Convergent Thinking

By |2020-03-19T22:48:24+00:00July 31st, 2012|

At the recent Rio summit (the less than spectacular one) there was some discussion about whether GDP is the best measure of a nation's well-being ... in an age where we are increasingly looking at the negative impact (on the environment) of increased industrial activity. The World Confederation of Productivity Science has been looking at

Efficiency, Effectiveness and Productivity

By |2020-03-19T22:48:38+00:00July 31st, 2012|

You will recognise the 3 word in the title to this post as being .... well, what, exactly? related terms? or synonyms? If you do a search for these terms online, you can find lots of definitions and lots of ratios ... many go which are just plain wrong! In descriptive terms, efficiency is doing

Sort out the Euro, please

By |2020-03-19T22:48:38+00:00July 31st, 2012|

It is almost important to run a high productivity company at the moment. The shadow hanging over Europe from the Euro crisis is sucking all the energy out of the European market ... and pulling other markets down with it. We know that we are already in a long-term difficult period ... if 'they' cannot

Standing in the shoes of others

By |2020-03-19T22:48:38+00:00July 31st, 2012|

Business seems to have lost its ethical context. Business decisions are taken according to whether they are within or outside of legal and regulatory frameworks ... not whether they are within or outside of prevailing value sets or ethical frameworks. . If we cannot put ourselves in the shoes of others (and empathise) how can

16th World Productivity Congress, Antalya, Turkiye (2010)

By |2020-11-05T19:57:35+00:00November 5th, 2010|

Creating a Socially, Economically and Environmentally Responsible World Date: 2nd-5th November 2010 The theme for the XVIth Congress in Antalya, Turkiye (from 2nd – 5th November) was: Productivity at the Crossroads: Creating a Socially, Economically and Environmentally Responsible World The Congress was - for the first time held in partnership with the European Productivity Conference

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth

By |2020-11-04T20:04:54+00:00November 4th, 2010|

Together The Gilbreths formed one of the great husband-and-wife teams of science and engineering. In the early 1900s, they started work on the development of motion study as a performance improvement technique. Frank, who started his working life as a bricklayer, had noticed that no two bricklayers seemed to use the same method - each

George Elton Mayo

By |2020-11-04T20:09:51+00:00November 3rd, 2010|

Elton Mayo was born in Adelaide, South Australia on 26 December 1880 and died in Guildford, Surrey on 1 September 1949. He was the second child of a respected colonial family. Elton was expected to follow his grandfather into medicine, but failed at university studies and was sent to Britain. Here he turned to writing,

Charles E. Sorensen

By |2020-11-04T20:09:59+00:00November 2nd, 2010|

Charles E. Sorensen went with his parents to the USA from Denmark when he was four years old. His first job was at the Buffalo Stove factory, where he trained as a pattern maker and foundry man. His interest in casting was to remain with him all of his life. A firm of custom foundry-men

Frederick Winslow Taylor

By |2020-11-10T15:11:09+00:00November 1st, 2010|

Taylor was born in Germantown (now part of Philadelphia), Pennsylvania. In 1878, he began working at the Midvale Steel Company. As he rose to become foreman of the steel plant, he started to apply himself to thoughts about efficiency and productivity. These thoughts led to the development of what became known as "scientific management". In

15th World Productivity Congress, Sun City, South Africa (2008)

By |2020-11-05T20:56:28+00:00September 24th, 2008|

Competing in the global economy: Leading through productivity Date: 21st-24th September 2008 Tracks: Productivity Drivers Sustainable Enterprises Global Human Resource Migration Best Practices This Congress was organised in partnership with ProductivitySA, the National Productivity Centre of South Africa. The Sun City Declaration We the members of the global productivity community who have gathered in Sun

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