Maturity Analysis of Productivity Management System in Knowledge-based Companies (Studied Case: Shouka Iranian Company in Yazd Province)

EXTENDED ABSTRACT
 
Introduction: Industrial advances in recent decades worldwide have been the result of the activities of knowledge-based companies, and for this reason, the number and share of knowledge-based companies in the world economy is increasing exponentially. In such circumstances, increasing the productivity of knowledge-based companies has become one of the challenges facing societies; while measuring productivity in such companies is also accompanied by inherent difficulties. A review of research records conducted in the Iranian knowledge-based space shows that despite studies conducted to introduce factors affecting productivity in these companies, and despite the fact that about nine thousand knowledge-based companies have been established and activated in our country, no scientific effort has been made to analyze the maturity level of the productivity management system in these Iranian firms. In order to address this research gap, it seems necessary to consider the application of maturity models in Iranian knowledge-based institutions in order to measure and improve the level of productivity management system development. Recently, a local model was developed by a group of Iranian experts and introduced as the "Iranian Maturity Model for Assessment of Productivity System", which is abbreviated as the "iMAPS Model". This model attempts to cover all aspects expected from the productivity management system in the organizational realm and to provide appropriate criteria for measuring the maturity of each of them so that the optimal path for each enterprise can be set. Since, during the pilot implementation phase of the iMAPS model, ten Iranian organizations have been evaluated, and one of them is a knowledge-based company, this study attempts to present a picture of the maturity of the productivity management system in this company and compare its conditions with other evaluated enterprises.
Methodology: The present study is considered applied research from the perspective of the objective and, in terms of the nature of the data, it is quantitative research that follows a descriptive survey strategy. The data required for this study were collected from the Secretariat of the National Productivity Management Award (iMAPS); in this way, the official reports prepared to explain the maturity status of ten Iranian organizations evaluated in this secretariat were analyzed in order to extract quantitative data on the scores of each organization. Then, these data were compared and analyzed in the form of tables and graphs to clarify the possible difference between the evaluated knowledge-based company and other organizations. The tool used in the study was worksheets designed by the research team to record the data extracted from the reports. The cooperative company "Shoka Iranian", which has been selected as the knowledge-based company studied in this article, is located in the Yazd Industrial Park and is engaged in the design, production and installation of machinery for the production of synthetic fibers and various types of yarn. The reference model used in this study to determine the maturity level of organizations is the "Iranian Maturity Model for Assessment of Productivity System (iMAPS Model)". In accordance with the evaluation logic designed for the aforementioned model, the maximum score that can be assigned to each organization will be equal to 1000 points, and each evaluated enterprise will be placed in one of the seven levels of productivity management system maturity (including "primary", "introductory", "basic", "intermediate", "improved", "advanced" and "excellent") based on its score. The conceptual pillars of this model include four modules ("Infrastructure", "Process", "Sustainability" and "Effects") and eighteen elements.
Discussion and Results: The knowledge-based company studied in this study managed to obtain only 90 points out of a total of 1000 points of the iMAPS model; while the average score of the other nine organizations was 250. In fact, the aforementioned company obtained the lowest score among the ten enterprises. The maturity of the knowledge-based company studied was determined at the “primary” level (the first and lowest level of maturity). The highest percentage of points of this company (19%) belongs to the “infrastructure” module, and the “sustainability” module has the lowest percentage of points (4%). This result is also observed in other organizations evaluated. Since the difference in the scores of the four modules in this knowledge-based company is less than in other enterprises, it can be accepted that the balance of the four dimensions of the productivity management system in this knowledge-based company is higher than the others. In the “Infrastructure” module, the greatest success of this knowledge-based company (equivalent to 50 percent) was in creating an “innovation” infrastructure, and the lowest percentage of points (equivalent to zero percent) was assigned to the “Structure” element. All four elements constituting the “Process” module are in a “very weak” quality state. The highest score in the “Sustainability” module belongs to the “Culture” element; while this knowledge-based company did not manage to obtain any points in the two elements of “Knowledge Management” and “Revision”. In the “Impacts” module, this knowledge-based company has the greatest weakness in tracking and controlling “Economic Impacts” and has obtained the highest level of points in the first element of this module (“Environmental Impacts”).
Conclusion: The company under study (the knowledge-based company "Shoka Iranian") can, based on the weaknesses and strengths mentioned in this study, design and implement an appropriate roadmap for improving the level of productivity maturity; in a way that it can raise its maturity level to at least level six ("advanced") within a five-year period. Other knowledge-based companies can also benchmark against other organizations based on the findings of this study to fully establish a productivity management system; while the strength of knowledge-based companies is the element of "Innovation" that they can use to strengthen other elements of the productivity management system (especially the elements of "Information Technology", "Physical Infrastructure", and "Knowledge Management").