Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Los Angeles, 1992. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 206-212).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 472-498).

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Management Studies / Master / Master of Business Administration

M.Com. (Business Management) / A high level of productivity is of utmost importance to any nation seeking economical growth and stability. However, South Africa has fallen behind its most important trading partners regarding levels of productivity. This decline in productivity started during the late 1960's and has resulted in a subsequent decline in competitiveness. Even more alarming is the fact that some third world countries have overtaken South Africa regarding productivity, and are currently maintaining economical growth rates in excess of five percent per annum. Another trend of modern times is the rapid growth in the number of white-collar workers (including knowledge workers). This rise of the knowledge worker is a result of the swing towards technology- and service organizations. It is thus clear that. the importance of knowledge worker productivity cannot be underestimated. There are however a number of problems regarding the management and improvement of knowledge worker productivity. Most of these problems have their origin in the unique characteristics of knowledge work. The aim of this study is thus to investigate the problems regarding the measurement of knowledge work, methods of improving productivity in general as well as improving knowledge worker productivity specifically, and finally to develop a guideline for the management and improvement of knowledge worker productivity. The study begins with a thorough literature study regarding productivity, knowledge workers and productivity improvement techniques. Following this is an empirical study to investigate certain specific factors which influence productivity. Finally a conclusion is made, resulting in a guideline for the management and improvement of knowledge worker productivity.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 50-53). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universitetet i Lund, 1985. / Summary in English. Includes bibliographical references (p. 216-221).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 50-53). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 504-522). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

This dissertation consists of three chapters. Chapter one estimates the capital adjustment costs at the plant level in a model entry and exit. We find that the estimated variance of plant-specific productivity shock is larger than obtained from balanced panel estimation. Estimation using the unbalanced panel generates a larger irreversibility cost, a smaller disruption cost, and a smaller convex cost, all compared with the estimates by Cooper and Haltiwanger (2006). In chapter two, we study how much of the aggregate productivity changes can be accounted for by the capital reallocation. We also study the impact of capital reallocation on the productivity dispersion across firms. We find that the capital reallocations accounts for roughly 12 percent of the labor productivity and capital productivity are reduced as the reallocation activity increases. When the economy-wide technology has a positive change, the reallocation increases temporarily then drops to its original level. After a short transition, the economy settles down with an increased labor productivity. Chapter three further studies the quantitative role of allocation, entry and exit in the growth of aggregate productivity. We find that, without including in the model the forces that drive the entry and exit changes, the model economy has a modest increase in the aggregate productivity as a result of decrease in the fixed reallocation cost.