Productivity could be defined in many ways, but generally, it means refers to the optimum utilisation of limited resources to deliver the best product or outcome.
I believe Sri Lankans are less productive than citizens of its neighbouring countries such as India and Bangladesh. The reason for this would be competition. Healthy competition tends to increase the productivity of the market players, driving them to be more efficient, given the fact that there are many others in the market, waiting for an opportunity to grab a bigger share.
Competition in the Sri Lankan market is less intensive compared to other neighbouring nations. Therefore, the markets should be made more competitive. This will indirectly boost the productivity and efficiency of Sri Lankans. However, responsible authorities should ensure to maintain a healthy competition as an extensive competition could lead to irregularities and unlawful practices.
Latest definition of productivity is “maximum usage of available resources while protecting the environment.”
How can we do this? And then how can we improve productivity?
We have to consider the private sector and the government sector separately for starters, and then move on to individual productivity.
Though the private sector is known to be more productive than the government, nowadays, the productivity of individuals in the private sector has been affected due to various reasons. Although there are restrictions to access social media during working hours, there is no control since everybody has access to social networks through their mobile phones, and people are getting addicted to Facebook and other available networks. An average person spends one hour a day on Facebook, which very badly affects individual productivity.
Secondly, due to different types of demotivation such as ill-treatment by immediate supervisors due to various reasons and personal matters, individual performance is getting affected.
In government sector offices, you can very rarely see some sort of control over employees. They spend most of their time reading newspapers or shopping during working hours. Due to these practices, not only productivity but also the image of the government sector has gone down.
In small scale businesses, they do the maximum to improve productivity, but due to poor awareness levels they do not bother about the environment. Waste is dumped irresponsibly and chemicals are released to canals, rivers and the ocean, resulting in heavy expenses to restore these resources, which directly affect the productivity of the country.
In the private sector, every each department must have their performance indicators and based on same, objectives should be given and monitored periodically. In addition, required training, whether it’s motivational or industrial, must be conducted and frequent monitoring done to assure that the required competency levels of employees are achieved and to ascertain further actions to be taken for employee career development.
In addition, independent grievance handling is required to attend to the issues of employees.
In government sector offices, leadership qualities have to be implemented to control middle management. Since most of these organisations are considered non-profitable, their productivity can be measured through other ways such as meeting customer requirements on time.
By implementing customer satisfaction surveys, one can measure departmental performance and productivity, and go for further improvements.
The government must take initiatives to conduct free training for small scale entrepreneurs on recognised areas to improve their awareness, such as, why they should protect the environment.
We should not forget the most forgotten crowed – the house wives, those who can be trained and motivated to contribute to the productivity of the country, rather than spending their precious time in front of the TV.
The high debt and the interest burden to be settled pressurises the economy. Most of the funds granted through loans for infrastructure projects such as roads, airports do not appear to have been spent economically. Some of these are not generating income to reach at least the break-even level, and some see no viable opportunities of revenue generation. The Government has failed to manage its expenditure and revenue from imports and exports efficiently, resulting in unproductivity.
Consequently, the public have to shoulder a higher portion of this debt burden. The burden is much higher for the common or poor citizens, against those who are wealthy. This is mainly in terms of increased cost of living on essentials such as food. As a result of the drop in disposable income, people may have lesser amount for savings or investments. A higher disposable income, if available, could have been used for activities in relation to improving productivity.
Sri Lanka needs a disciplined and visionary leader as the president for a major transformation. As for the country, most of the power and authority are in the hands of politicians who are least knowledgeable. There seems to be no proper basis of allocating ministries to unqualified ministers, many who have not completed school education.
For this reason, they are unable to be productive. This is fuelled by their personal agendas, corruption & waste. If each government realised its own visions, statements, Sri Lanka would be better off than most South Asian nations. Alas, not a single government had a vision which could be extended and developed.
There are significant deviations in income distribution in spite of the country’s per capita indications. Many people who have potential to be skilful workers lack access to resources. This is further aggravated by limited or almost no access to career and market opportunities. Given the necessary guidance, we can be optimistic that these people can turnaround to be productive citizens.
