High Performance and Productivity in the Workplace depends upon 03 key areas. These are: • Operations Management: the set of integrated activities that creates value in the form of goods and services by transforming inputs into outputs. The study of the operations management looks into how employees and systems are organized to bring the product or service to the customer. • Human Resource Management: Human Resources or the work force of a Company are one of the most essential factors of production, which when managed correctly provides the very foundation of a successful business. As per Clegg, Kornberger and Pitsis (2011), “human resource management is a broad range of practices that include; o Attracting and selecting employees in line with the strategic direction and intent of the organization. o Managing and facilitating career development and achievement of employees. o Dealing with and keeping abreast of current rules, laws and policies in areas such as occupational health and safety, equity & diversity, and anti-discrimination. o Ensuring there are uniform procedures and company HR policy information available to staff and management on all aspects of employment.” • Data Driven Decision Making: As the grows more advanced in technology, artificial intelligence and data derivation each day, the availability of Data is becoming more and more important to organizations. Data derived decision making aims to make the best use of data generated, to increase company productivity. This review explores in-depth how these factors contribute to a company’s performance and productivity.

ANALYSIS:

Operations Management: Operations Management is the administration of the business which is concerned with utilizing the raw materials and human resources/ labour of the company into goods and services to generate maximum profit for the company. This is a very costly process which needs to be managed as efficiently and effectively as possible. To ensure that the Company does not face high cost of production, the Company needs efficient and excellent leadership. It is the Company’s leaders who are responsible for all aspects of the operation process. The Baltimore Department of Public Works replacing the old machinery with high tech digital water meters in 2013, although seemed to be a growth in the company’s efficiency at the start, ultimately cost significant revenue loss for the Company, (Baltimore Sun 2021). This case proves how much good leaders, and their decisions contributes to operations management which contributes to the quality of goods and services delivered, the suppliers used and other factors affecting customers and employees. The 3 functional areas that require operational decisions are: - Marketing: Good marketing of the Company’s goods and services generates demand - Production or Operations: Creates the output or the goods and services of the Company - Finances: Tracks on the Company’s financial performance. Long term success of every company depends on the Company’s sustainability in terms of the company’s profit and how the company contributes to the planet and the people (employees and community) as a whole. Companies today aims to commit to behave ethically and contribute to the economic development of the country using Corporate Social Responsibility. High reputation among it’s peers also contributes to a Company using its corporate social responsibility. In 2018, before the Pandemic, Google was the most reputable Company for corporate social responsibility, (Forbes 2018).

Since the Pandemic, the world and how it views CSR of Companies has changed drastically. People are turning to famous and successful brands to showcase their values, hold accountability and contribute to the communities and for a better change. Post Pandemic, Google continues to show how they excel at CSR by being one of the first giants, in terms to big brands, to provide contact tracing programme as a CSR example, (PR News 2020).

Human Resource Management: Human Resource Management bridges the gap between the employees and the management of a Company to help increase the Company’s productivity and performance. (HRD Connect 2019) “According to The Harvard Model of Human Resource Management, created by Michael Beer, Human Resource Management is a strategic approach to the employment, development and wellbeing of the people working in an organization.” This function deals with planning of the Company’s human resources to ensure there are no shortages, organizing and developing strategic goals for the development of its employees, performance management and evaluation of employee performances on a timely manner to ensure that they are directed to function efficiently, providing clean and safe environments for employees to work in and etc. An example of how employee safety is an important factor is how following the Pandemic, the World Health Organization released health and safety workplace guideline to be maintained for the safety and wellbeing of all employees, their families and communities and Companies big and small around the globe immediately placed safety measures in the workplace such as wearing masks, working online or remotely etc. A similar change in human resource management that was brought after the pandemic, is Facebook planning to change the structure of its employee performance reviews by 2022, (Business Insider 2021). The new changes are expected to better reflect the direction of the company with remote work in mind and to be guided by principles of fairness, simplicity and building for the long term.

Data based Decision Making The more data available, the more a Company can collect info on trends, patterns and insight which will help the Company to perform better and increase its production. The term “Big Data” refers to data that is so large, fast or complex that its difficult or impossible to process using traditional methods, (SAS 2021). Today, new tools, software, platforms and strategies are developed to analyze data which ultimately helps Company leaders in managing it’s operations and productivity. By analyzing millions of data every second, Amazon uses methods such as Dynamic Pricing – changing prices 2 – 5 million times a day based on shopping patterns, competitor prices etc. and Product Recommendation – Using product recommendation, Amazon earns 35% of their annual sales, (Bornfight 2020).

CONCLUSIONS: Operations Management, Human Resource Management and Data based decision making are key to successful Companies this post pandemic era. Should one of these vital areas of management be mishandled or lacking, it will lead to poor Company performances and productivity. However, what is beneficial to the Company may not be the best for the people or the planet. Amazon’s methods of gaining customers and profit by using big data analysis raises the question of whether it is ethical to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers just browsing the shopping websites, even though its beneficial to the Company. In terms of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability of businesses focused on protecting and contributing to the Triple Bottom Line, ie: the Profit, the People (employees and community) and Planet, raised many an eyebrow and debates on social media this July 2021 when a gas leak west of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula broke out of an underwater pipeline and literally caused the ocean to catch on a massive fire (CBS News 2021). After witnessing such a horrific event, the whole world has been questioning whether the oil/gas industry is even necessary anymore due to the immeasurable harm it causes the environment, further signifying the importance of the Triple Bottom Line.

RECOMMENDATIONS: • Develop a clear and focused strategic action plan to monitor the operational Management of the Company. • Review the performance of employees and provide solutions and assistance to develop their contributions and productivity. • Provide financial assistance to employees to complete work-related trainings and studies. • Conduct environment focused CSR activities at community level to contribute to the sustainability of the people and planet. • Acquire up-to-date software and tools to analyze data and big data.