer la communication des organisations participe ainsi à la formation de professionnels réflexifs, aptes à s'adapter aux contextes pour évaluer les stratégies qu'ils déploient.

This book guides process-industry professionals from the implementation of the basic foundations of Continuous Improvement (CI) through to an organization where CI is a “way of life” and a defining feature of the culture of the organization. The readers of this book are seeking solutions to such pressing issues as:• Eliminating accidents and near misses.• Reducing customer complaints. • Improving customer delivery performance. • Elimination of accidents and near misses.• Reducing customer complaints. • Improving customer delivery performance. • Introducing new products. • Improving staff productivity. • Removing costs to meet the budget. • Dealing with absence and poor morale. • Improving staff retention.This book provides them with guidance on how to address issues in these areas in a way that enables improvements to be realized quickly but not at the expense of a long-term goal of a sustainable Continuous Improvement culture. In addition, this book presents the implementation of CI as a cyclical journey with no endpoint. The stages are ordered in a sequence that enables the reader to get started in their area of the company and build up the elements without the need for an overall organizational strategy at the beginning. Continuous Improvement is a vast subject with many takes on principles, approaches, and tools. This book is about how all the fundamentals of these areas fit together and, as such, covers only some of them. However, within the bibliography, I have signposted the books that have guided me during my career and which go into the principles, approaches, and tools further.

Bring out the best in your hybrid team with this invaluable resource Work from Anywhere delivers practical strategies and actionable guidance on how to develop a high performing team and business in a remote and distributed environment. Accomplished authors, behavioural experts, and fast-growth business leaders, Alison and Darren Hill, show you how to craft business and culture strategies to bring out the best in your hybrid and remote team members by focusing on both performance and people. You'll learn how to: Understand the unique psychology, methodology, and technology that makes hybrid teams excel Develop strategies for embedding high performance across your team, no matter where they're located Create rhythms and rituals to keep your team highly motivated and on task, and avoid disengagement The ability to work from anywhere is no longer just a HR conversation, it is an Executive conversation. Perfect for business leaders working with hybrid teams, Work from Anywhere is also ideal for organizational development executives, cultural transition leaders, business leaders, and entrepreneurs who are responsible for ensuring that employees consistently perform at their best, regardless of location.

Get the Summary of Michael Hyatt's Free to Focus in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. Original book introduction: What have you accomplished today? Nothing, I was just sitting around although I've got a lot to do. This is a usual conversation between any 2 people. And it usually ends with, you've got to do better, you have to work harder on yourself, you have to finish more. But are we finishing in the right way? This is what we need to think about. Is it only about finishing as many tasks as we can or knowing if we're doing the right ones? In the summary of Free to Focus, we'll identify the tasks that best suit us, we'll be able to change the way our minds define success. Success doesn't mean accomplishing as many tasks as we can, being successful in almost every field of life, and having to always provide more. We can provide more in what best makes us happier, satisfied, and complete. So, now you've got to ask yourself: Would you rather do more and feel less productive or do less and feel more productive? Michael Hyatt helps us with the answer to this question by providing some guidelines to how we can refocus our attention toward the right things to do, avoid the distractions that are surrounding us, and a society that always expects more from us, knowing the great effect of having good sleep, and feeling free to use our time the way we see it fitting our desires.

This book presents an in-depth study of how the drive to optimize organizational performance can be significantly improved by investigating the causal relationships between profitability, productivity, and sustainability (PPS). This is presented through an assessment of a triple combined therapy that studies the interplay between Organizational DNA, Strategic Alignments for Value, and their implications for Sustainability. Through this approach, this volume seeks to answer critical mind-searching questions and provide useful guides as to how some firms are able to sustainably create higher value or wealth, especially through corporate entrepreneurship, or via the creation of new business models than others. In tackling the three elements of profitability, productivity, and sustainability, this book also provides greater insight through an in-depth study of the pervasively unresolved and disturbing issues surrounding the prospects of increasing the chances of success for entrepreneurial start-off ventures, making it of value to researchers, academics, and students in the fields of organizational studies, strategy, and sustainability.

