The Productivity of Labour

Labour productivity is perhaps best expressed in terms of Added Value per man-hour. Unfortunately for the analyst, companies do not publish statistics regarding man-hours worked, nor for that matter do they quote their annual Added Value. For control purposes within a company, the Added Value per man-hour should always be used for the examination of productivity and productivity trends. In 1965 the National Industrial Conference Board-a non-profit, fact-finding organization in the United States–published a handbook entitled Measuring Company Productivity . While it is true to say that only a relatively few firms participate in an exchange of operating ratios, mainly through their Trade Associations or, in Britain, through the British Institute of Management, every company is able to assess its productivity by analysing Census of Production reports. The chapter discusses the measurement of labour productivity, and the relevance of Added Value in specific area of management activity.