We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
Home » false economy
big picture

false economy

January 1, 2004
Peter Bradley
No Comments

In a recent column in The New York Times, Stephen S. Roach, chief economist for Morgan Stanley, questioned the extent to which the United States has made real productivity gains. He argues that measures of productivity used in the service sectors, in particular, are dubious at best. He makes a good case that traditional measures of productivity—output per unit of work time—are unreliable for workers in the information economy, and that government statistics fail to capture the true amount of time that people spend on the job.

His argument, if correct, has serious implications for the economy's future. Misleading productivity measures could well lure companies down the path of false economy. Consider the effect perpetual demands for cost cutting are having on the managerial level. Thanks to the blizzard of pink slips in recent years, many companies are struggling along without talented and experienced people who were once available to shoulder the burden. Those left behind are working harder than ever just to keep up.

That's not to say we're moving backward, of course. In the sector of the business world that we watch most closely, technology has unquestionably helped spur productivity gains. There's no denying that capital investment in the latest whiz-bang material handling equipment, for example, has gone a long way toward making labor more productive. But, as Roach argues, that has its limits.

The nearly universal lament among managers today is that they don't have time—time to read or plan or test new ideas or pursue additional training or simply think. Most executives take their jobs with them wherever they go. And even leaving the cell phone or laptop in the office offers no escape.While the tough cost cutting helps businesses improve the bottom line in the near term, no company, as has been argued many times before, has ever cut its way to growth.

Productivity gains in the supply chain are in large part about inventory velocity and accuracy, and much of the technological investment is ultimately directed at those goals. But the real leaps come from innovation, from those Eureka moments, great ideas that ultimately change our lives. Those things can't be measured on a productivity index, and businesses that fail to give talented employees at least a little breathing space risk choking off the supply of crucial and innovative ideas upon which they once thrived.

Business Management & Finance
  • Related Articles

    the "yeah, but" economy

    hard times, hard times, come again no more

    the ghosts of Smoot and Hawley

Peterbradley
Peter Bradley is an award-winning career journalist with more than three decades of experience in both newspapers and national business magazines. His credentials include seven years as the transportation and supply chain editor at Purchasing Magazine and six years as the chief editor of Logistics Management.

Recent Articles by Peter Bradley

From temp to management: interview with Diane Garforth

Watching over intermodal's interests: interview with Joni Casey

Building resilience into the supply chain: interview with Yossi Sheffi

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Survey: top supply chain risk of 2023 is semiconductor shortage

  • Big and bulky last-mile delivery segment set for hot growth

  • Outlook 2023: What’s in store for logistics/supply chain?

  • Ports, maritime operators see tide turning as ocean freight tsunami subsides

  • In Person: Steve Beverly of Penske

Now Playing on DCV-TV

89cfed30 8aac 4284 960d c8c8c1886e16

Have you checked your read rate lately?

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
No reads. Unaccounted for boxes. Boxes sent to the wrong place. A logistics nightmare! But this nightmare doesn’t have to come true. SICK’s linear line scan camera is what dreams are made of for your logistics operations. And if you’re worried about motion and vibration from conveyor belts...well, there’s no reason...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • The five best applications for robotic lift trucks in warehouse environments

  • Fulfillment Facility Improved Efficiencies by 4x

  • 3PLs: Complete Orders Faster with Flexible Automation

  • Reusable Packaging for the New Wave of Supply Chain Automation

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing