Lots of countries that expanded their productivity through the 1980s and 1990s have slowed to a crawl. Their 'growth engines' seem to have disappeared or been dismantled. COVID-19 may have been the final nail in the coffin (or the puncture in the tyre). Many of these companies are still trying to restart their engines -
The UK has a new monarch and a new Prime minister- one avowedly committed to economic growth as the way to climb out off the abyss we are in. But, as yet, apart from the long-espoused commitment to tax cuts, we have seen little evidence of what will create that growth. Where is the infrastructure
The UK has a new monarch and a new Prime minister- one avowedly committed to economic growth as the way to climb out off the abyss we are in. But, as yet, apart from the long-espoused commitment to tax cuts, we have seen little evidence of what will create that growth. Where is the infrastructure
Especially in difficult times (and current times certainly count as ‘difficult’ for most businesses), business asks for help from government. Yet in the good times (and they will come again), they want government to stop ‘interfering’. They can’t expect to have it whichever way they like. The role of government in improving productivity is simple. They
Electric cars, buses, even planes. They are all coming. Vehicles are improving all the time. As sensors become more efficient, range is extended - and range anxiety is the one factor that puts buyers off electric vehicles. If, as a driver, you can’t make it to the next charging point, you’re in trouble. But
The UK’s rail franchise system (where private companies bid for the right to tun rail services on the national infrastructure) was introduced to improve competition and efficiency. However, the bids - and the assessment of them - were highly over-optimistic. They looked to offer value-for-money for the government/taxpayer and a good return for the franchisee ….
Creativity is what will see organisations blossom as we (hopefully) near the end of this pandemic. In an office situation, creativity is aided by people bouncing ideas off their co-workers, They can do this by simply walking down the corridor. When everyone is working from home, you have to find different ways of achieving this. One
Lots of workers (in manufacturing) are concerned about losing their jobs to robots, as the inexorable rise of automated machines and AI gathers pace. One common ‘defence’ is to suggest that robots only take over the drudgery - leaving the humans to take on more skilled, more knowledge-based tasks, and making the workplace safer. This
A recent discussion paper from the African Union suggests that the fact that Asia has achieved the highest economic growth rates in the world in the last half century may not be unrelated to the existence of many vibrant National Productivity Organizations (NPOs) in the Asia-Pacific region and the activities of the Asian Productivity Organization
I am currently in Mauritius, helping launch their National Productivity Campaign. I am talking to government officials, trades unions, employers, educators ... and the public. Such campaigns are relatively common. Do they work? Well, it is difficult to say ... because one can rarely measure the 'counterfactual' ... what would have happened if the campaign had not