Organizations improve productivity in one of two general ways, by improving operations or by increasing employee involvement. For each example below, identify which approach is being used.

Approach

At Zappos, bonuses are not just given out by managers to subordinates but can be awarded

horizontally, from one peer to another.

When giving advice to employees, managers might use the expression "Work smarter, not harder." Businesses can raise productivity by investing more hours in production (either by having more employees working or having employees working more hours, respectively) or producing more in the same period through innovative advances in process. Which of the answers that follow best explains why this mantra is relevant for managing productivity?

A. This mantra refers to managers who feel that their employees are not as involved as they should be in the improvement of quality and productivity.

B. Managers use this statement as a criticism of employees who ask for overtime to make production quotas.

C. This mantra suggests that employees have some control over production by identifying process improvements (rather than simply working more or working faster).