The design and field testing of an organizational productivity measurement and improvement model in school foodservice

Productivity is a complex, multidimensional concept that is a major concern to managers as organizations are faced with decreasing resources. Therefore, the productivity of total inputs that are used to produce and serve meals in school food programs must be increased.;The purpose of this study was to design a productivity measurement system model, to field test the model in a school foodservice setting, and to investigate the effects of the model on organizational productivity when feedback is given, goal setting is used, and managers employ contingent incentive (praise).;This study contained two parts. Part 1 included the development and testing of the model for the productivity measurement and improvement system and methods to teach school foodservice managers how to use the model to design a system for their individual school(s). Part 2 was designed to study the effects of feedback, feedback plus goal setting, and feedback plus goal setting plus praise on organizational productivity. Job satisfaction was also examined.;A quasi-experimental nonequivalent untreated control group with pre-test, post-test and repeated measures was employed and descriptive statistics used to analyze the data.;The sample population was obtained from Queen Anne's County Public School System in Maryland which is comprised of ten schools, thirty-seven employees and one Foodservice Coordinator. The productivity dimensions studied were effectiveness and efficiency. The productivity measures were increased student participation in the school lunch program and efficiency of meal preparation. The Nominal Group Technique was used to determine Key Results Areas and performance indicators for each productivity measure.;The results of the study showed that the managers were able to use the model to develop a productivity measurement and improvement system for their schools and productivity improved for the experimental schools across the three interventions. The overall results of the job satisfaction data revealed a general improvement for the experimental schools except for "Present Pay" and "Opportunities for Promotion" and that the employees liked the productivity measurement and improvement system.;The results of this study demonstrated the efficacy and practicality of developing and implementing such a system for school foodservice. However, a longer test period is needed.