Much depends on how work processes are simplified and streamlined. In certain sectors and industries there are compliance matters that have to be mandatorily adhered to. To a certain extent, this may demand extra time, effort, energy and man power for the learning curve effect to take off, However, this is not an excuse to not be productive.
Most organisations are productive at the strategy level. But the challenge lies in how decision making is being applied at operational and ground levels. This is also how a firm or a person can be really productive. Procedures and processes need not be lengthy, but should be user friendly and flexible for products/services to be accommodative and extendable. As such, even complex businesses can be laid out with operations that are manageable and not cumbersome.
It can be recommended that work processes are to be accepted by staff and not forced on them. Many firms and people should avoid the mistake of rushed modifications and changes. It is always good to have an independent view, affirmed with advice and suggestions from experts and core staff.
We should not ‘adopt’ these models; rather ‘remodel’ them to suit the local environment. We should not be restricted to an ‘economic model’ or ‘model concepts’ to make national economic plans or strategies for the private sector.
Sri Lanka has adopted trending models and concepts which are accepted globally. However, this does not guarantee that the nation is productive. There are government offices in which the 5S system is implemented but service and performance of such institutions remain to be far below the standards of productivity.
Private firms also operate, adopting various policies and procedures from time to time, thus creating duplication of work and over processing which leads to wastage. Yet we have failed to grasp such blunders.
If we are to implement a particular concept or model, its feasibility should thoroughly tested; while mechanisms should be put in place to follow up deviation post implementation and maintain the standard with continuous development. We should not be vague about adapting a concept but detailed oriented in order to be productive.
Outlook and focus are quintessential in handling operations that aim for productivity.
There are many lucrative areas for skilled workers in manufacturing and service sectors where jobs are directly woven around specialised skills, such as in technical services, care giving (for both male and female) and construction, in addition to stereotypical respectable service based jobs. It may just need a broader attitude. Confirmed by awareness of one’s interest, innate talents and focus, these mutually tie the employee and profession. Passion and skills ignite wholehearted commitment, while sharp focus helps to achieve specific goals – all these form a strong base to be productive.
The top tier management should also sharpen their focus and be proactive on behavioural aspects of employees who are serving in lower levels. There are many scenarios most of which can’t be noted directly, where employees are deprived and harassed by their supervisors or senior staff, the latter somehow proving their worth to the head of the firm. Such incidents cause resentment, and withdrawal from employees due to emotional stress. This also distances employees within the organisation due to office politics. After all, employees need emotional support – not widespread office politics or distanced corporate relationships with fellow workers. And finally, not barriers for productivity.
Jayashantha Jayawardhana -May 15th, 2017 at 7:27 AMnone
Comment author #1879 on HAVE YOUR SAY by LMD
There is not a single employer either in Sri Lanka or elsewhere, who doesn’t want to raise the overall productivity still further. This is so because in the simplest terms, doing more with less or getting more out of less most often translates into a better bottom line. In Sri Lanka, I believe raising the level of productivity at work, essentially involves creating a more positive work culture. In other words, most Sri Lankan organisations are filled with toxic work cultures where trust between the employer and employees remains abysmally low.
Rather than putting out lengthy lists of values which plausibly drive the whole organisation, employers should make a genuine effort to instil their work cultures with such values or principles as integrity, meritocracy, openness, fairness, collaboration and so on, while consciously trying to dissuade organisational politics that eat away at the very soul of an organisation. This will, among a few other measures, help create a positive working environment which is conducive to boosting productivity. Providing employees with the right kind of training, right technology and equipment and other critical work infrastructure is another vital productivity booster. Addressing unfair wage gaps and implementing other welfare measures too is instrumental to that. On the other hand, where identified, cutting excesses is a pivotal concern too.
While Sri Lankan employers do all that, Sri Lankan employees should think beyond ensuring their expected face time at work. In particular, millennials should avoid abuse of social media during their work hours under one pretext or another. Instead, all employees should honour their work commitments and learn to work smart. They should communicate with the management about the work issues they face rather than keep complaining. They should put an end to gossiping and backstabbing and help inculcate a culture of candour.
