ABSTRACT
Productivity is usually expressed in terms of output per unit of labour, giving the impression that labour is the predominant factor in productivity's performance. Productivity is calculated in a number of ways, not all of them straightforward. But productivity's most straightforward measure, at least at the individual company or organizational level, is probably the more simple calculation of dividing sales or operating budgets by employee head-count on a departmental, regional or group basis. Although ongoing productivity increases are still being achieved, concern is not just with the veiled day-to-day waste of resources but also with the even less visible aspect of this central component of wealth, productivity's intrinsic growth. The conventional way of thinking is that so long as productivity is evident, everything is fine and dandy. Targets are also a managerial device to improve productivity, the rationale being that a clear objective provides an added incentive.
