Poor Management Cause of Low Productivity?

I read this blog post today that discusses a Wall Street Journal Europe article from the beginning of September. Apparently, an extensive study of European employees demonstrates that low productivity (vs. the US), rather than being a function of technological inferiority, is more strongly correlated with "insufficient management planning and control and of providing inadequate supervision."

At the end of the post, the author asks, "If jobs in the U.S. are migrating to Asia, well then what the heck is going to happen in Europe? They have a whole lot of heavy lifting to do to catch up with us in terms of productivity -- and, apparently, a lot fewer days each year and hours each week to accomplish it . . . "

So, what do you think about this?

Comments

[Jackie Danicki]

Hmm, I wonder if all the bureaucracy and unnecessary regulations on employers have anything to do with European productivity problems?

[Dragos]

For a good reference you could also read this pdf study done by Timbro - a Swedish tink tank. My take is that it has also to do with the laisez-faire Europeans tend to have as opposed to Americans who are more work-oriented.

[laurent bervas]

I agree with both of you. Bureaucracy is a main concern, especially in France (My country).
But I believe the real problem is not only Europe, productivity, bureaucracy ...

The "old" economy, the old europe, the old world, the old politiciens don't like changes.
Take the exemple of "old" CEOs. They don't wan't to change their habits. They don't understand blogging, saying the truth, being concerned by others ...

The new economy (the new world), is not just the futur, it's the present, our present.
Thinks are changing very fast and there are so much people that don't like that :
georges bush's employers, bill gates's share holders, ...

The problem in France (in Europe?) is that the media are telling that young people are not concerned. In their point of view, the problem is the youth.

In my opinion, the problem is the old spirite. Young people are ready for action. Just give them a reason to fight.

...