Get the Summary of Robert Pozen's Extreme Productivity in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book.Original book introduction: It's far too easy for working professionals to become overwhelmed by a pile of time-sensitive projects, a backlog of emails, and endless meetings. In order to be truly productive, they must make a critical shift in mindset from hours worked to results produced. With Extreme Productivity, Pozen explains how individuals can maximize their time and energy by determining and focusing on their highest priorities. He also provides a toolkit of practical tips and techniques to help professionals at all stages of their careers maximize their time at work.

This edited volume presents an interdisciplinary collection of texts that examine the practice of gamification, the use of game design elements in non-game contexts, specifically as an organization and management research problem. As we travel deeper into the twenty-first century, it is becoming increasingly clear the late modernity is re defining its take on games and play. Following what has been termed a general ludification or playification of society, corporations are beginning to see games and play as resources rather than as a wasteful practice. We are witnessing the emergence of the practice of gamificiation with the intention of mobilizing play's motivational power for capitalist production. This book outlines both the essential'how tos'and also critically explores their links to diverse strands of organization theory such as institutionalism, business ethics, critical theory and organizational behavior. Gamification research has been mostly conducted within disciplines such as information studies, game studies and information systems science. This is a paradoxical state of affairs; whilst gamification aims at being a transformative intervention in work processes and practices and is being deployed as such by practitioners. This book will be of value to researchers, academics and students interested in management and organization studies.

Development in information and communication technologies has led to the advancement of business and enabled enterprises to produce on a global scale. Productivity is a key function in maintaining a competitive advantage in today's market. The internet of things has rapidly become prevalent in the productivity efforts of businesses. Understanding these technologies and how to implement them into current business practices is vital for researchers and practitioners. Internet of Things (IoT) Applications for Enterprise Productivity is a collection of innovative research on the advancing methods productivity efforts of business through the implementation of the internet of things. While highlighting topics including employee motivation, enterprise productivity, and supply chain tracking, this book is ideally designed for manufacturing professionals, industrialists, engineers, managers, practitioners, academicians, and students seeking current research on enterprise production systems and its transformation using internet of things technologies.

Discover the lost secrets of accomplishment and achievement! Do you want to do more, accomplish more? Of course you do, everyone does. So, what's stopping you? Get Sh•t Done not only shows you what's preventing you from daily achievement, it provides the tools and the strategies to help you get to where you want to be. Get Sh•t Done is much more than just the title of this book, it's the method that unlocks the secrets of accomplishment and achievement—the GSD Secret Formula. In this book, you will learn to identify and implement the elements of superior productivity, eliminate the causes of procrastination, and achieve the best possible outcomes in business and in life. This valuable guide gives you a comprehensive, step-by-step plan for achieving maximum productivity. Bestselling author and'King of Sales'Jeffrey Gitomer guides you through each aspect of the GSD process, from attitude, desire, and determination, to goals, productivity, resilience, and fulfillment. Engaging and easy to read, this book shows you how to discover the best ways to invest your time into productive and profitable actions—and feel great about your achievements. Using the proven, immediately-actionable GSD Formula, you're on your way to: Doubling your achievements, your work habits, and your income Implementing simple shifts and simple actions that increase positive outcomes Recognizing the early warning signs of procrastination and reluctance Eliminating the major GSD distractions that hold you back Discovering how to select, set, and achieve your goals Get Sh•t Done: The Ultimate Guide to Productivity, Procrastination, & Profitability is a must-have resource for anyone who wants to never again say'I'll do it later'and just get it done.

Learn how to lead and motivate other people in discovering originate ways to make better use of their time! A good time manager is likewise thought to be a great leader. How come? Because they take the essential steps toward accomplishing goals for their business. They look around and discover things and areas that need fine-tuning and apply principles toward making them work. A great time...

Desafío de Liderazgo es el manual de oro para un liderazgo efectivo, basado en la investigación y escrito por las principales autoridades en el campo. Con una visión profunda de las complejas dinámicas interpersonales del lugar de trabajo, este libro posiciona el liderazgo como una habilidad que debe aprenderse y como una relación que debe fomentarse para alcanzar su máximo potencial. Esta sexta edición ha sido revisada para abordar los desafíos actuales, e incluye más ejemplos internacionales y un enfoque directo en temas de negocios; aprenderá cómo los líderes extraordinarios logran cosas extraordinarias y cómo desarrollar sus habilidades y estilo de liderazgo para brindar resultados de calidad en todo momento. Las interesantes historias profundizan en los roles fundamentales que cumplen los grandes líderes, cada temática proporciona una guía para aquellos que buscan la mejora continua; Al internalizar las ideas clave y poner los conceptos en acción, se convertirá en un líder más efectivo e impactará a otros. Si está listo para actuar y llevar su vida al siguiente nivel, ¡este libro definitivamente lo guiará en la dirección correcta!

STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 5E offers a truly innovative, integrative framework that examines the traditional functional HR areas from a strategic perspective. This text is organized into two sections. The first section, Chapters 1-7, examines the context of strategic HR and develops a framework and conceptual model for the practice of strategic HR. The second section, Chapters 8-14, examines the actual practice and implementation of strategic HR through a discussion of strategic issues that need to be addressed while developing specific programs and policies related to the traditional functional areas of HR. Both the integrative framework that requires linkage between and consistency among these functional HR activities and the approach toward writing about these traditional functional areas from a strategic perspective distinguish the text from what is currently on the market.

La verdad sobre la productividad!El día solo tiene 24 horas. Para todos y en cualquier lugar del mundo... Y aun así, hay gente que produce muchísimos más resultados en la mitad del tiempo que otras personas y después disfruta relajadamente del doble o el triple de horas, días y semanas de ocio. ¿Cómo es posible? ¿Cómo son capaces de hacer mucho más con menos tiempo y esfuerzo? Solo hay una razón: ¡esas personas son MUY productivas! ¿En qué consiste la productividad? En no demorar ni retrasar lo que se tenga que hacer, en estar enfocado con gran disciplina, y en eliminar distracciones e interrupciones. Este libro te ayudará a convertirte en una verdadera estrella comenzando y terminando proyectos. Te aportará un arsenal de técnicas para transformarte en un samurái de la productividad que consigue sus objetivos y metas en plazos récord; un guerrero que lucha, pero que disfruta al máximo de su tiempo libre.Descubre un guía práctica con técnicas para vovlerse en une persona productiva y conseguir sus objetivos!EXTRACTODéjame darte la bienvenida a este segunda parte, que va a ser la más conceptual de todo el libro, aunque te daré muchos ejercicios y pasos para que lleves a cabo. Tal y como está escrito, igual que el resto del libro, te permite volver a releerlo y revisar lo que necesites fácilmente, puesto que cada vez que lo hagas descubrirás nuevas capas de información y conocimiento. Cuanto más sepas sobre cómo funciona la productividad en tu caso, más sentido tendrá esta parte y la visión del modelo completo. Esta parte por sí sola es tan importante porque la autodisciplina y el enfoque o concentración es realmente el elemento positivo de la productividad. (Te recuerdo que los elementos negativos serían la procrastinación y las distracciones o interrupciones).Si estás concentrado y tienes una disciplina férrea, absolutamente nada te impide trabajar y hacer las cosas mejor y más rápido que cualquier otra persona que conozcas. Nada se interpondrá en tu camino. Lo que aquí llamo enfoque y autodisciplina realmente tiene que ver con una mejor comprensión de nosotros mismos, entendiendo lo que podemos hacer y cómo nuestra fuerza de voluntad y autodisciplina trabajarán juntos, y no es solo la base de la productividad, sino también de todo lo que existe en tu vida.TESTIMONIO“Técnicas y recursos para convertirte en un trabajador de alto rendimiento triplicando tu productividad”.SOBRE EL AUTORDr. Ángel Francisco Briones-Barco es formador, terapeuta energético, máster en PNL y EFT y coach de vida personal y ejecutivo desde 2006 (uno de los primeros coaches certificados en España). Es inventor de juegos didácticos, autor de éxito internacional y referente de la Provocación en sesiones de coaching y talleres de formación, tanto empresarial como de desarrollo personal. Más info: www.juegosdecoaching.com.

In this book, first published in 1971, the author develops and tests a productivity system based on Added Value as the measure of company income and output. The theory behind the system is that the behaviour of a company can best be explained in terms of its need to create an income. From this, it follows that its effectiveness depends on the efficiency with which it uses all the resources at its disposal to create this income. If it is accepted that the need is to create an income, then the efforts of the employees, the objectives of individuals, the pricing procedures, and the control systems must be co-ordinated to achieve this end. This title will be of interest to students of management, economics, and business studies.

