1 THINKING PRODUCTIVITY – HIERARICAL MODEL

Productivity improvement is an often cited driving force for progression in the UK construction industry. The UK industry remains a significant employer, thus the labour resource stands out as the most challenging factor in productivity improvement due, in part to the complexity of dealing with HRM in a fragmented industry portrayed as having an adversarial culture. In combination with inconsistency of both the definition and measurement of productivity this results in a confused interpretation of productivity statements at the industry level, and their relationship to production processes at the activity level. This relation is not linear, as is frequently suggested. As a means of developing productivity theory, a model will be presented that draws a distinction between different productivity levels. Consistency in measurement and definition of productivity is a pre-requisite to organisational innovation and development. This is important as not having accurate and precise benchmarks for productivity engenders the dissipation of energy in non-useful work and minimises advancement that could act as a basis for useful innovation