Sri Lankans have a steep climb to reach the pinnacle of productivity. However with a lot of hard work and determination, I’m sure that Sri Lanka can receive the tag of being productive citizens. Of course this cannot be achieved overnight. The Sri Lankan government has laid the foundation to achieve this objective by implementing the legal framework and establishing necessary state institutions.
The majority of Sri Lankans serving in the state sector are lethargic and contribute little towards the development of the country. So strengthening the human resource asset in order to give value addition and recognition to all industrialised workers is vital.
Measures should be taken by the state to instil a change of attitude and give the much needed motivation. Personnel serving in different industries could be given incentives to improve efficiency levels. There are several industries such as shipping and ship building, engineering, construction and manufacturing, where workers should be given on the job training and also be encouraged to be equipped with professional qualifications, so that their marketability improves. Unskilled workers thereby can be churned out as skilled workers. As a result, Sri Lanka can export a higher percentage of skilled workers to Western and Middle Eastern regions which will bring in enhanced revenue to the country.
For a start, let’s scrap half the holidays that Sri Lanka has! How on earth can a country compete with the rest of the world when it probably has the most number of holidays in the world? We know that reducing holidays is a politically sensitive matter but the time has come for someone with guts and the nation’s interest in mind to put his foot down even if it means he will lose his seat at the next election! Sri Lankans are utterly lazy and will take any excuse to take a day off so why give them more opportunities to stay at home and do nothing? It is time we move on from doing sweet nothings because the world is streets ahead of us!
Most Sri Lankans suffer from poverty irrespective of ethnic or religious groups. They are engaged in fishing or subsistence/semi-commercial smallholder farming. The incidence of poverty in agriculture and fisheries is 40 percent, second only to labour (45%). Working with traditional crops and traditional techniques and in the case of small fishermen, not owning boats generate returns that have not kept up with the rising cost of living that creates a poverty trap.
Integrating small farmers and fishermen into supply chains that help boost productivity, preserve quality and connect suppliers to international markets and better prices offers a pathway out of poverty; this connects distant regions to international markets and helps bring in foreign exchange. Productive, high-value farming can be a good livelihood. Recently successful agricultural exports are primarily fresh products, although dried and processed products have been showing potential as well. The government has shown its intention to link farmers with enterprises to develop the rural economy.
Productivity could be defined in many ways, but generally, it means refers to the optimum utilisation of limited resources to deliver the best product or outcome.
I believe Sri Lankans are less productive than citizens of its neighbouring countries such as India and Bangladesh. The reason for this would be competition. Healthy competition tends to increase the productivity of the market players, driving them to be more efficient, given the fact that there are many others in the market, waiting for an opportunity to grab a bigger share.
Competition in the Sri Lankan market is less intensive compared to other neighbouring nations. Therefore, the markets should be made more competitive. This will indirectly boost the productivity and efficiency of Sri Lankans. However, responsible authorities should ensure to maintain a healthy competition as an extensive competition could lead to irregularities and unlawful practices.
Latest definition of productivity is “maximum usage of available resources while protecting the environment.”
How can we do this? And then how can we improve productivity?
We have to consider the private sector and the government sector separately for starters, and then move on to individual productivity.
Though the private sector is known to be more productive than the government, nowadays, the productivity of individuals in the private sector has been affected due to various reasons. Although there are restrictions to access social media during working hours, there is no control since everybody has access to social networks through their mobile phones, and people are getting addicted to Facebook and other available networks. An average person spends one hour a day on Facebook, which very badly affects individual productivity.
Secondly, due to different types of demotivation such as ill-treatment by immediate supervisors due to various reasons and personal matters, individual performance is getting affected.
In government sector offices, you can very rarely see some sort of control over employees. They spend most of their time reading newspapers or shopping during working hours. Due to these practices, not only productivity but also the image of the government sector has gone down.
In small scale businesses, they do the maximum to improve productivity, but due to poor awareness levels they do not bother about the environment. Waste is dumped irresponsibly and chemicals are released to canals, rivers and the ocean, resulting in heavy expenses to restore these resources, which directly affect the productivity of the country.
In the private sector, every each department must have their performance indicators and based on same, objectives should be given and monitored periodically. In addition, required training, whether it’s motivational or industrial, must be conducted and frequent monitoring done to assure that the required competency levels of employees are achieved and to ascertain further actions to be taken for employee career development.
