National Institute Economic Review · 1994 · 79 citations · 19 references
AgricultureIndustrial EngineeringManufacturing EngineeringFood ProcessingManufacturing ProcessesProduction EconomicsManufacturing TechnologyProduction FunctionsProduction Performance AnalysisProductivity AnalysisProductivity MeasurementRegional ProductivityFood Industry ProductivityManufacturingManufacturing ProductivityProductivityProductivity In Food ProcessingProductivity MeasuresSmall-batch ProductionWorkforce Productivity
Biscuit production in Europe differs by training and production strategy, with German firms emphasizing small‑batch, high‑value biscuits supported by extensive employee training, while British firms focus on large, automated, bulk production of low‑value varieties. This study compares productivity, machinery, and workforce skills across matched biscuit plants in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, and France. The authors assessed labour productivity by accounting for inter‑country differences in product‑quality mix and physical output per person‑hour. German plants achieved the highest quality‑adjusted productivity—approximately 15 % above the Netherlands and France and 40 % above Britain—attributable to superior workforce skills rather than equipment age, with quality differences as important as output volume, and large‑scale production gains limited by downtime and narrowly trained staff.
This article reports on a detailed comparison of productivity, machinery and skills in matched samples of food manufacturing (biscuit) plants in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and France. In comparing labour productivity levels, explicit account was taken of inter-country differences in the mix of product-qualities as well as differences in physical quantities produced per person-hour. Real ('quality-adjusted') productivity levels were highest in the German sample, an estimated 15 per cent on average above those in the Netherlands and France and about 40 per cent higher than in Britain. International differences in quality—as measured by value added per ton—were found to be at least as important as differences in crude tonnage produced per person-hour. The pattern o f productivity advantage could not be attributed to inter-country variation in the age and sophistication of capital equipment. However, there were important differences in workforce skill levels which could be linked to both relative productivity performance and the predominant choice of product strategy in each country. For example, in the German industry the mix of initial and continuing training received by employees supports a successful strategy of rapid growth in small- and naedium-batch production of elaborate, high value added biscuits which would be hard for the other three countries' indus tries—and particularly Britain—to emulate. In Britain the greatest success is achieved by large highly-autonzated plants engaged in the bulk production of relatively uncomplicated varieties of biscuit. Given the present structure of work force skills in Britain, it is understandable that—as in many other branches of manufacturing—British biscuit producers tend to specialise in relatively low value added goods. However, the study suggests that some of the potential economies of large-scale production are lost due to excessive rates of emergency downtime and the limitations of narrowly-trained employees.
19
National Institute Economic Review
National Institute Economic Review · 1975 · 553 citations
Economies of Scale in Manufacturing Industry.
M. Desai, Cliff Pratten · Economica · 1973 · 204 citations
Economies of Scale in Manufacturing Industry.
Laurence C. Hunter, C. F. Pratten · The Economic Journal · 1972 · 159 citations