Chapter 7

Abstract

This chapter discusses the relationship among changes in productivity, economic output, and significant aspects of societal welfare that are measured by social indicators. There are several conceptual and measurable limitations of productivity that result in the underestimation of real output in official data, although unmeasured output nevertheless increases consumer satisfaction. A flow diagram is used to describe the nature of the relationships among factor inputs, productivity, output, and various measures of wellbeing. Slightly more than three fifths of economic growth in the past three decades was accounted for by the growth in productivity. Relatively high economic growth during the sixties facilitated a rapid rise in social welfare expenditures, while a slowdown in economic growth in the seventies was accompanied by a slower rate of growth in such expenditures. Deceleration in economic growth in the seventies constrained consumer choice, including individual budget decisions, especially discretionary expenditures. Productivity type analytical ratios can be used to measure the efficiency of a variety of social indicators. Some outputs return to the production process as higher quality inputs in a continuous flow.

Maintenance Productivity Measurement: Case Study of a Manufacturing Company

“…Barzel investigated and found output per unit input as a way of measuring productivity in electric power industries based on total factor inputs [2]. Studies carried out by Brechling and Surrey on a coal fired electricity industry focused on the productivity of fuel and capital while Chandraseker based his studies on productivity in selected manufacturing industries in the United States and France on labour input [3,4]. A follow-up of Davies' work at measuring total productivity at the micro level was the work of Carl Thor of the American Productivity Center (APC), based on the work initially carried out at the National Productivity Institute of the Republic of South Africa.…”

“…4) Using the intermediate points with the best and worst measures for each measure to plot a Utility Curve in order to determine the Utility values. The utility values are as shown in table1.…”