ABSTRACT
Productive organizations will have a lower cost of goods/services sold which will be reflected in lower prices and/or superior products and services for the same price. Improved productivity permits an organization to invest in research and development; to raise the pay level of its employees; and to attract capital more easily via debt or, in the for-profit sector, additional equity. Good intentions do not “cut it” with the boards of nonprofit organizations. Increasingly, their managements are being held accountable for achieving measurable results, within limits imposed by budgets. Data reported by J. Pfeffer indicate that among auto factories located in the US, workers in US-owned companies received on average 42 hours of training during the first six months of employment, and 31 hours annually after one year. In one of the first studies of the relationship between the use of individual-level goal setting and organizational performance, D. E. Terpstra and E. J. Rozell found a significant relationship.
