Effects of a psychologically based management system on work motivation and productivity

Introducing group work as a principle of work organisation to increase prod uctivity in organisations operating in a globalising economy requires new m ethods of measuring performance in groups. This study describes the introdu ction of a measurement instrument as part of a participative productivity m anagement (PPM) system in a medium sized factory producing rubber compounds . Using a simple quasi-experimental design, the PPM intervention was found to produce an increase in productivity and was also related to goal clarity , but not to higher group cohesion. It is concluded that PPM helps to incre ase productivity mainly by increasing task and goal clarity, and that incre ases in productivity can only be reached reliably when no competing system of performance appraisal exists besides PPM.