CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
New World Order
Computers Have Not Improved Productivity
Imploding Management, Fewer People Chasing
Crisis Management Solved by Communication
Investing Intellectual Capital
Economy

1608 -
1608 -    ..
1609 - Summary/Objective
1610 -
161001 - Follow up ref SDS 19 0000, ref SDS 18 0000.
161002 -
161003 - U.S. business productivity has declined, ref SDS 0 1883, and unit
161004 - labor costs rose significantly, ref SDS 0 2765, in the first quarter
161005 - of this year due to strong growth in employment. ref SDS 0 0697
161007 -  ..
161008 - Economists hope technology will improve productivity, ref SDS 0 6215,
161009 - but this does not appear to be aligned with factors that impact work
161010 - performance cited by Grove and others. ref SDS 0 3314
161011 -
161012 -     [On 980613 article in "Today's Engineer" cites declining
161013 -     productivity. ref SDS 27 2473
161015 -      ..
161016 -     [On 980905 Morris cited management practices to perform analysis
161017 -     have declined since the 1970s. ref SDS 30 0714
161018 -
161020 -  ..
1611 -
1612 -
1613 - Progress
161401 -  ..
161402 - Productivity Slowed Dramatically
161403 -
161404 - Received ref OF 6 0000 from Reuters' Internet Yahoo news service an
161405 - article on 980507 that reports productivity of U.S. business slowed
161406 - dramatically in the first quarter of the year.
161407 -
161408 - Economists expect productivity to improve later this year. see the
161409 - article at ref OF 6 2882
161411 -  ..
161412 - Reduced productivity is attributed to higher-than-average growth in
161413 - employment. ref OF 6 3989
161415 -  ..
161416 - Lower productivity creates inflationary pressures, but competition of
161417 - cheap goods from foreign markets restrains inflation by reducing
161418 - profit margins. ref OF 6 3034
161419 -
161420 -     [On 980807 article says companies having difficulties recruiting
161421 -     and retaining employees. ref SDS 29 2420]
161423 -      ..
161424 -     [On 981029 3rd quarter labor costs up again. ref SDS 31 5812]
161426 -  ..
161427 - Economists Hope Technology Will Increase Productivity
161428 -
161429 - Despite reduced productivity, some economists expect that, since
161430 - overall productivity gains during the recent 7 year economic expansion
161431 - have been impressive, productivity will become "better, not worse."
161432 - ref OF 6 2933
161434 -  ..
161435 - This is attributed to business investing in efficiency-enhancing new
161436 - technology. ref OF 6 4493
161438 -  ..
161439 - The article does not discuss the impact of poor management due to
161440 - information overload on overall productivity, which indicates a hope
161441 - that other technology can overcome poor management.
161442 -
161443 -    Drucker says management is the primary engine of productivity, see
161444 -    ref SDS 3 1504 and, ref SDS 3 2552, so either management must
161445 -    improve, or technology must remove management from being a major
161446 -    factor. This is only possible in manufacturing where, despite poor
161447 -    management, once a production operation is fully "debugged," it is
161448 -    less susceptible to daily mismanagement.
161449 -
161450 -        [On 980613 Today's Engineer article says computer has only
161451 -        improved productivity in manufacturing. ref SDS 27 2473]
161453 -         ..
161454 -        [On 980613 Today's Engineer says "tsaunami" of information
161455 -        overload reduces management productivity. ref SDS 27 3499]
161457 -         ..
161458 -        [On 980630 Project Management Journal article on Bell Atlantic
161459 -        calculating mergers based on assumed productivity increases
161460 -        from using technology to support management. ref SDS 28 4779]
161462 -         ..
161463 -        [On 980905 Morris cited management practices to perform
161464 -        analysis have declined since the 1970s. ref SDS 30 0714]
161465 -
161467 -      ..
161468 -     Evidence Shows Technology Reduces Management Productivity
161469 -     Information Overload Overwhelms Span of Attention, Causes Mistakes
161470 -
161471 -     Reports on 970919 of computers causing reduced productivity, see
161472 -     ref SDS 19 0000, appear to conflict with hopes for technology to
161473 -     improve management productivity.
161474 -
161475 -        [On 980905 Morris cited management practices to perform
161476 -        analysis have declined since the 1970s. ref SDS 30 0714]
161478 -      ..
161479 -     These reports reflect warnings that managers are rapidly and
161480 -     voraciously buying tools of self-destruction, ref OF 1 7515, that
161481 -     bring information faster than the human mind can convert it into
161482 -     useful knowledge. ref OF 1 3598 and ref DRP 3 0539
161484 -      ..
161485 -     Information overload overwhelms human span of attention, causing
161486 -     mistakes, rework, frustration, conflict, stress and extra cost.
161487 -     see "rework" in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' report on 971007.
161488 -     ref DRP 4 4172, received on 971008. ref SDS 21 0000
161489 -
161491 -      ..
161492 -     Experts Say Managers Need Time to "Think"
161493 -
161494 -     Grove's book says managers need to do analysis and ask questions
161495 -     in order to avoid mistakes due to ambiguity of mental maps. see
161496 -     review on 980307. ref SDS 24 3668  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers'
161497 -     report on 970328 cites need for "intelligence" to convert
161498 -     information into knowledge for effective leadership. ref DRP 3
161499 -     0000
161501 -      ..
