Dr Charles Douglas, Executive Director of the Jamaica Productivity Center, addresses the Jamaica Doctor Bird Chapter of the Project Management Institute, on the causes and possible solutions for chronic low productivity in Jamaica.

1. Presenter: Charles Douglas, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Jamaica Productivity Centre
Address to the Project Management Institute –
Doctor Bird Chapter
Tuesday, February 8, 2011

2. Productivity can be defined as:
A state of mind, an attitude that seeks the
continuous improvement of what exists.
It is a conviction that one can do better today
than yesterday, and that tomorrow will be better
than today.

3. A measure of how well resources are used
(Efficiency) to produce goods and services that
meet the needs, requirements and expectations
of the consumer (Effectiveness)
Productivity is everybody’s business
February 8, 2011
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4. Growth
Workers Government
wages taxes
Investors
Financiers
profit
interest
dividends
Company
depreciation
retained earnings
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5. Improved Standard of Living
Higher GDP › Higher Per Capita
Income
Contribution from higher productivity
Contribution from
Contribution from Higher Total Factor
Employment Productivity
Contribution from Quality of
Higher Capital Quality of
Capital &
Intensity Workforce
Systems
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6.  Partial Factor Productivity (PFP)
Or Single factor productivity express how efficiently an
entity is utilizing a single input factor in the production of
outputs (products or services). Example Labour, Capital,
Materials, Energy, Service productivity.
Output / Value Added
Labour Pr oductivity 
Total NumberEmployed
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7.  Total factor Productivity (TFP)
Measures the contribution to growth that is
not accounted for by capital and labour.
It includes the impact of factors such as
organizational restructuring, technology,
innovation, human resource development &
training, infrastructure, etc.
Over 70% of economic growth is due to
growth in TFP
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8. 2007 (constant J$, 1996 Avg. Annual Growth 1998-
COUNTRY & SECTORS = 100) 2007
Jamaica 219,624 -0.7
Manufacturing 454,578 2.0
Electricity, Gas &Water 1,329,968 1.5
Financing, Ins, Real Est. & 506,766 0.5
Business Services
Mining & Quarrying 1,690,887 0.4
Transport, Storage & 452,565 0.4
Communication
Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing 64,495 -1.8
Wholesale, Retail, Hotels & 277,369 -1.4
Restaurants
Construction & Installation 225,477 -2.3
Source: Estimated by JPC using data from STATIN
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9. Labour Productivity in Jamaica
Output/Worker Output/Worker Avg. Growth
1998 2007 Output/Worker
1998-2007
Jamaica 9,862 9,158 -0.7
Trinidad 30,954 51,916 6.0
Barbados 19,394 20,830 0.8
St. Lucia 10,220 10,886 0.8
Source: ILO KILM 18 database, Groningen Growth and Development Centre
Jamaica Trails Most Caribbean Countries in Output
per Worker (1990 PPP$)
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10.  Labour productivity growth of 1% per annum, it
will take over 3 generations (72 years) for a
Jamaican worker to be twice as rich as his/her
fore parents.
 LP growth at 2% annually it takes 1½
generations (38 years).
 At 3% less than 1 generation (25 yrs).
 At 5% about ½ of a generation (13 yrs).
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11. 11

12. 12

13. Relative Productivity in Latin America, 2005)
40.0
Chile
35.0
Argentina
30.0
TFP relative to United States (%)
Mexico
Brazil
25.0 Costa Rica
Panama Uruguay
20.0 Colombia Dom Rep.
Typical LAC Venezuela
15.0 Nicaragua Paraguay
El Salvador
Jamaica
Bolivia
10.0 Ecuador
Peru
5.0
Honduras
0.0
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0
GDP/Capita relative to United Stated (%)
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14. Synthesis
 Jamaica has been caught in a low growth low
productivity trap
 This low-growth, low-productivity performance at
the national and sector levels must be of great
concern to workers, government, employers & trade
unions - everybody
 This is because productivity is the most critical factor
that determines the country’s competitiveness, as
well as the standard of living of our people.
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15. Tocarry out its mandate, JPC must partner with the
widest number of stakeholders to assist in the
process of building a productivity culture or
movement.
Economic growth and standard of living is
contingent on productivity improvement
The united efforts of all our citizens is required.
It
is therefore imperative that the productivity
message is understood by everyone at every level.
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16.  A Cultural Transformation
Building a more productivity-sensitive culture
Example: Introducing productivity-related courses in the
curricula of secondary /tertiary educational institutions
 Enrichment of Labour/Management Relationship
A shift from “Industrial Relations” type activities to “Labour
Management Co-operation” type ones.
Example: The increased use of productivity-linked schemes
within business enterprises to remunerate and reward
workers.
 Improved Training and Developmental Programs for
Employees/Managers.

17.  Allocating resources to minimize or eliminate wastes
(interest of PMI & JPC coincides)
 Require that projects are delivered on time, within budget
and according to specification (interest of PMI & JPC
coincides)
 Minimizing re-work is about implementing projects
efficiently and effectively (interest of PMI & JPC coincides)
 Customer satisfaction – (interest of PMI and JPC coincides)
 More fundamentally, economic growth can only be
sustained through productivity growth – (here the interest
of all Jamaicans must coincide.)
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