Productivity improvement: An important issue for private and public sector organisations

This article discusses current productivity improvement issues facing organisations in the U.K. and elsewhere. A brief overview of the U.K. resource utilisation position in central and local government, industry and commerce is provided. The international perspective is then outlined using examples of successful productivity organisations, productivity campaigns and company productivity improvement programmes taking place outside the U.K. The article refocuses on the U.K. by reporting the findings from a productivity study of 28 private and public sector organisations. In conclusion it is suggested that operations managers and directors, especially in the U.K., need to think about productivity improvement as a strategic as well as an operational issue.