Focused Improvement Programmes - Improving Productivity

Allan Lawlor (1985), Director of Action Learning Associates (ALA) suggests - based on his experiences in industry and education - that the four general stages in the improvement process are recognition, decision, permission and action. In the setting of the strategy certain key questions must be addressed (ie the recognition stage). A number of standardised approaches to the implementation of such programmes have been developed over the years.

The most common include the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) organisation development/performance improvement planning (OD/PIP) approach and Lawlor's (ALA) PIP approach. Despite the relative importance of the audit to measurement, Lawlor suggests that the audit stage should be carried out with some speed - the quicker problems can be identified then the quicker they can be solved. Wherever possible, the audit should be based upon a modified form of an existing accounting system, allowing productivity improvement to be integrated fully into the normal day-to-day running of the company.