A productivity monitoring system is developed to incorporate productivity measurement at various organizational levels within manufacturing plants into the general information system. Classical productivity measures, defined as ratios of inputs and outputs of production, are used in the developed system. In addition to measuring the total and partial productivity, the system compiles the total factor productivity which is often applied in manufacturing to represent operational efficiency. In the developed system, reporting of productivity information is based on the organizational structure such that productivity measures are provided only when the corresponding organizational (work) units exist. Thus, the productivity monitoring system provides not only the responsibility-based productivity information, but is flexible in the aggregation of productivity performances of organizational units. The system is executed on the MARK IV File Management System (Informatics Inc.), and a real-world case is studied. Since the data required in the productivity monitoring system are commonly available and shared by other manufacturing subsystems, the system can be implemented as a subsystem of the general information system. / Ph. D.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / Botany / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

<p> </p><p>Since the 1990s and the Swedish membership in the European Union in 1995, the presence of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) has increased radically in the Swedish economy. The objective with this study is to analyze MNEs effects in different regions within the Swedish manufacturing industry in terms of productivity. Is a region with more MNEs, more pro-ductive than a region with a lower share of MNEs? The theory claims that productivity spillovers of MNEs occurs through three channels namely, via R&D, increased competi-tion and transmission of technology. By observing 81 regions which consists of all 290 municipals in Sweden and taking the average value of productivity and the explanatory variables trough 1997-2004, a cross-sectional analysis is conducted. The results evidently showed signs of productivity spillovers of MNEs on local firms in the manufacturing in-dustry. Findings suggest that (1) a regions with higher share of MNEs did face a higher re-gional productivity. However the spillovers was not successfully absorbed by regions with a industry structure that was not dominated by a the manufacturing industry. (2) Larger re-gions, in terms of population, tend to show a lower productivity level compared to the av-erage levels of the rest of the regions, since their structure was dominated by the service sector. (3) Regions with small technological difference compared to the MNEs, tends to hold the skills and knowledge needed to efficiently exploit the productivity spillovers, hence MNEs influence on regional productivity was greater in these regions than regions with a lower level of technical capability.</p><p> </p>

Three major research questions were addressed in this study. First, does information technology contribute to the productivity of retail institutions? Second, to what degree can information technology be substituted for labor and capital in retailing? Finally, is the market efficient in allocating information technology? These questions were chosen after a careful review of the literature revealed gaps in these areas.

This thesis explores the causal relationships between tax incentives, research and development (R&D) and productivity. Using R&D survey data from the United Kingdom (UK) Office for National Statistics and administrative data on corporation tax returns from HM Revenue and Customs, I first conduct empirical analyses of tax incentive policies for R&D, and then estimate the elasticity of output with respect to firms' own R&D efforts as well as external R&D performed by neighboring firms in technology and product space. In the first two chapters which focus on tax incentive policies and their evaluation, I am able to identify the policy effect of interest by exploiting two significant reforms in the UK in 2002 and 2008. I find that tax incentives had a positive and significant stimulating effect on businesses' R&D spending. I argue that the availability of a quasi-experimental set up helps in better identifying the policy impact. The production function estimation exercise in the third chapter shows that double counting of R&D human resources and materials in the production function causes the elasticity of output with respect to the firms' own R&D to be substantially underestimated. I also find that the R&D done in multi-unit enterprise groups is productive for the production facilities which themselves do not perform R&D. The Jaffe (1986) and Bloom et al. (2013) measures of external R&D, which account for closeness of firms in technology and product space can be constructed and included in the production function in the spirit of Griliches (1979). I find that the point estimate for the elasticity of output with respect to firms' own R&D is around 3 percent and statistically significant. Evidence is mixed regarding the productivity effects of R&D carried out by competitors in the product market or neighboring firms in technology space. The detailed data sets used in this study offer valuable resources for empirical work on R&D and productivity.

