Insufficient management planning and control accounts for 37 per cent of
lost productivity, making it the predominant cause of lost output.
The latest annual report by Proudfoot Consulting said that although UK
productivity has actually risen in recent years, and "few doubt that
managers are busier than ever", far too many of them "are busy doing
the wrong things".
Based on 1,440 detailed company studies in Australia, France, Germany, South
Africa, Spain, the US and the UK, the report shows that companies are
continually failing to address the root causes of their inadequacies to improve
productivity levels.
It finds a catalogue of "errors, unnecessary repetition, confusion,
mismanagement, and other inefficiencies", which affect organisations of
all sizes in all sectors.
The study finds that across all seven countries, productivity output is
running at 61 per cent of the maximum capacity (85 per cent).
In comparison to the other countries, UK managers are among the least likely
to contribute to lost productivity. They account for 62 per cent of the
problem, while Australian managers account for 76 per cent.
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The report finds the most productive companies are found in
telecommunications (72 per cent of potential output), automotive (68 per cent),
travel and transport (66 per cent), and engineering (63 per cent). The least
productive sectors are manufacturing and food/beverage (57 per cent) and
healthcare/banking/finance/textiles (58 per cent). www.proudfootconsulting.com
