Quantitative versus qualitative measurements, Operation Management

Assignment Help:

Quantitative Versus Qualitative Measurements

A variety of formulae can be used to determine productivity as illustrated. These are generally referred to as 'hard' or quantifiable measures. Another measure of productivity gaining importance are qualitative measures which highlight the increased importance placed on quality within the system. Quality in this case relates not only to final product quality, but also to the quality of workforce, raw materials and transformation facility quality, and also the perceived standard of the job which the worker carries out. The concept of productivity, especially as an American definition, has expanded to try to take into account of the impact that the workplace and the working environment (measured through such features as number of years service, staff turnover, days absence and number of days lost through disputes) have on productivity. Joseph Prokopenko - a senior consultant with the International Labour Organisations' management development branch - is the author of Productivity management - A practical handbook (1987), one of the very few texts available dealing with productivity issues in depth. He is one of a number of productivity authorities at pains to indicate that productivity should not be confused with intensity, especially labour intensity, since organisational (and transformation - of input to output) efficiency, rather than working faster or longer is the key to improvement. There are a number of other misconceptions of what productivity aims to do, mostly as a result of poor understanding of the systems approach, described in Chapter 1 of this unit, being unable to determine the true input to be measured against output or vice versa, confusion of efficiency (being expressed in terms of a speed of production and not efficiency of input transformation) or

confusion of the definition of profit and productivity. 

There are four main classes of input to the system: 

  • Labour
  • Capital
  • Raw materials
  • Services.

 

For measurement purposes, it is normal for these parameters to be expressed in terms of either market value or cash related to a base year (ie related by a discounting factor to a 'year zero' value). This can, however cause some difficulties: for example, whilst labour hours may be measured in terms of the total salary paid to production workers (one of the easier parameters to be measured) particular difficulty can be encountered in the separation and calculation of capital inputs. Outputs can usually be determined on the basis of the value of the goods and services that the organisation supplies to its customers.


Related Discussions:- Quantitative versus qualitative measurements

Explain what is your best choice using emv criterion, Dalton and Carla run ...

Dalton and Carla run a small bicycle shop called "D n C"Bicycles. They must order bicycles for the coming season. Orders for the bicycle must be placed in quantities of twenty(20).

Performance measurement in organisations, Performance Measurement 1. A...

Performance Measurement 1. An effective performance measurement framework rarely is derived from one single approach.  2. Each of the methods outlined comes with its own un

Explain decentralization occurs as an organization grows, According to a re...

According to a review of major U.S. companies, four stages of structural development are consistently present. At which stage does product demand become so high that a crisis devel

How technology is creating employer or employee rights, Give some examples ...

Give some examples of how technology is creating employer/employee rights and policy issues. Then suggest some possible actions that may be needed

Explain never underestimate the other guy, Jack Welch, the former CEO of Ge...

Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric of 20 years, respected business leader and writer proposes ten fundamental leadership principles (from his 2001 book 'Jack: Straight

Decisions making and profit maximization, Question 1. It is often said...

Question 1. It is often said that profit maximization is the sole objective of business conduct. Do you agree with this view? Justify your answer using at least one example /

What area of human services do you find the most interesting, There are a w...

There are a wide variety of exciting and interactive professions in the field of human services. As demonstrated in the video below and through your reading, do you think that musi

Explain what elements interest in the negotiations, Assuming that I am the ...

Assuming that I am the negotiator who is tasked with a salary (on call time, step increases, overtime for captains and majors) and benefits (insurance while employed, insurance aft

Explain appraisal process for your department, For this discussion, let us ...

For this discussion, let us put you in the department director chair, nursing director, lab director, radiology director, respiratory therapy director, or whichever hat fits best.

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd