Productivity and costs are crucial factors, which are considered in any organization or company focused on high profit and achieving its goals. Every organization is focused on achieving high productivity and reduced costs. Improved productivity and reduced costs are closely related and each of them directly affects the other in the process of operating a business. Methods of reducing costs and improving productivity have various impacts on the employ motivation. Reduced costs will enable the company to register high profits and it will raise enough resources to incur on employee motivation ( Ashcraft, Fogle & Cummings, 2016 ). Improved productivity will enable the company to achieve its goals and targets, a move that employees contribute a major part. The company will focus on the employee motivation, as a strategy to continue improving productivity. Improved production and reduced costs are related and have direct impacts on employee motivation.
Improved productivity and reducing costs are independent and mutual inclusive processes. When a company focuses on reducing costs, it will concentrate on certain activities, as the strategy to cut costs. Outsourcing is one of the strategies used by various organizations, as a method of reducing costs. The implementation of technology and other aspects might be prudent to the company or organization. In such situations, the organization should consider outsourcing personnel or dedicated the responsibilities to an outside company such that costs can be reduced. Embracing technology is another method of reducing costs in an organization. Many online systems and software programs have been embraced by any organizations, as methods of reducing costs. Such systems and programs can handle various operations and functions, which would have been handled by many employees. Organizations should cancel any services, which are not needed for a given period to avoid any unnecessary costs. Improving productivity is independent of reducing costs, as it involves different methods and strategies. Effective communication is one of the methods of improving productivity ( Baumers et al., 2016 ). Organizations should consider offering employees a working environment with open and honest communication. The lack of effective communication will force the employees to believe on gossip and non-business related conversations, which will affect productivity. Offering constructive and candid feedback to the employees is very important when focusing on improving productivity. Employees should be aware of their level of performance such that they can focus on areas that need improvement. Such feedback will help in improving productivity within the organization.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Reduced costs and improving productivity are mutually exclusive, as different methods are used when trying to achieve each of them. Employee motivation is interrelated with improving productivity and reducing costs, as each of them affects employee it directly or indirectly. When an organization is incurring high costs of production, employees will not be motivated, as the organization will earn a lower profit ( Ashcraft, Fogle & Cummings, 2016 ). The organization will not have enough funds to incur on employee motivation, and the efforts of employees will not be recognized. Poor productivity will greatly affect employee motivation. For an organization to achieve higher productivity, both the employees and the management should play their roles. In most cases, employees are blamed when poor productivity is recorded in an organization. In such situation, the employees will not be motivated, as their efforts will not be recognized.
The success of achieving higher productivity and reducing costs lies with the manager or supervisor in charge of production and other closely connected departments. For a supervisor to succeed in reducing costs, he/she should offer a strategy to the stakeholders or owners of the organization. For example, a supervisor should be responsible for advising the management on the necessity of terminating any service no longer required in the organization. The need for embracing technology in various operations in an organization should originate from the supervisor, as the supervisor interacts directly and frequently with the employees. Such interaction will help him/her understand the areas that need the incorporation of technology such that costs can be reduced. Supervisor plays a major role in improving productivity in any company or organization ( Baumers et al., 2016 ). The supervisor is in charge of communication between the employees and the management, and he/she will understand the level of communication. The supervisor will advise the organization on areas that need improvement in communication such that productivity can be improved. Additionally, supervisors should consider offering frequent feedback to the employees regarding the level of performance such that they can be motivated to focus on improving productivity.
Personally, I have experienced a scenario that the productivity was improved and costs reduced without affecting employee motivation. The responsible consultants in the organization that I was working with strategized on ways to improve productivity and reduce costs without affecting employee motivation. Such balance needs a planning on the steps and strategies such that one side cannot be affected. The consultants realized all the three areas; improved productivity, reduced costs, and employee motivation are very important to the organization. On the reduction of costs, the organization focused on improving communication between the employees and the management ( Ashcraft, Fogle & Cummings, 2016 ). Such improvement helped in delivering the required information to the management and the employees. Employees would report any unnecessary activities and services, which helped in reducing the costs incurred in the process of production. Additionally, the employees were motivated to continue struggling to achieve their goals and targets, as they felt being part of the organization. Production was improved as the organization embraced technology by procuring the required equipment and offered the necessary training. Employees were motivated to focus on improving productivity, as they would access efficient machines and equipment related to the current technology.
References
Ashcraft, P. L., Fogle, B. G., & Cummings, S. M. (2016). The AskIT Service Desk: A Model for Improving Productivity and Reducing Costs (No. LA-UR-16-25774). Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).
Baumers, M., Dickens, P., Tuck, C., & Hague, R. (2016). The cost of additive manufacturing: machine productivity, economies of scale and technology-push. Technological forecasting and social change , 102 , 193-201