This study, first published in 1997, examines the relationship between the style of management used and the level of productivity, measured in terms of the organization's financial stability. Other variables examined include the age of the top level managers, their educational level, the size and age of the organization, and the organization's physical parameters. By determining whether or not productivity is affected by the use of a participative style of management, the author is laying the groundwork for making companies more competitive.

What does it take to manage an organization to success? No matter what industry you are in, an organization is primarily a group of people. This book focuses on that ever-important human element. In the rush to get'lean', many organizations focus solely on tools for increasing productivity, but where do these tools come from? In this book, Collin McLoughlin and Toshihiko Miura look back on their decades of international consulting experience to examine how organizations around the world have transformed on a cultural level by respecting the people who work within them and leveraging their creativity to solve problems.As our workforce becomes more knowledgeable, skillful, and more perceptive of their needs and wants as employees, the ability to reach the true potential of an organization becomes more and more difficult. Managers must look at each individual element of an equation like this in order to fully understand how to achieve an answer. They must begin to answer more focused questions, such as:1. How productive is the existing work climate and culture?2. How do employees, as individuals, navigate the existing work climate? (How do they deal with day-today issues with each other?)3. Where and how are individuals and their work processes assessed?4. What obstacles do employees face every day, and are they empowered to fix these obstacles?5. What role does leadership play at each level of the organization? (Looking at the organization in layers of management.)To address these challenges, this book focuses on three main aspects of leadership and management:1. Addressing and Improving the Perspective of Management -- The ideas presented in this book are not limited to a certain industry or field of work, but can be applied in any setting because they speak to a universal human element.2. Exploring and Improving Work Climate -- Organizations are social entities, operating within their own controlled environment. This book will explore the factors that contribute to, and encourage, a positive work climate.3. Observing and Eliminating Wasteful Work Processes -- Observing wasteful activities and work processes requires a refined perspective. The case studies presented illustrate the How and Why to help refine expertise. This will also lead to the joy and benefits

Take your productivity to the next level and make the most of your time! Do you have too much to do and not enough time to do it? Don't we all! Productivity For Dummies shows you how to overcome this common problem by tackling key issues that are preventing you from remaining focused and making the most of your time. This insightful text gets to the root of the problem, and shows you how to identify and analyse the items on your to-do list to deliver on deadlines and maximise your schedule. Numerous techniques and technologies have been developed to address productivity needs, and this resource shows you which will work for your situation. Productivity is crucial to your success - whether you want to find a new job, earn a promotion you've had your eye on, or generally progress in your career, understanding how to improve your productivity is essential in increasing the value you bring to your organisation. At the very least, increased productivity means that you get things done faster—which translates into fewer overtime hours and more time concentrating on the things that are most important to you. Eliminate procrastination and laziness from your daily routine Organise your work environment to create a space conducive to productivity Increase your concentration and stay focused on the task at hand Make decisions quickly, and stay cool, calm, and collected no matter what the situation is Productivity For Dummies helps you solve the age-old problem of having too much to do and not enough time to do it.

My interest in X-Efficiency (XE) dates back to 1978. At the time, I was writing the dissertation for my Ph. D. at Washington State University. My dissertation was concerned with the role of attitudes in the school-to-work transition among young men. I was advised by Professor Millard Hastay (a member of my committee) to look at Leibenstein's'new'book, Beyond Economic Man. One of the things that caught my attention was his be­ havioral description of (selective) rationality. It seemed that Leibenstein's behavioral description of a (selectively) rational individual was very similar to what psychologists such as Abraham Maslow were reporting as being the product of a particular motivational system. In other words, I was im­ pressed with the idea that what Leibenstein was referring to as X-ineffi­ ciency was being discussed by psychologists as'the way it (often) is.'So from the beginning I always considered the concept of X-(in)efficiency to be a valuable one for understanding human behavior. I have since come to believe that this is particularly true when considering behavior in non­ market environments, i. e., within the firm. Work on this book, however, can most realistically said to have started with work which I began in 1982 while I was a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University. Professor Leibenstein suggested that I consider how some em­ pirical evidence which was being cited as evidence for the role of property rights might also be consistent with XE theory.

