RESEARCH ARTICLES

Critical Review of Research Articles

Critical Review of Research Articles

Executive Summary

Three research articles investigating critical issues factors, by Abdel-Wahab et al. (2008), Kadir et al. (2005) and Kazaz & Ulubeyli (2007) were critically appraised to study drivers of productivity or performance within organisations.

Introduction

Productivity is one of the most important factors affecting the overall performance of any organisation, large or small. At the micro-level, improved productivity decreases unit costs and serves as an indicator of project performance (Abdel-Wahab et al. 2008, 372-382). At the macro-level, improved productivity is a vital tool in countering inflationary effects and determining wage policies. Improved productivity is thus always counted among the basic means of solving economic problems. It is increasingly recognised that capital alone is an inadequate means of producing more wealth or for starting a business in developing countries. Improved productivity is also required; if all production inputs are well utilised, capital improvements and enhanced productivity go hand in hand. In other words, increased productivity enhances investments without any burden to governments.

Three research articles have been selected from various articles. All these articles focus on productivity and particularly in Malaysian, Turkish, UK and US organisations. The three articles that I have selected are written by by Abdel-Wahab et al. (2008), Kadir et al. (2005) and Kazaz & Ulubeyli (2007).

Analysis

Increased productivity can be obtained through the cooperation and collaboration of workers, and there are many reward systems to encourage enhanced performance among workers. Among these reward systems, a commonly used arrangement on construction sites is to share monetary benefits achieved through high productivity. Workers expect that their special efforts and achievements will be rewarded financially, and very few wish to receive globally increased wages in place of specific rewards for their special individual efforts. On the other hand, incentive payments can lose their novelty after a while, and it is apparent that non-monetary rewards often assume a greater importance. Improving productivity performance is a primary driver of the Turkish economic performance and long-term sustainable competitiveness (Kazaz & Ulubeyli 2007, 2132-2140). Accordingly, the UK government has developed a strategy for improving productivity, which focuses on five key drivers: improving competition, promoting enterprise, supporting science and innovation, raising UK skills, and encouraging investment (Abdel-Wahab et al. 2008, 372-382). Notably, government reports give the impression that skills hold the key to productivity improvement, a view, which is supported by its agencies. For example, the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) Strategic Plan 2005/08 stated clearly that increasing participation levels in training (which is one of the common skills indicators adopted by the government) by 5 per cent points could increase productivity by 4 per cent - boosting GDP by £40 billion.

Most recently, the UK government published the Leitch Review of Skills (2006). The review was commissioned in order to assess the UK skills needs by 2020 in order to remain competitive in a rapidly changing global economy. It has to be noted that this was a clear indication of the importance given to skills development and training in policy ...