In addition, independent grievance handling is required to attend to the issues of employees.
In government sector offices, leadership qualities have to be implemented to control middle management. Since most of these organisations are considered non-profitable, their productivity can be measured through other ways such as meeting customer requirements on time.
By implementing customer satisfaction surveys, one can measure departmental performance and productivity, and go for further improvements.
The government must take initiatives to conduct free training for small scale entrepreneurs on recognised areas to improve their awareness, such as, why they should protect the environment.
We should not forget the most forgotten crowed – the house wives, those who can be trained and motivated to contribute to the productivity of the country, rather than spending their precious time in front of the TV.
The high debt and the interest burden to be settled pressurises the economy. Most of the funds granted through loans for infrastructure projects such as roads, airports do not appear to have been spent economically. Some of these are not generating income to reach at least the break-even level, and some see no viable opportunities of revenue generation. The Government has failed to manage its expenditure and revenue from imports and exports efficiently, resulting in unproductivity.
Consequently, the public have to shoulder a higher portion of this debt burden. The burden is much higher for the common or poor citizens, against those who are wealthy. This is mainly in terms of increased cost of living on essentials such as food. As a result of the drop in disposable income, people may have lesser amount for savings or investments. A higher disposable income, if available, could have been used for activities in relation to improving productivity.
Sri Lanka needs a disciplined and visionary leader as the president for a major transformation. As for the country, most of the power and authority are in the hands of politicians who are least knowledgeable. There seems to be no proper basis of allocating ministries to unqualified ministers, many who have not completed school education.
For this reason, they are unable to be productive. This is fuelled by their personal agendas, corruption & waste. If each government realised its own visions, statements, Sri Lanka would be better off than most South Asian nations. Alas, not a single government had a vision which could be extended and developed.
There are significant deviations in income distribution in spite of the country’s per capita indications. Many people who have potential to be skilful workers lack access to resources. This is further aggravated by limited or almost no access to career and market opportunities. Given the necessary guidance, we can be optimistic that these people can turnaround to be productive citizens.
Much depends on how work processes are simplified and streamlined. In certain sectors and industries there are compliance matters that have to be mandatorily adhered to. To a certain extent, this may demand extra time, effort, energy and man power for the learning curve effect to take off, However, this is not an excuse to not be productive.
Most organisations are productive at the strategy level. But the challenge lies in how decision making is being applied at operational and ground levels. This is also how a firm or a person can be really productive. Procedures and processes need not be lengthy, but should be user friendly and flexible for products/services to be accommodative and extendable. As such, even complex businesses can be laid out with operations that are manageable and not cumbersome.
It can be recommended that work processes are to be accepted by staff and not forced on them. Many firms and people should avoid the mistake of rushed modifications and changes. It is always good to have an independent view, affirmed with advice and suggestions from experts and core staff.
We should not ‘adopt’ these models; rather ‘remodel’ them to suit the local environment. We should not be restricted to an ‘economic model’ or ‘model concepts’ to make national economic plans or strategies for the private sector.
Sri Lanka has adopted trending models and concepts which are accepted globally. However, this does not guarantee that the nation is productive. There are government offices in which the 5S system is implemented but service and performance of such institutions remain to be far below the standards of productivity.
Private firms also operate, adopting various policies and procedures from time to time, thus creating duplication of work and over processing which leads to wastage. Yet we have failed to grasp such blunders.
If we are to implement a particular concept or model, its feasibility should thoroughly tested; while mechanisms should be put in place to follow up deviation post implementation and maintain the standard with continuous development. We should not be vague about adapting a concept but detailed oriented in order to be productive.
Outlook and focus are quintessential in handling operations that aim for productivity.
There are many lucrative areas for skilled workers in manufacturing and service sectors where jobs are directly woven around specialised skills, such as in technical services, care giving (for both male and female) and construction, in addition to stereotypical respectable service based jobs. It may just need a broader attitude. Confirmed by awareness of one’s interest, innate talents and focus, these mutually tie the employee and profession. Passion and skills ignite wholehearted commitment, while sharp focus helps to achieve specific goals – all these form a strong base to be productive.
