1. Copyright 2000, Dr. Larry W. Long1 Chapter 11 Communication & Productivity by Dr. Larry Long

2. Copyright 2000, Dr. Larry W. Long2 Society & organizational products Organizations are societal subsystems adaptive: research firms supportive: import/export companies production: manufacturing, agribusiness maintenance: schools, medical managerial: government agencies Each is needed & contributes to societal negentropy

3. Copyright 2000, Dr. Larry W. Long3 What’s my production cycle? – (input, throughput, output) What is my productivity level & how can I improve it? – (more effectively acquiring input & transforming it to output) What are my primary and secondary product types? – (physical, capital, human, or information) What is the potential for production conflict? – (subsystems & functions integrated and mutually supporting) How can I enhance productivity –(fit between employee and job role) Managers are concerned with answering several questions...

4. Copyright 2000, Dr. Larry W. Long4 Production cycle defined Production is..... a process in which inputs ( raw resources -- physical, capital, human, &/or information ) are transformed into outputs ( finished goods or services ). $

5. Copyright 2000, Dr. Larry W. Long5 Production cycle steps Step 1: Resource (energy) acquisition from environment -- INPUT Step 2: Transformation of resources into finished goods/services THROUGHPUT Production subsystem supportive subsystem adaptive subsystem maintenance subsystem managerial subsystem Step 3: Product or service sent market, i.e., exported to environment -- OUTPUT Organizational System Boundary

6. Copyright 2000, Dr. Larry W. Long6 Productivity Productivity is..... a measurement of how efficient or inefficient an organization is in transforming resources into finished goods or services.

7. Copyright 2000, Dr. Larry W. Long7 Measuring productivity Productivity is a measure of the input/output ratio, e.g. -- return on investment labor hours per unit # of units per time interval Specific measures vary across organizations. investment return Transformation hoursunits timeunit INPUT OUTPUT INPUT OUTPUT

8. Copyright 2000, Dr. Larry W. Long8 How do I enhance productivity? increase resource consumption level & increase production level if, >input, then >output decrease resource consumption level & maintain production level if, < input, then = output maintain resource consumption level & increase production if, =input, then >output

9. Copyright 2000, Dr. Larry W. Long9 Primary vs. secondary production Organizations --  require physical, human, capital, and information resources  may differ by virture of which are primary & secondary Primary Products  macro level  finished good/service for external environment Secondary Products  micro level  finished good/service for internal environment physical human capital information

10. Copyright 2000, Dr. Larry W. Long10 Organizations differ by type of output Macro-level Differences

11. Copyright 2000, Dr. Larry W. Long11 Input/what organizations require Physical Resources tangible objects Human Resources people/labor/supervision Capital Resources exchange/cash flow Information Resources symbols/intelligence Micro-level Resources Needed

12. Copyright 2000, Dr. Larry W. Long12 Output/what organizations produce Physical Output physical objects and artifacts; any object that can be sensed Capital tokens or money; insurance; stocks & bonds Human human resources; labor Information symbols &intelligence

13. Copyright 2000, Dr. Larry W. Long13 Organizations & department products Departments have primary products physical: assembly, manufacturing capital: finance, accounting human: human resources, personnel information: research & development They contribute to throughput in order to produce the primary output

14. Copyright 2000, Dr. Larry W. Long14 Product-Induced Conflict Conflict occurs when each department believes its product is most important to the organization, e.g.,...  marketing produces income for the organization & considers itself the most important group  accounting provides services for the organization & considers itself the most important group  manufacturing makes the company’s product & considers itself the most important group  personnel hires, places & trains employees & considers itself the most important group

15. Copyright 2000, Dr. Larry W. Long15 Production may induce conflict... Functional Loyalty  people become loyal to their co- workers and products that they produce  tend to view organization from micro level, i.e., physical vs. capital vs. human vs. information resources  in this case, a return to the macro-level perspective is needed This company couldn’t exist without us!!!

16. Copyright 2000, Dr. Larry W. Long16 Enhancing productivity through communication Identify unit of analysis & design for organization and communication (Phases 1 & 2) Manage Information, decision- making processes, behavior regulation & conflict (Phase 3) Apply appropriate motivation, quality of work life improvement & development techniques (Phase 4)