Aggregation hides info needed

Current measures of productivity become less and less useful the higher the level they go:

  • Aggregation increasingly blurs the performance picture
  • Apples get mixed with pears
  • Specific inputs used for specific outputs and outcomes get lost in the mix

At national level, this aggregation problem is at its worst, compounded by much output and most input being uncounted or uncountable rendering official statistics useless for managing the economy and meaningless for any manager struggling within it

At organisation level, different outputs in the private sector can be counted either separately or together if converted into cash

However, the latter is not possible in the public sector where outputs (of most services) are provided free at the point of delivery and so have no price attached – hence official statisticians employ estimates and assumptions to complete their calculations, thereby introducing considerable errors which further blur the picture

And, in all sectors, costly inputs counted are confined to volumes of labour (hours or FTE numbers being easily measurable) whilst quality of that labour (skill levels, experience, morale), raw materials, SFGs (semi-finished goods), capital investments, IT systems and corporate knowledge are all ignored

The result is most national productivity figures cannot be trusted for an ‘accurate fix’ on the current national position, nor trends being followed, nor relative productivity gaps with other nations

Dare to claim this in public and the only credible defence one hears is: “They’re the best and only measures we have”

One response heard is: “If that is so, then ignore them – better to stick your finger in the air and just hope”

We say: “Surely it is not beyond the wit of man to find a set of measures useful to those on any bridge which helps them avoid rocks ahead, take advantage of wind-shifts and compete with the rest of the fleet”

CONCLUSIONS:

  • Officials should accept that, at the macro level, it’s impossible to measure productivity in any useful way
  • What ministers at national level and managers at organisation level need is first, an alarm bell system to warn of dangers and opportunities ahead – then a framework of measures enabling them to drill down to levels where productivity measures are meaningful and useful
  • Only then, would ‘officers on watch’ have a suite of productivity measures which put them in good control for navigating their ships safely

 

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