That productivity drive shows no sign of letting up.

Company officials now say the combination of General Electric's productivity drive and Hungarian scientific ability is bringing results.

Sri Kantha, S: "Productivity drive".

But from the workers' perspective, a productivity drive can mean new sources of stress - longer hours put in off the books and the fear of following laid-off colleagues out the door.

Both government and private-sector workers have long shied away from traditional productivity drives, assuming either that more will be demanded for the same pay or that people will lose their jobs.

The BLS could then use its expertise in the field of productive efficiency to implement a productivity drive in each Western European country receiving Marshall Plan aid.

New risks But, according to Mr Roche, at the same time as a new emphasis on services may present businesses with new opportunities, there are challenges ahead for the overall economy, because "productivity drives [the] growth rate".

This is in line with Singapore's national productivity drive, where BCA introduced a S$250-million Construction Productivity and Capability Fund (CPCF) in June 2010 to help the construction industry build up a skilled workforce, adopt more advanced construction technologies, and enhance building capability in niche areas.