161502 -     Grove says the "inertia of success" blinds managers to the need
161503 -     for change to meet new realities. ref SDS 23 4316  He cites the
161504 -     Information Highway as a new reality that requires "study" to
161505 -     figure out how to make it an asset rather than a liability. see
161506 -     ref SDS 24 3495
161507 -
161509 -      ..
161510 -     Executives Do Not Have Enough Time to Think
161511 -
161512 -     Recent report on CBS News 60 Minutes, ref SDS 25 0000, supports
161513 -     earlier reports on 970910 that executives do not enough time to
161514 -     "think." ref SDS 15 3479
161515 -
161516 -     Executives prefer "feel good management" that uses conversation,
161517 -     ref SDS 1 1331, rather than copious analysis that Grove says is
161518 -     needed for successful management. ref SDS 24 3668
161519 -
161520 -
161522 -  ..
161523 - Key Questions for Economic Forecasts???
161524 -
161525 - How do hopes for technology to increase productivity align with the
161526 - reality of human biology that has limited span of attention, as
161527 - reported by CBS News? ref SDS 25 8956
161528 -
161529 -     [On 980613 Today's Engineer says "tsaunami" of information
161530 -     overload reduces management productivity. ref SDS 27 3499]
161532 -  ..
161533 - What technology do economists have in mind that can expand span of
161534 - attention to empower managers with the time for analysis, planning and
161535 - preparation that Andy Grove says is needed for effective management?
161537 -  ..
161538 - Are economists' hopes for technology to improve productivity an
161539 - example of "strategic dissonance" unwilling to see the magnitude of
161540 - the problem, ref SDS 23 5517, that more technology causes lower
161541 - management productivity? ref SDS 0 3278
161543 -  ..
161544 - Do economists' hopes rest on IBM's plans to market "business
161545 - intelligence" that will improve productivity? ref SDS 22 0000  What
161546 - evidence justifies this hope? ref SDS 22 2716
161548 -  ..
161549 - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' report on 970328 found Communication
161550 - Metrics uses new tools and skills to produce, ref DRP 3 8449, the
161551 - "intelligence" needed for effective management on the Information
161552 - Highway. ref DRP 3 6172  Could this technology improve productivity?
161553 -
161555 -  ..
161556 - Rising Costs Reflect High Employment, Poor Management, High Risk
161557 -
161558 - Unit-labor costs jumped at a 3.8 percent rate in the first quarter,
161559 - matching its fourth-quarter gain, which was the biggest since a 4
161560 - percent rise in the third quarter of 1996. ref OF 6 5769
161561 -
161562 -     Rising labor costs occur with rising employment as marginally
161563 -     skilled people are hired and require training, make mistakes due
161564 -     to lack of training, experience, or caused by fatigue due to
161565 -     longer hours.
161566 -
161567 -         Turner Construction experienced these conditions on its
161568 -         project in Pleasanton, as reported by the Contra Costa Times
161569 -         on 970812. ref SDS 13 9400
161571 -          ..
161572 -         Earlier on 970707 the San Francisco Chronicle reported
161573 -         building boom causing labor shortage. ref SDS 12 9054
161575 -      ..
161576 -     Another factor is management overwhelmed by information overload
161577 -     reported in the article on 970919. ref SDS 19 2349  Efforts to
161578 -     "automate" management in order to justify "flattening" the
161579 -     organization chart cause fewer people to chase more information,
161580 -     resulting in "information entropy" cited in the U.S. AFIT study,
161581 -     ref SDS 11 0108, due to limited span of attention.
161583 -      ..
161584 -     Information that exceeds span of attention causes mistakes that
161585 -     require "rework" by managers which increases the cost of
161586 -     management, as reported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on
161587 -     971008. ref SDS 21 1273
161589 -      ..
161590 -     Management mistakes, including lack of planning and preparation,
161591 -     also require rework by production labor.  Increased management and
161592 -     labor costs increases unit labor costs as reported by Reuters. see
161593 -     ref OF 6 5769
161595 -      ..
161596 -     Information overload was reported by CBS News 60 Minutes broadcast
161597 -     on 980412, to impact productivity. ref SDS 25 0000
161599 -      ..
161600 -     Costs rise when management wastes 70% of the day in unproductive
161601 -     meetings due to lack of preparation, ref SDS 9 5902, and not
161602 -     enough time to think. ref SDS 15 3479
161603 -
161605 -  ..
161606 - Business Intelligence Empowers Management to Work "Smarter"
161607 -
161608 - On 980226 IBM announced plans to market "business intelligence" which
161609 - shows growing awareness of need to arrest information overload. see
161610 - ref SDS 22 0000
161611 -
161612 - On 971008 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported that Communication
161613 - Metrics produces effective "business intelligence" that expands span
161614 - of attention and this reduces the mistakes that cause rework with the
161615 - result that management is more effective so costs are contained. ref
161616 - SDS 17 2979
161617 -
161618 -
161619 -
1617 -