Establishing a productivity-based infrastructure in a technical organization

The critical nature of the link between management philosophy at the corporate level and design development philosophy at the operational level is discussed. It is suggested that through the balanced application of seven drivers of productivity, a proactive management philosophy can gradually be developed which generates a method for continuously improving the productive output of the organization. These drivers are proper resource usage, sound leadership capability, organizational effectiveness, consideration of interacting conditions and variables, consideration of personal relationships, effective implementation, and accountability-based assessment. These productivity drivers form the foundation for a highly compatible, focused design and manufacturing philosophy which is based on customer-centered performance, built-in quality, built-in reliability, statistically based operational control, concurrent engineering, cost-effective use of available technology, and sound application of all other resources