Lanterna Rally

Author: Stavros C. Nicolaou

Publisher:

Published: 1987

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13:

The economic situation of the United States has been and still is the subject of severe disputes among many leading economists. Some of these economists argue that the Nation's economy is stronger than ever and it will remain so despite the huge deficit in the Nation's budget. At the same time other economists argue that the economy of the Nation is only temporarily in good standing and that the huge deficit will soon bring the Nation to its knees. Out of the many factors that affect the total economy of the country productivity of its labor force should be singled out as one of the most important. It is therefore very important and necessary to improve productivity in order to give a strong boost to the Nation's economy. Productivity is a term composed by many variables relating inputs to outputs. It is a term that lacks specific definition and general acceptance, and as such it has caused marked confusion among executives and labor leaders. The construction industry is one of the most significant in the total economy of the United States; it employes 4.5% of the nonagricultural labor force. New construction annually accounts for more than 10% of the Gross National Product; the maintenance of existing structures represents on additional 4%. Construction productivity has been steadily on the decline over the last decade and construction labor efficiency has been often cited as poor. Since labor costs comprise between 25-40% of the total project cost, reduced labor costs present a great potential source of increased productivity. Whilea firms productivity is influenced by production factors other than labor, such as equipment, material, methods of construction, and management, these resources are inanimate unless they are tranformed into productive uses by the human element. The quality of human performance depends, in large part, on human motivation a major focus of this paper. So far, little has been done to raise construction labor motivation and thus efficiency In order to increase the productivity of the construction labor it is vital to understand the psychology of these labors. Finally ways to improve construction labor productivity are presented and discussed.