Productivity workshop, ca. 1983 Established in 1980 to promote and highlight the issue of productivity and efficiency among small and medium-size Oregon businesses, the Oregon Productivity Center (OPC) conducted productivity management workshops throughout the state like the one pictured here. Having been established through grant funding from the federal government, OPC reported directly to the OSU President and the Dean of the Engineering School. Despite its success in creating a technique designed to measure business efficiency called the Productivity By the Objectives Matrix, OPC disbanded in 1988 after failing to secure a renewal of federal funds. [OSU Archives P238]
Oregon Productivity Center Records (RG 219)
1971-1988 (inclusive), 1981-1988 (bulk)
1 cubic foot
Scope and Content Note
The records of the Oregon Productivity Center are organized into 6 series. Series I consists of correspondence on the EDA (Economic Development Administration) University Center Program, productivity workshops sponsored by the Center, and Oregon small business development. Series II contains grant proposals submitted to EDA, the Oregon Economic Action Council, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other governmental agencies for funding of specific research projects and of the administrative operations of the Center. Included with the proposals are budgetary materials, correspondence, informational materials, articles, and reports.
Series III consists of manuals and reports from the EDA regarding procedural guidelines and requirements for the administration of University Center Programs. Series IV contains reports on the overall University Center Program, an assessment of the Oregon Productivity Center, and annual/semi-annual reports and work plans of the Center. Series V consists primarily of publications printed for sale and/or distribution by the Center which relate to the Center's work in business management and the Productivity By the Objectives Matrix (OMX) technique developed there. Series VI is a scrapbook containing correspondence and newspaper clippings dating from 1980 to 1984 and pertaining to the Oregon Productivity Center, its staff, and Oregon's economic climate.
Historical Note
Having reported directly to the OSU President and the Dean of the Engineering School, the Oregon Productivity Center was established in 1980 with grant funding from the federal government through the Economic Development Administration (EDA). The Center was funded as a part of EDA's University Center Program and was one of several University-affiliated organizations nationwide to receive such grants. In its role of promoting and highlighting the issue of business productivity and efficiency among small and medium-size Oregon businesses, the Center conducted seminars on management, published a newsletter on productivity, and developed a management technique designed to measure business efficiency called Productivity By the Objectives Matrix (OMX). In 1988, after failure to secure the renewal of EDA funding, the Center disbanded.
Related Materials
Other documentation in the Archives pertaining to the Oregon Productivity Center can be found in the records of the Research Office (RG 170) and the Office of Academic Affairs (RG 22). Photographs that were included in the scrapbook have been separated from the paper records and retained in the Oregon Productivity Center Photographic Collection (P 238).
Shelf Location
4/3/5/40
Inventory
Prepared by: Karl McCreary