The top tier management should also sharpen their focus and be proactive on behavioural aspects of employees who are serving in lower levels. There are many scenarios most of which can’t be noted directly, where employees are deprived and harassed by their supervisors or senior staff, the latter somehow proving their worth to the head of the firm. Such incidents cause resentment, and withdrawal from employees due to emotional stress. This also distances employees within the organisation due to office politics. After all, employees need emotional support – not widespread office politics or distanced corporate relationships with fellow workers. And finally, not barriers for productivity.
There is not a single employer either in Sri Lanka or elsewhere, who doesn’t want to raise the overall productivity still further. This is so because in the simplest terms, doing more with less or getting more out of less most often translates into a better bottom line. In Sri Lanka, I believe raising the level of productivity at work, essentially involves creating a more positive work culture. In other words, most Sri Lankan organisations are filled with toxic work cultures where trust between the employer and employees remains abysmally low.
Rather than putting out lengthy lists of values which plausibly drive the whole organisation, employers should make a genuine effort to instil their work cultures with such values or principles as integrity, meritocracy, openness, fairness, collaboration and so on, while consciously trying to dissuade organisational politics that eat away at the very soul of an organisation. This will, among a few other measures, help create a positive working environment which is conducive to boosting productivity. Providing employees with the right kind of training, right technology and equipment and other critical work infrastructure is another vital productivity booster. Addressing unfair wage gaps and implementing other welfare measures too is instrumental to that. On the other hand, where identified, cutting excesses is a pivotal concern too.
While Sri Lankan employers do all that, Sri Lankan employees should think beyond ensuring their expected face time at work. In particular, millennials should avoid abuse of social media during their work hours under one pretext or another. Instead, all employees should honour their work commitments and learn to work smart. They should communicate with the management about the work issues they face rather than keep complaining. They should put an end to gossiping and backstabbing and help inculcate a culture of candour.
Sri Lankans have a steep climb to reach the pinnacle of productivity. However with a lot of hard work and determination, I’m sure that Sri Lanka can receive the tag of being productive citizens. Of course this cannot be achieved overnight. The Sri Lankan government has laid the foundation to achieve this objective by implementing the legal framework and establishing necessary state institutions.
The majority of Sri Lankans serving in the state sector are lethargic and contribute little towards the development of the country. So strengthening the human resource asset in order to give value addition and recognition to all industrialised workers is vital.
Measures should be taken by the state to instil a change of attitude and give the much needed motivation. Personnel serving in different industries could be given incentives to improve efficiency levels. There are several industries such as shipping and ship building, engineering, construction and manufacturing, where workers should be given on the job training and also be encouraged to be equipped with professional qualifications, so that their marketability improves. Unskilled workers thereby can be churned out as skilled workers. As a result, Sri Lanka can export a higher percentage of skilled workers to Western and Middle Eastern regions which will bring in enhanced revenue to the country.
For a start, let’s scrap half the holidays that Sri Lanka has! How on earth can a country compete with the rest of the world when it probably has the most number of holidays in the world? We know that reducing holidays is a politically sensitive matter but the time has come for someone with guts and the nation’s interest in mind to put his foot down even if it means he will lose his seat at the next election! Sri Lankans are utterly lazy and will take any excuse to take a day off so why give them more opportunities to stay at home and do nothing? It is time we move on from doing sweet nothings because the world is streets ahead of us!
Most Sri Lankans suffer from poverty irrespective of ethnic or religious groups. They are engaged in fishing or subsistence/semi-commercial smallholder farming. The incidence of poverty in agriculture and fisheries is 40 percent, second only to labour (45%). Working with traditional crops and traditional techniques and in the case of small fishermen, not owning boats generate returns that have not kept up with the rising cost of living that creates a poverty trap.
Integrating small farmers and fishermen into supply chains that help boost productivity, preserve quality and connect suppliers to international markets and better prices offers a pathway out of poverty; this connects distant regions to international markets and helps bring in foreign exchange. Productive, high-value farming can be a good livelihood. Recently successful agricultural exports are primarily fresh products, although dried and processed products have been showing potential as well. The government has shown its intention to link farmers with enterprises to develop the rural economy.