Die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung der westlichen Industriestaaten verläuft in Form kurzer konjunktureller Zyklen sowie langer Wachstumswellen. Im ersten Teil des Buches entwickelt Ota Sik eine Theorie der kurzfristigen Zyklen der Wirtschaft und diskutiert die unterschiedlichen Bedingungen der konjunkturellen wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung. Im zweiten Teil von R. Höltschi und C. Rockstroh wird die langfristige Entwicklung der Schweiz, der Bundesrepublik und der USA seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg empirisch analysiert. Anhand eines breiten theoretischen Ansatzes wird ein allgemeines Muster der langfristigen wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung erarbeitet. Die Autoren zeigen in umfassender Weise die Charakteristika der kurzfristigen und langfristigen wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung und diskutieren die Zusammenhänge zwischen diesen beiden zeitlichen Perspektiven. Sie weisen dabei auf die historische und institutionelle Begrenztheit ökonomischer Theorien hin und stellen sich selbst in die - im deutschen Sprachraum wenig bekannte - Tradition der amerikanischen unorthodoxen bzw. institutionellen Ökonomie. Sie ziehen insbesondere auch technologische und gesellschaftliche Entwicklungen zur Erklärung des wirtschaftlichen Wachstums heran.

Shed Revenue-Draining Complexity Costs by Thirty Percent! “This is an ambitious book packed with insight and fresh thinking. Separating good from bad complexity costs is a critical task facing companies today, and the authors provide a compelling roadmap for solving the problem.” Michael B. McCallister, President and CEO, Humana Inc. “Waging War on Complexity Costs examines an incredibly important and often overlooked aspect of business and organizations in general—regulators and government officials should read this book and take notice. Complexity dramatically increases costs and risk of failure. It is like a cancer that eats away at efficiency and profitability.” Andy Beal, Chairman and CEO, Beal Bank “This is by far the best and most useful explanation of how to address complexity in a business. Waging War on Complexity Costs frames the issue in a way that companies can finally tackle the problem—this book delivers.” Ahmad R. Chatila, CEO, MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. “This is the first book that really targets organizational complexity in a compelling way, making this a must-read for any organization that is looking to distance itself from the competition. After years of cost-cutting, many companies are realizing that they still don't have a discernable cost advantage. This book provides the platform to achieve just that, by attacking the complexity that bogs them down.” Tom DiDonato, EVP Human Resources, American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. About the Book: Complexity costs are the single biggest determinant of your company's cost competitiveness. For the past two decades the pursuit of growth has created massive complexity in processes, product portfolios, and organizations, adding costs that companies can ill afford. The only good news is that your competitors may be carrying as much complexity as you are. Learn how to eliminate this complexity, and you can create a tremendous cost advantage over your competition. In Waging War on Complexity Costs, Stephen Wilson and Andrei Perumal deliver a powerful and practical approach for reclaiming your cost advantage. This executive-level resource presents a wealth of insight and new research to definitively answer key questions such as: How can I quantify the cost of complexity without getting lost in a sea of data? Where are the biggest opportunities for reducing product, process, and organizational complexity, and how can I cut through the interdependencies that trap these costs? How can I see results quickly by taking targeted actions against key levers? How do I keep complexity costs at bay? It is not enough to attack bloated product portfolios. Substantive cost improvements require addressing the complexity in the underlying processes and organizational structures. Waging War on Complexity Costs provides a wealth of relevant case studies with examples from Kraft, Tesco, Fiat, and the U.S. Navy and highlights specific strategies for reducing costs by 15-30% in significant portions of your business. Tomorrow's consumers are emerging as wellinformed customers who know what they want and the price they're willing to pay for it. Complexity not only drives costs; it creates a barrier between you and the customer. Declare a war on complexity costs and prepare for profitable growth.

It is widely accepted that management concepts such as strategic management, human resource management and management development have a well-defined body of knowledge designed to inform management praxis, however the notion of efficiency has no such body of knowledge to support its application within management praxis. This book proposes the replacement of the generalised term efficiency with the more comprehensive notion of performance efficiency to provide a reliable basis on which to evaluate management behaviour. Given the scope of the investigation, the outcome is not designed to prove the success or failure of the inherent nature of efficiency, but rather to establish a new starting point for yet wider empirical research. At a macro-level, it advances the proposition that the notion of efficiency has become an ideological statement of support for any management intention rather than a practical means to inform or evaluate a range of management actions.

