Productivity glossary at Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) in Japan

The Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) in Japan has a small glossary of words used when talking about productivity. It includes a definition of the 5 Cs (or 5 Ss) that many organisations in Thailand have adopted.

[Link to glossary]

Here is the introduction to their glossary which stresses taking a broad and open-minded view of what productivity is:

INTRODUCTION

The word "productivity" relates to the "output" (of goods and services produced) in relation to the quantity of resources or inputs used to produce them. Some examples of input are labor, materials, machinery, and energy. Productivity is basically concerned with how efficiently the output of goods and services is produced and the value created by the production process. In other words, if a product is made at the lowest possible cost with high quality and can be sold competitively on the market at a good price, then its productivity level is considered high.

The productivity concept is often expressed with this simple equation:

Productivity = Output/Input

As the equation shows, the objective of productivity is to maximize output and minimize input. Productivity can also be defined as the sum of efficiency and effectiveness. In other words, it can be stated as:

Productivity = Efficiency + Effectiveness

However, productivity should not be viewed merely as a narrow technical concept. It has many different facets too. The philosophical aspect of productivity could be explained with the following statement:

Productivity is above all, an attitude of mind. It seeks to continually improve what already exists. It is based on the belief that one can do things better today than yesterday and better tomorrow than today.

Indeed, the concept of productivity has evolved over the years to represent more than an efficiency ratio. From cost and quality issues, its scope has expanded to embrace social concerns, such as job creation and security, poverty alleviation, resource conservation, social responsibility, to business excellence, governance, and environmental protection (referred to as Green Productivity by APO). Today, there is also reference to productivity as ‘social productivity”, and the concept of “knowledge productivity” is also evolving. Such is the dynamic nature of productivity!

There are many different terminologies and acronyms in use for making references to these productivity concepts, tools, techniques, and practices. This P-Glossary is an attempt to explain these terminologies in simple language for a better understanding of productivity and related activities. The P-Glossary acknowledges the contribution made to evolution of the definitions by the various experts, authorities, references, and sources, too many to be singled out here. Please click the topics to view the definitions or to print.