Improving Productivity on Projects - Assignment Example

IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY ON PROJECTS Introduction Productivity is defined as the measure of the effectiveness of production (Saari, 2006). It is the ratio of that which is produced to the inputs necessitated to produce it. Research has indicated that, productivity is one of the major factors that measure the general performance of all organizations (Saari, 2006). At the micro-level, high productivity reduces unit costs and acts as a gauge of project performance. At the macro-level on the other hand, improved productivity is an essential instrument in determining wage policies and countering the impacts of inflation. In addition, to capital, improved productivity is also a requirement for starting a business or generating more wealth in many countries, especially the developing countries. This means that, enhanced productivity and capital improvements go hand in hand. Improved productivity has been linked to improved quality, reduced total cost and production duration and increased employment amongst others (Hegab, 2009). Considering the factors that influence productivity on a project, this report will discuss the main standpoints and arguments relevant to productivity improvement and how the productivity of one particular element of a product can be improved. In particular, the paper will include a literature review on productivity improvement, analysis of pertinent issues a discussion on the impacts of the issues for businesses, and a general conclusion. Literature review In all projects, higher productivity implies seeing the final outcomes sooner, which as a result leads to satisfaction. According to Gonzalez (1991) job dissatisfaction is one of the factors which boosts costs, generates time delays and typically, decreases productivity on most kinds of projects. Studies have shown that, project managers have a responsibility of influencing project productivity. One way in which they can accomplish their duty is by determining the flow of work and how much work can be performed (Chan and Kaka, 2007). Furthermore, influencing employee attitude is another way. This is a key element in employee motivation and it determines the amount of work to be carried out at a particular time. According to Basson et al., (2003) there is an association between the level of employee motivation and performance. This relationship is defined as the current immediate sway on the direction, vigour, and determination of action (Gonzalez, 1991). In fact, employee motivation is deemed as the main factor which influences the success or failure of a project. A well motivated employee will perform towards attaining the goals and objectives of the project. The relationship between the workforce and the employer should be that of understanding so that the worker can be able to identify him/herself with the organization and in particular the project being undertaken. Studies have revealed that lack of employee motivation which results to low morale impacts productivity negatively (Dainty et al., 2002). Low morale is also linked to increased staff turnover, high number of grievances, increased incidence of lateness and absenteeism, and increased wastage of inputs (Hegab, 2009). In general, a well motivated worker is a loyal worker, and being loyal means that the worker supports the goals, objectives and activities of the project. Project productivity can only be enhanced if there is willing to perform and quality performance can only be achieved if the employees are well motivated. Furthermore, studies have revealed that organizations executing projects should come up with an incentive program (Hegab, 2009). Incentives which encompass both external and internal rewards are directed towards satisfying the needs of the employees. The power of incentives is deemed to be pervasive and huge. Organizations which keep their incentive programs simple usually benefit their projects in terms of cost, customer service, schedule and quality. It is true that employers have objectives which they want met whereas the workers have needs which also require to be met. Working together as a team will assist in enhancing the productivity of the project as both of the parties will work towards satisfying the goals and needs in question. In projects, employees are believed to be the main players as they are the ones who determine the failure or success of the projects. Furthermore, they define the goal of a project, they organize, plan, direct, coordinate and monitor the activities of a project (Dainty et al., 2002). Through the use of organizational and interpersonal skills including delegation, communication, negotiation and decision making, they are able to meet the goals and objectives of the project (Basson et al., 2003). In project environments, Basson et al adds that individuals can be perceived as contributing constraints and problems or as offering opportunities and solutions, and winds up by saying that human resource management is an essential element of a project. (Basson et al., 2003) emphasizes on how the employees can be managed in order to boost their overall effectiveness ad efficiency as persons, as projects teams, and generally as members of the organization. Therefore, it is significant to make certain that the right individuals enter the project, be organized and motivated by the concerned body, and work as a team in order to deliver as per the project goals and objectives, and thus, acknowledged and rewarded for their attainment. The experience of persons within a certain social setting is usually interpreted and provided for with meaning by the communications and actions of other individuals in the social setting (Hegab, 2009). In certain projects such as constructions, the language, discourse and behaviours of the workers forms a means through which the company conveys itself. This means that, for persons within a construction site setting the sense and response they make and give to their experiences is swayed by communication through which they are able to experience the company or organization (Hegab, 2009). Analysis of the pertinent issues Enhancing project productivity is not a simple task. In deed, some people have argued that productivity is hard improve. In fact, studies have revealed that, despite inspiring outcomes, and a range of programs put forth by organizations, most projects are unsuccessful or fail to produce the expected results. This has been linked to a number of reasons including lack of management involvement and commitment, long project cycle time that uses up the organizations savings, lack of enough internal resources to set up and sustain projects, and employee dissatisfaction. According to studies, execution, success, and enhanced productivity of a project necessitate the involvement and commitment of the management (Anbari and Young, 2004). Management is deemed as the core of every project. Some of the responsibilities of managers include defining, controlling, organizing, acts as a leader, communicator, motivator and delegator. In fact, capabilities flow from the management to the rest of persons who are responsible in executing the project activities (Dainty et al., 2002). The performance of the employee will entirely depend on whether their leaders are committed with their work or not. Lack of commitment and involvement of the management to the project means that duty performance is not well supervised, there is no one to guide or motivate the employee as required in order to improve their effectiveness and efficiency, and this will definitely result to poor performance which in turn results to low productivity or failure of the project. Long project cycle sometimes erodes an organization savings (Anbari and Young, 2004). Usually, the project cycle has six stages which are linked to each other in a preceding order. These stages which encompass the programme, identification, formulation and appraisal, commitment and financing, implementation, and evaluation should be as succinct as possible to ensure that the organization does not run out of funds and starts employing its savings (Dainty et al., 2002). It is true that this can have major effects to the organization, which for instance can start facing financial problems. Generally, projects require a lot of funds to execute and most of them are funded by external sources. As a result, a timeframe on how the project will be executed is always a necessity. Furthermore, the productivity of a project can be affected by lack of internal resources to sustain a project (Anbari and Young, 2004). Such internal resources encompass good leadership from the management, availability of technical expertise, and availability of financial management and strong administrative systems. It is true that, to deploy and sustain a project which is aimed at bringing returns to the organizations, sufficient resources are a prerequisite. In some instances, a number of organizations set up projects which usually take years to complete. This is always linked to insufficient internal resources especially financial resources and good leadership. Impact of the issues for businesses Poor management is believed to be the number one killer of productivity. Inefficient managers generally lack vision, efficient communication skills and sufficient understanding of the company’s finances. A workplace productivity survey carried out in 2005 by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) revealed that 58 percent of American citizens categorized poor management as the main obstacle to enhancing productivity (Dainty et al., 2002). Certainly lack of commitment and involvement has diverse damaging impacts both to the employees and the organization as a whole. Typically, businesses with poor management constantly perform below expectations. Furthermore, poor management is linked to wastage of time and resources, poor communication, misunderstandings of that which necessitates to be done, decreased motivation among the employees, which results to reduced business productivity. Research has revealed that, management needs to be committed and involved in order to generate results. Firms necessitate making appropriate modifications so as to avoid failure and generate better outcomes. It is true to say that the all the activities of the organization revolve around the managers, meaning that the success of the business solely depends on how it is managed. Furthermore, long project cycle which results to erosion of a business savings is linked to lack of involvement and commitment by the managers to assist in the process (Anbari and Young, 2004). Employee motivation is usually influenced by the management of the business. If there is poor management, this certainly means that the managers are not committed in executing their responsibilities which includes delegation and employee motivation. Poor employee motivation results to low morale. Low morale is linked to increased staff turnover, high number of grievances, increased incidence of lateness and absenteeism, and increased wastage of inputs which in general results to decreased productivity. Conclusions It is true from the above discussion that, delivering a successful project necessitates high degree of productivity from the various variables of project which encompass commitment and involvement of the management, leader competence, and the productivity of the project teams and their leaders. Managers, who are deemed to be the main element of a project requires having the necessary skills of management, competence and an understanding of project finances which when linked together will result to the success of the project (Richman, 2006). In general, project enhancement leaders should demonstrate an increased level of competence in team management, statistical analysis and meeting facilitation. In order to ensure that project leaders meet their responsibilities as required, certainly, it is essential to improve their productivity. How can the productivity of managers be improved? Research has indicated that training managers can offer them with the necessary management skills. In particular, managers should be trained on methodology and team facilitation. Team facilitation training makes use of the learning by doing model which is embedded in particular e-meeting technologies which permits the managers to become competent quickly compared to convection classroom training (Richman, 2006). Moreover, training and education has revealed important aspects of enabling managers and the employees in general to understand better the techniques and tools to be employed in executing the project activities. Training is a significant tool which ensures that managers and their staffs apply various models used in projects efficiently. Lack of commitment and involvement form the management also means that project deployment is at risk of failing to address key business requirements. For this reason, projects set up for improvements should be considered business priorities, so that managers can engage and contribute their knowledge so that such projects can receive the commitment and resources required for success and productivity enhancement. References Anbari, F and Young, 2004. Success Factors in Managing Six Sigma Projects, Project Management Institute Research Conference. London, UK. Basson, G., Garruthers, M., Kruger, D., du Plessis, Y., Visser, K., Steyn, H., Prozesky-Kuschke, B., Van Eck, S., 2003. Project Management – A Multi-Disciplinary Approach. London: SAGE Publishers. Chan, W., Kaka, A., 2007. Productivity improvements: understand the workforce perceptions of productivity first, vol.36 no.4, pp. 564 – 584. Dainty, A., Lingard, H., and Loosemore, H. 2002. Human Resource Management in Construction Projects -Strategic and Operational approaches. London: Spoon Press. Gonzalez, E. 1991. Construction Worker Motivation: The Means to Improving Worker Productivity. Pagination 107. Hegab, M., 2009. Productivity of Microtunneling Projects. London: VDM Verlag. Hudson, A. Grouputer Pty Limited, 10 Enablers to Improve Project Productivity. http://www.grouputer.com/papers/10_enablers_to_improve_project_productivity.pdf [Accessed November 10, 2011] Richman, L., 2006. Improving your project management skills. AMACOM Div American Management Association. Saari, S. 2006. Productivity. Theory and Measurement in Business. Productivity Handbook. MIDO OY. Read More