Chapter 16

Improving Productivity of
Office Employees

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
1 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Is the result obtained
Productivity from dividing output
by input.

The more output an organization obtains

from constant levels of input, the better its
productivity.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
2 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Factors That Have Contributed to the
Productivity Dilemma in the U.S.
1. Constraining nature of government regulations,
actions, and policies.
2. Declining work ethic.
3. Declining research and development expenditures.
4. Declining capital investment.
5. Increasing number of service workers.
6. Changing characteristics of workforce.
7. Constraining practices, policies, and attitudes
of management.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
3 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Productivity Improvement Program

Is an effective way for an organization

to increase its productivity.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
4 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Characteristics of Successful Productivity
Improvement Programs
1. Have top-management support.
2. Have employee commitment.
3. Have top-priority status.
4. Have productivity goals.
5. Have employee participation.
6. Have an employee rewards feature.
7. Have effective program leadership.
8. Have an effective communication element.
9. Have effective measurement techniques/devices.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
5 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Steps in Carrying Out a Productivity
Improvement Program

1. Carry out preliminary planning.

2. Assess the current situation.
3. Select areas/activities to be included.
4. Develop alternative solutions.
5. Design the solution.
6. Develop an implementation plan and implement
the solution.
7. Conduct a follow-up of the solution.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
6 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Step 1: Carry Out Preliminary Planning

Identify program objectives.

Determine program’s scope.
Identify individuals to be involved.
Consider input and direction provided by the task
force.
Keep employees abreast of program developmental
efforts.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
7 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Step 2: Assess the Current Situation

Measure the present productivity performance.

Identify and analyze the nature of various
departmental work processes and procedures.
Evaluate ways in which employees perform their
assigned duties.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
8 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Step 3: Select Areas/Activities

Select areas in greatest need of improvement

(prioritize if not all areas can be included in
the program.)

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
9 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Step 4: Develop Alternative Solutions

Consider various alternative solutions to helping

increase productivity of areas to be included in
program.
Consider the potential impact of each of the
alternative solutions.
Calculate a cost-benefit ratio for each of the
alternatives.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
10 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Step 5: Design the Solution

Obtain top management approval when/where

needed.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
11 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Step 6: Develop an Implementation Plan
and Implement the Solution

Devote as much time to designing the imple-

mentation plan and actual implementation of
each solution as is necessary.
Involve unit managers and employees in areas
that affect them as one way of attaining their
commitment.
Install the new equipment; train/retrain employees.
Implement the solution on an orderly basis.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
12 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Step 7: Conduct a Follow-up of the Solution

Determine how well the solution is working a few

months after its implementation by comparing
actual performance against anticipated
performance.
Make changes when/where needed.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
13 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Measuring office productivity is a critical aspect
of productivity improvement efforts.

Measurable Office Tasks Have

These Characteristics

1. They can be isolated, which helps determine

where they begin and end.
2. The amount of effort and time consumed are
fairly constant from one undertaking to the
next.
3. The task is easily countable.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
14 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Types of Data Obtained from
Measurement Process
Obtained by dividing the amount
Quantitative of time consumed in producing
the units by the total units of
output produced.
Obtained by counting the amount
Qualitative of poor-quality work that has to
be redone.
Obtained by pro-rating the cost of
Per Unit Cost labor, equipment, and overhead
per work unit produced.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
15 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Suggestions for Improving the Effectiveness
of Productivity Measurement
1. Determine the measurement objective.
2. Consider the characteristics of the area/activity
being measured and select the simplest,
easiest-to-use technique that circumstances will
allow.
3. Train those who are responsible for measurement
to use the various techniques properly.
4. Use a sufficiently long measurement period to
compensate for any abnormal fluctuation in the
workload.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
16 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Areas in Which Productivity Can
Often Be Improved
(1 of 2)
Often accomplished by provid-
Office ing employees with new equip-
Technology ment that enables them to per-
form their tasks faster and with
less effort.
Work Processes Accomplished by providing
employees with efficient work
and Procedures processes and procedures.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
17 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Areas in Which Productivity Can
Often Be Improved
(2 of 2)
Provide employees with a
Work working environment that
Environment stimulates their desire to
become more productive.

