Reduce the Units of Input Not Producing Output

Reduce units of Input (I) available but not producing Intermediate Cost Drivers
(ICDs). This action makes Input levels more directly variable with the quantity of the ICD by reducing the amount of the available Input that is wasted or idle. For example, an employee (I) might produce one subassembly (ICD) per day. During that day, the employee spends a total of one hour waiting for parts for the subassembly. If the Company could eliminate that one lost hour of the employee's work day by providing parts in a more timely manner, the Company could reduce the number of employees (I) needed to produce the same subassembly (ICD) by 1/8th.

A. Assist Input in increasing ICDs.

Eliminate unexpected downtime. The company may know that it will have occasions of unplanned downtime and may take steps to reduce or eliminate this loss of efficiency.

Warnings and advice

No.	Industry SIC	Year	Notes
1	0	2003	First, managers need to know what to specify- which attributes of the item they're procuring are crucial and which are not. Second, they must be able to measure those attributes so they can verify that they have received what they need.
2	0	2003	Strong cultures are based on two characteristics, high levels of agreement among employees about what's valued and high levels of intensity about these values. Some organizations are characterized by high levels of intensity but low levels of agreement, or what could be called "warring factions."
3	0	1986	An obsession with productivity and efficiency often creates a negative, penny-pinching, mechanistic culture in factories–a culture that has driven out and kept away creative people at all levels.
4	0	1991	One study of 56 unionized manufacturers that either ousted unions or developed cooperative relations with them in 1974 or 1975 found that those who tried teamwork reported a 19% increase in employee productivity, while combative employers reported a 15% decline.
5	0	2008	Managers need to learn how to bond with remote employees by close contact and clear objectives. Managers should also work to develop confidants whose judgment they trust in each of the countries or offices they oversee. When hiring team members for distant locales, hire candidates who are able to succeed independently because they are easier managed.
6	0	2008	By taking specific measures to retain skilled employees, companies can cut turnover costs and improve customer satisfaction. Many employees leave for better career chances or because they did not get along with the boss. Managers trained by TalentKeepers are schooled to recognize signs of employee discontent, build trust by recognizing employee efforts and not blaming them for mistakes, extending employee talents, building high-performance teams, and being more flexible and developing ways to make the workplace fulfilling and energizing. Another way to develop a work atmosphere is by stressing fun over drudgery.
7	0	2008	By taking specific measures to retain skilled employees, companies can cut turnover costs and improve customer satisfaction. Companies with good talent management practices retain employees for longer periods and outperform industry averages by 22%. At Prime Therapeutics, the turnover rate for call or contact agents fell from 47% to 40% after hiring TalentKeepers to help retain its workers. Prime Therapeutics expanded the role of contact agents by allowing them to deal with quality or members' satisfaction issues. They also allowed senior agents to coach and train others.
8	0	2008	Under-30 workers nowadays require a different style of management than before. Retain your best young workers by indulging in their hobbies. One LA-based company closed the firm for the day to allow one of their employees to compete in a national dog show while their colleagues went and cheered him on.
9	0	2008	Under-30 workers nowadays require a different style of management than before. They tend to overreact when they get upset because they were taught to express their feelings. Instead of berating them for their meltdowns, focus on their accountability to achieving key organizational skills.
10	0	2008	Under-30 workers nowadays require a different style of management than before. Because they are easily bored, stimulate them with a mix of challenging assignments, making sure they learn and grow on the job.
11	3559	1990	To motivate themselves, members of the multidisciplinary team at Milacron moved their offices closer together.
12	6211	1995	Salomon tried new compensation plan to ban excessively generous bonuses and linked compensation to the firm's performance, but the implementation was poor. Many were making $400,000 when they could have made $2 million elsewhere; so important employees left.

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