The U.S. Dept. of Labor in early November released a report showing that U.S. worker productivity rose at an annual rate of 4.9 percent in the third quarter, up from 2.2 percent in the second quarter and representing the largest increase in four years. The results were similar in the manufacturing subgroup of the economy. Despite the often-discussed chinks in the armor, the numbers speak to the dynamic juggernaut that is the U.S. economy, driven by the philosophy of incentives. Change, change and more change defines American business. Not too many years ago we bemoaned our own shortsightedness (looking at quarterly results, annual budgets or three-year strategic plans) while holding up the Japanese model that seemingly looked farther into the future. And then, when the Japanese economy suffered a prolonged slump while its U.S. counterpart overall continued to grow, thinking changed. Perhaps 'shortsightedness' is the wrong term to describe our business planning-a better one might be 'flexibility.'
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