M.Comm. / The aim of this study was to determine the level of capital and labour productivity in the South African manufacturing industry and their impact on the industry's level of competitiveness on the international markets. It was established at the outset that there is an important link between productivity and competitiveness. Before a quantitative analysis of South African manufacturing and that of some of this country's major international competitors could be done, it was first necessary to examine the theoretical foundations behind the concepts of productivity and competitiveness. It was found that international competitiveness can be judged in terms of the ability of industries to generate wealth more rapidly than their international competitors. It was established that the main driving force for achieving these goals is growth in the productivity of input factors. This, in turn, is determined by growth in human capital, research and development, government policies and economies of scale. Various macroeconomic measurements of productivity and competitiveness were examined. At the domestic level these included growth in domestic investment as a necessary requirement for increasing the capital stock and capital-labour ratio, as well as measurements of the level of domestic education. In order to make international comparisons unit labour costs; terms of trade; the real effective exchange rates and growth in exports were examined. The level of efficiency of the utilisation of input factors, capital and labour, was found to be critical to productivity performance. In the context of the Cobb-Douglas production function marginal productivity and the marginal rate of technical substitution were examined. That the ultimate aim of a production process is the optimal combination of input factors was highlighted and the efficiency criterion as a technique was discussed. The optimal utilization of the budget outlay was established as a test of whether or not economic waste occurs, and the methodology for establishing whether economies of scale exist was examined. The quantitative analysis of South Africa's international level of competitiveness at the macroeconomic level showed that South Africa's expenditure on research and development compares poorly with those of its competitors. Domestic savings as a percentage of GDP in South Africa is consistently below 20%, compared with 30 - 40% for Korea. In terms of growth in investment, South Africa did not fare too badly since the beginning of the 1990's compared to the industrialised countries. However, South Africa's investment level below 20% of GDP was far below that of Korea which was nearly 40% of GNP. It was found that South Africa's expenditure on education at about 20% of government expenditure was high in comparison to its competitors. However, the education level was shown to be inadequate, indicating that monies are not spent efficiently.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering, 2017 / Productivity is an important topic within the mining industry and advances in productivity open up opportunities to make the best possible use of South Africa’s mineral wealth. The report uses publicly available data to assess trends in productivity in the SA coal mining industry since the 1980s and to compare SA’s performance with that of the US and Australia. It is found that between 1980 and 2003, productivity growth in the SA coal mining sector was primarily driven by capital deepening. However, productivity growth has been negative from 2004 onwards, despite continued capital deepening. Possible explanations include resource depletion, investment lags, deteriorating worker quality, increased complexity, more stringent safety regulations and adverse labour market conditions. The report highlights skills development and investment in innovation as possible ways of addressing declining productivity performance in the SA coal mining sector and recommends improvements to the availability of data for productivity research purposes. / CK2018

The aim of my diploma thesis is to conduct the analysis of labour productivity with the connection to business cycle phases and their aspects. The analysis is concerned about the evaluations of measuring the labour productivity, these evaluations are important to do for better insight to their problematic. Also, the analysis deals with the factors that affect the effectivity of using factors of production. The thesis is divided into two parts - theoretical and practical. The theoretical part deals with the problematics of labour productivity, economic growth and their interconnection according to the technical literature. The market development and especially the development of insurance market, and prescribed indemnity are analysed in the practical part of the thesis. It is important to say that indemnity and its development are the essential parts of the insurance market. Also, the practical part is concerned with the labour productivity and the commission for insurance agents. The insurance company Generali is described there. The problematics of labour productivity and activity are observed on the specific groups of workers in this join-stock company. There are chosen workers from their individual positions on which the indexes are better shown. I evaluate these indicators and create a proposal for improving the labour productivity. This proposal makes also a good contribution to the direction of insurance company and its manager. The improvements include for instance: the focusing not only on newcomers but also on existing agents, who have done a good job for the company in the past and they create a good reputation for its business; a subsequent improvement is the better motivation for newcomer workers. I suggest that these newcomers should be bound to one existing insurance agent. Thanks to this it could be a good motivation and professional development for existing insurance agents, who would not only teach newcomers but above all improve themselves.

