DailyPost 981
ACTIVITY PRODUCTIVITY INDEX
An activity productivity index gives the correct positioning and impact of any activity conducted towards the productivity of a unit or cumulatively the enterprise. If you take a random call of the activities unrelated to any productivity, you would be amazed to find that this is a substantial number. Whereas very few would have been created without a reason, large number of them fall into disuse and in reality does not deliver anything and at times are detrimental by its very existence. Who takes the call to discontinue or suggest a better deal by the combination of activities.
Mandated softwares screens, templates and management processes are created by design and after putting in huge amount of efforts and certainly does not have the dynamism to change as and when their is a technology or a skill upgrade and one particular activity does not serve any purpose. This is also the case in humungous bureaucratic structures which reaches to levels where the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. Cost is only one part for the activities which cannot find a place in activity productivity index, they add to the non delivery of the activities which would have otherwise delivered.
At the macro level the story is even crazier. What is total number of intermediaries and numbers of their levels in any area / sector / activity will decide the per unit cost of productivity terms. The creator cost final price gap would give us a fair idea as the to the nature for rot that has set in. This would be clearly manifested by the activity productivity index. The more you go below in this index that activity gains the maximum siphoning off capabilities. Administrative Reforms Commission has talked of a three layer decision making process.
Adding activity to the economic cycle is easy proving its continuous utility by way of productivity and profits is the challenge. It is difficult to do way with non-performing flab and departments and customers and the citizens bear the burden of the additional and useless costing. How agile can you be is the challenge? The customer and citizen should his moneys worth. Automation may turn out to be the leveller.
ACTIVITY PRODUCTIVITY INDEX CAN BECOME A TRANSFORMATIONAL HR AUDIT TOOL.
Sanjay Sahay