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In combination the Okishio theorem (1961) and a theorem due to John Roemer (1981) imply that a capital-saving technical change could simultaneously (1) reduce production costs and therefore be adopted by profit-maximizing capitalists, (2) make the economy less productive because it is retrogressive, yet (3) raise the rate of profit even while the real wage remains constant. But how can a technical change which makes the economy less productive make capitalists better off if workers are no worse off? This article resolves this conundrum, and goes on to prove a third theorem which provides a way in the Sraffian framework to calculate precisely how much any individual technical change, introduced in any particular industry, increases labor productivity in the economy as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the authors discuss the role that employee health plays in employee performance and organizational performance and success. They are supportive of reconsidering the concept of employee wellness and replacing it with the concept of employee vitality, which encompasses health, fitness, nutrition and other factors, and of conducting research on factors which play a role in health so that organizations can improve employee performance.

The article presents an interview with several presidents of medium sized businesses, including Jennifer Myster of Buffalo Hospital, Phil Davis of Minneapolis Community and Technical College and Ted Wegleitner of the TRIA Orthopaedic Center. When asked about employee productivity and performance, Davis says he thinks of the quality of work when considering performance and efficiency when considering productivity. Myster comments on the differences between productivity and performance. Wegleitner believes that commitment to mission and choosing the right people drives high performance.

Expectations and how they are communicated influence employees’ motivation, effort, goals, efficacy and performance. This study examined faculty performance evaluation standards and processes of 60 academic departments in research universities for motivationally relevant elements. Characteristics were systematically analysed to understand their content and motivational implications. They were examined for features influential on employee engagement, effort, persistence, innovation and organizational commitment, in an iterative, qualitative process. The researchers distilled eight key features of performance standards with influential, research-based motivational implications and analysed how they are demonstrated in the standards. These eight motivationally positive components were evident, but not consistent across these standards. Findings suggest that higher education institutions re-examine their faculty performance standards, consider their motivational messages and implications. Further research on faculty performance standards is also indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the understanding of managerial control over work, the labour process literature has been very influential. Recent critical contributions from the sociological tradition have, however, served to so fragment the underlying perspective that its coherence is now threatened. This paper seeks to demonstrate how a dialectical analysis can lay the basis for a viable amended approach. The need for a dialectical framework has often been urged illustrations of such a perspective in operation, however, are rare. Using a series of examples, this paper argues that the dialectic of work control can be revealed by focussing on two phenomena: the 'levels' and `circuits' of control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author reflects on the relationship between employee health and performance. In the article he discusses work that he has done with Jim Loehr, cofounder of the Human Performance Institute, to help organizations improve employee performance and health by helping to manage the physical, emotional,mental and spiritual energy of their employees and reflects on research on employee health that he has conducted at Wellness & Prevention, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company.

The author discusses an article published in "The Art of Health Promotion" by Jessica Grossmeier and Nikki Hudsmith concerning differences in how business leaders utilize the terms performance and productivity and how health promotion practitioners can improve how employee health is perceived in efforts to improve performance.

The article discusses various reports within the issue, including one by Jack Groppel on the biology of business performance, one by John Harris and Paul E. Terry on the connection between health and performance and one by Ted Wegleitner, Jennifer Myster and Phil Davis on the relationship between health and employee productivity and performance.