In recent years, globalization and the expansion of information technologies have reshaped managerial practices, forcing multinational firms to adjust business practices to different environments and domestic companies to adjust to their foreign competitors. In International Differences in the Business Practices and Productivity of Firms, a distinguished group of contributors examines the phenomenon of widespread differences in managerial practices across firms, establishments within firms, and countries. This volume brings together eight studies that combine qualitative and quantitative insider analysis of business practices such as the use of teams, incentive pay, lean manufacturing, and quality control, revealing the elements that determine which practices are adopted and why. International Differences in the Business Practices and Productivity of Firms offers a much-needed model for measuring the productivity and performance of international firms in a fast-paced global economy.

The format of this monograph is three essays, which we arrived at after spending a year writing over one hundred pages of what we even­ tually realized was a tedious reworking of old material. So we started over determined to write something new. At first we thought this approach might not work as a coherent mono­ graph, which is why we chose the essay format rather than chapters. As it turns out, there is a common thread—namely the directional distance function, which also gave us our title. As you shall see, the directional distance function includes traditional distance functions and efficiency measures as special cases providing a unifying framework for existing productivity and efficiency measures. It is also flexible enough to open up new areas in productivity and efficiency analysis such as environmen­ tal and aggregation issues. That we did not see this earlier is humbling; a student at a recent conference raised his hand and asked'Why didn't you start with the directional distance function in the first place? In­ deed. This manuscript is intended to make up for our earlier oversights. This monograph contains papers coauthored with Wen-Fu Lee and Osman Zaim and one paper written by two former students, Hiroyuki Fukuyama and Bill Weber. We thank them for their contributions. An­ other former student, Jim Logan (Logi) read and critiqued the manu­ script for which we are grateful.

The disparity between rich and poor countries is the most serious, intractable problem facing the world today. The chronic poverty of many nations affects more than the citizens and economies of those nations; it threatens global stability as the pressures of immigration become unsustainable and rogue nations seek power and influence through extreme political and terrorist acts. To address this tenacious poverty, a vast array of international institutions has pumped billions of dollars into these nations in recent decades, yet despite this infusion of capital and attention, roughly five billion of the world's six billion people continue to live in poor countries. What isn't working? And how can we fix it? The Power of Productivity provides powerful and controversial answers to these questions. William W. Lewis, the director emeritus of the McKinsey Global Institute, here draws on extensive microeconomic studies of thirteen nations over twelve years—conducted by the Institute itself—to counter virtually all prevailing wisdom about how best to ameliorate economic disparity. Lewis's research, which included studying everything from state-of-the-art auto makers to black-market street vendors and mom-and-pop stores, conclusively demonstrates that, contrary to popular belief, providing more capital to poor nations is not the best way to help them. Nor is improving levels of education, exchange-rate flexibility, or government solvency enough. Rather, the key to improving economic conditions in poor countries, argues Lewis, is increasing productivity through intense, fair competition and protecting consumer rights. As The Power of Productivity explains, this sweeping solution affects the economies of poor nations at all levels—from the viability of major industries to how the average consumer thinks about his or her purchases. Policies must be enacted in developing nations that reflect a consumer rather than a producer mindset and an attendant sense of consumer rights. Only one force, Lewis claims, can stand up to producer special privileges—consumer interests. The Institute's unprecedented research method and Lewis's years of experience with economic policy combine to make The Power of Productivity the most authoritative and compelling view of the global economy today, one that will inform political and economic debate throughout the world for years to come.

This useful new book reviews the literature on technology and economic growth covering historical and theoretical developments such as: •new models for measuring productivity•sources of technical knowledge and technological spillovers•stock market reactions to investment in technologySuch a comprehensive survey is likely to be welcomed by students

There is a general consensus that deep-seated changes are reshaping the way production and work are organized, the way employees, employers and their representatives deal with each other, and the way governments seek to shape society. In this work a group of leading scholars take stock of the evidence and implications of the new workplace. Drawing on examples from a variety of national contexts, they seek to characterize the nature of contemporary workplace change, and assess its implications for the organization of work for workers, for employment relations and for public policy.

