| |
Whatever
Happened to the Top Line?
John P. Heap
The
measurement of productivity is often undertaken at a mechanistic
level with little thought given to understanding the true relationship
between the numerator and denominator of the productivity ratio.
This often results in too much attention being paid to improving
productivity through the reduction of resource inputs. However,
such an approach often misses the real importance of the 'soft'
factors that shape real success - especially the creativity, contribution
and commitment of the workforce. It also results in short-term benefit
at the cost of long-term organizational health.
An
alternative approach is to use the collective intellectual strength
of the organization to examine the 'outputs' of a process carefully
and creatively; this should arrive at a large number of ways in
which value can be added and productivity improved by enhancing
quality, performance, aesthetics or any of the other components
of 'the top line'.
Influential
Readings
- Heap,
J. P., Productivity Management : A Fresh Approach, Cassell 1992
- "The
Productivity of Heritage Visitor Attractions," in Heritage Visitor
Attractions : An Operations Management Perspective, Ian Yeomans,
ed., Cassell 1999
- "Top-line
productivity: A model for the hospitality and tourism industry,"
in Productivity Management in Hospitality and Tourism, Nick Johns,
ed., Cassell 1996
| |
John
is Director of e-Learning at Leeds Metropolitan University
in the United Kingdom. He is also President of the World Network
of Productivity Organizations (one of the two primary Divisions
of WCPS), and a member of the Council of the Institute of
Management Services in the UK. John co-edits the International
Journal of Productivity & Performance Management and maintains
the web portal PRODUCTIVITY
FUTURES.
e-mail:
johnheap@yahoo.com
|
Access
a Personal Productivity Values statement for John Heap
|
|