by Lam Ka-chi, Ricky and Wong Suet-yee, Sheri. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-140). / ABSTRACT --- p.iii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iv / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.vii / LIST OF TABLES --- p.x / PREFACE --- p.xi / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS --- p.xii / Chapter / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Global Trend Towards Quality Improvement --- p.2 / Quality Improvement in Hong Kong --- p.5 / Chapter II. --- OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH --- p.11 / General Objective --- p.11 / Ultimate Objective --- p.11 / Minor Objectives --- p.11 / Chapter III. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.13 / Primary Research - Questionnaire --- p.13 / Design of the Questionnaire --- p.13 / Content of the Questionnaire --- p.15 / Respondents of the Questionnaire --- p.16 / Primary Research - Interview --- p.18 / Secondary Research - Library Research --- p.19 / Chapter IV. --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.20 / Quality --- p.20 / Quality Productivity --- p.22 / Quality and Cost --- p.22 / Productivity and Cost --- p.24 / "Quality, Productivity and Cost" --- p.25 / Customers Satisfaction --- p.25 / Profitability --- p.25 / Quality: A Long-term Strategic Planning --- p.28 / Summing Up --- p.30 / Chapter V. --- DEFINITION --- p.33 / Some Operational Terms --- p.33 / Quality --- p.33 / Productivity --- p.33 / Company Performance --- p.34 / Quality Performance --- p.35 / Financial Performance --- p.35 / Gurus in Quality Management --- p.35 / Edward Deming --- p.35 / Joseph Juran --- p.39 / Philip Crosby --- p.42 / Armand V. Feigenbaum --- p.46 / Kaoru Ishikawa --- p.47 / Genichi Taguchi --- p.48 / Quality Improvement Techniques --- p.49 / Zero Defects --- p.49 / Quality Control Circle --- p.49 / Statistical Process Control (SPC) --- p.49 / Quality Control 7 Tools --- p.51 / Taguchi Method --- p.51 / Fool-proof (Poke Yoke) --- p.53 / Quality Function Deployment --- p.54 / International Standard Organization --- p.54 / Productivity Improvement Techniques --- p.56 / Work measurement --- p.56 / Layouts --- p.56 / Computer-integrated Manufacturing (CIM) --- p.56 / Material Requirements Planning (MRP) --- p.57 / Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRPII) --- p.57 / Just in Time (JIT) --- p.57 / Competitive Benchmarking --- p.58 / Self-directed Work Teams --- p.58 / Theory of Constraints --- p.58 / Chapter VI. --- HIGHLIGHT OF FINDINGS --- p.60 / Company Demographics --- p.60 / Company Size --- p.60 / Employees Turnover Rate --- p.60 / Company Sales Last Year --- p.61 / Number of Years Established --- p.61 / Overseas Branch or Subsidiary --- p.63 / Other Company Information --- p.65 / Company Performance --- p.69 / Customers Perception:Company Performance --- p.69 / Quality Performance --- p.73 / Financial Performance --- p.75 / Quality Improvement Techniques --- p.76 / Formal Approach to Quality Improvement --- p.76 / Separate Quality Department --- p.76 / Application of Quality Improvement Techniques --- p.81 / Quality Improvement -ISO 9000 --- p.92 / Quality Improvement - Understand & Specify Customer Requirements --- p.99 / Productivity Improvement Techniques --- p.105 / Formal Approach to Productivity Improvement --- p.105 / Productivity Improvement Techniques --- p.105 / Chapter VII. --- ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION --- p.117 / Factor Analysis --- p.117 / Kaiser-Meyer-olkin Measure --- p.117 / Steps of Factor Analysis --- p.118 / VARIMAX Rotation --- p.118 / Interpretation of Factors --- p.118 / Factor 1 --- p.118 / Factor 2 --- p.121 / Factor 3 --- p.121 / Factor 4 --- p.122 / Factor 5 --- p.122 / Factor 6 --- p.123 / Regression --- p.123 / Total Quality Cost --- p.123 / Items Defective and Rework Cost --- p.126 / Returns and Warranty Cost --- p.126 / Internal Waste and Training Costs --- p.126 / Quality Performance --- p.127 / Financial Performance --- p.127 / Employee Turnover Rate --- p.127 / Employees' Satisfaction --- p.128 / Chapter VIII. --- CONCLUSION --- p.129 / APPENDIX --- p.131 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.138