The authors bring a dual perspective—that of a practicing consultant and that of a professor of economics—to the complex strategic questions facing managers and corporate leaders who want their firms to get the most out of their investments in information technology. The information economy is built upon the myriad and sometimes unforeseen ways in which information technologies have become engines of productivity in themselves, rather than just fancy adjuncts. In explaining the rise of the information economy, the authors provide not only valuable context often missing from today's discussions but also a thorough understanding of the origination, development, and diffusion process of innovations. They also examine prevailing practices and implications for the future, including the potential pitfalls common to some information technology strategies.Relying on an underpinning of economic theory combined with heavy empirical analysis, Kudyba and Diwan describe the true nature of the information economy, paying as much attention to its particularities as to its more profound implications. How is information technology being implemented across industry sectors, and how can it be harnessed to improve overall firm-level productivity? How have innovations in high technology impacted e-commerce? Which e-commerce strategies prevail, and what can be expected of them? How can traditional economic theory help managers evaluate such in-vogue strategies as customer relationship management, market exchanges, and supply chain management? The authors answer these questions and more, including one of the most vexing in the short history of e-commerce: What led to the demise of so many technology stocks and dot-coms following the spring 2000 Nasdaq plunge, and what are the longer-term prospects for e-business?

This volume reviews the literature on productivity growth and relates it to the production function approach to technological change.

Despite ongoing negotiations, consensus has not yet been reached on what action will be taken to combat global warming. A number of companies have looked beyond the current stalemate to see the prospect of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions not as a roadblock to growth and innovation but as a unique opportunity to increase profits and productivity. These'cool'companies understand the strategic importance of reducing heat-trapping emissions and have worked to cut their emissions by fifty percent or more. In the process, they have not only reduced their energy bill, but have increased their productivity, sometimes dramatically. In Cool Companies, energy expert Joseph Romm describes the experiences of these remarkable firms, as he presents more than fifty case studies in which bottom line improvements have been achieved by improving processes, increasing energy efficiency, and adopting new technologies. Romm places efforts to reduce emissions in the context of proven corporate strategies, showing managers how they can build or retrofit their operations with the latest technologies to reduce emissions and achieve quick returns on the investment. Case studies explain: the concept of'lean production'and why systematic efforts to reduce emissions so often lead to productivity gains how changes in office and building design can significantly increase productivity, greatly compounding gains achieved from increased energy efficiency options for'cool'power -- from cogeneration to solar, wind, and geothermal energy energy efficiency in manufacturing, including motors and motor systems, steam, and process energy In profiling successful companies such as DuPont, 3M, Compaq, Xerox, Toyota, Verifone, Perkin-Elmer, and Centerplex, among many others, Cool Companies turns on its head the notion that the effort to combat global warming will come with massive costs to the industrial sector. It is a unique and essential business book for anyone concerned with increasing profits and productivity while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

This title, first published in 1995, examines how certain human resource practices link to labor productivity, and sets out to explain why some firms choose particular practices while others do not. In order to clearly model the relationship between labor productivity and how the firm elects to manage its workers the author has focused on one aspect of HRM – the hiring process. This book contains the results of a research project in which the choice of recruitment and selection procedures and their relation to labor productivity for 495 U. S. businesses were investigated. Hiring Practices and Labor Productivity will be of interest to students of business studies and management.

Zvi Griliches, a world-renowned pioneer in the field of productivity growth, has compiled in a single volume his pathbreaking research on R&D and productivity. Griliches addresses the relationship between research and development (R&D) and productivity, one of the most complex yet vital issues in today's business world. Using econometric techniques, he establishes this connection and measures its magnitude for firm-, industry-, and economy-level data. Griliches began his studies of productivity growth during the 1950s, adding a variable of'knowledge stock'to traditional production function models, and his work has served as the point of departure for much of the research into R&D and productivity. This collection of essays documents both Griliches's distinguished career as well as the history of this line of thought. As inputs into production increasingly taking the form of'intellectual capital'and new technologies that are not as easily measured as traditional labor and capital, the methods Griliches has refined and applied to R&D become crucial to understanding today's economy.