Help employees develop a

Personnel positive attitude toward work.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
18 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 A Variety of Techniques are Available

Some are costly; others are inexpensive or free.

Some involve making substantial changes in
organizational processes and procedures; others
are simply accomplished.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
19 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Job Design

Affects the amount of satisfaction employees derive

from their work and the level of productivity they
attain from their job functions.

Employees want task variety, importance,

and autonomy.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
20 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Types of Job Design
(1 of 2)

Allows employees to
Job Rotation periodically exchange
their work assignments
with others.
Removes the repetitive, dull
Job Simplification tasks from employees’ jobs
as well as awkward work-
flow and communication
barriers.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
21 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Types of Job Design
(2 of 2)

Allows employees to
Job Enrichment assume greater levels
of responsibility for and
control over their jobs
while increasing their
job planning opportunities.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
22 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Flextime

Allows employees to set their own starting times,

usually within a 2- or 3-hour block of time.
All employees have to be at work during a
core time-perhaps from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
23 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Job Sharing

Allows two people to share what was one full-time

job.
Salaries and fringe benefits are pro-rated
according to the amount of each employee’s
work contribution.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
24 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Job Security

Provides employees with the assurance that even

when they increase their output, their jobs are
not in jeopardy.
This is often a prerequisite to getting
employees to increase their output.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
25 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Employee Participation

Gives employees an opportunity to provide

input into the decision-making process.
Employees want to be involved in
situations that affect them.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
26 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Quality Circles

Involve a voluntary group of 8-12 employees who

meet on a regular basis to identify, analyze, and
develop solutions to a variety of their work-related
problems.
Meetings are held on company time.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
27 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Quality of Work Life (QWL)

Involves those aspects regarding an employee’s

position: working conditions, economic rewards
and benefits, interpersonal relations, and a
variety of organizational contributions.
Some of the QWL techniques used are
flextime, MBO, job enrichment, job
security, job rotation, TQM, and
employee participation.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
28 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Employee Assistance Programs

Provide a variety of assistance to employees to

help them deal with situations that impact
negatively on their productivity.
Typically involves providing employees
with counseling sessions.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
29 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Communication

Involves increasing the amount of communication

between management and employees.
Feedback is a critical aspect of the
managerial process.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
30 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Burnout Reduction

Involves helping employees reduce burnout or

stress that impacts negatively on their
productivity.
May involve some employee counseling.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
31 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Incentives

Provides employees with rewards for increasing

their productivity.
Some programs are group based; others are
individual based.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
32 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Mental and Emotional Stress Reduction

Involves helping employees overcome the stress

that keeps them from maximizing their
productivity.
Stress may arise from unsatisfactory
interpersonal relations, low self-esteem,
tension, worry, job boredom, job
isolation, job insecurity, and unpleasant
working conditions.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
33 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Team Building

Is designed to enable a team to identify, diagnose,

and solve their own problems.
Results in empowering employees to
assume greater responsibility over their
jobs.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
34 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Problem Solving

Often involves helping employees learn to deal

with complex situations.
May involve the use of a problem-solving
approach.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
35 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Time Management

Involves helping employees make better use

of their time and to manage their time more
effectively.
Being able to estimate accurately how long
a given task will take to complete is
useful.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
36 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Alternative Workweek

Involves giving employees an opportunity to

work four days, perhaps extending the length
of the workday.
Often reduces absenteeism and tardiness.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
37 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Total Quality Management (TQM)

Is a program designed to help an organization

improve the quality of its products and/or
services.
Is based on teamwork and empowerment.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
38 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458