November 1996 € Volume 6 € Number 11

Survey Says . . .

Does your job pull you in too many directions? Does it require more effort than you can give it in an eight-hour (or nine- or 10-hour) workday? Are your responsibilities so varied that your goals seem nebulous?

Believe me . . . I feel your pain. And I can offer an explanation, too.

According to the results of Lionheart Publishing's third annual survey of subscribers to APICS -- The Performance Advantage, you simply have too much to do. Take a look at this graph:

These figures add up to 365 percent, which means each of you maintains job responsibilities in three and two-thirds mission-critical functional areas of your enterprise. This may give you a better grasp of the business as a collection of tightly integrated processes, but is it worth the price you pay in diminished (or diluted) expertise?

The survey, conducted for Lionheart Publishing by Stillwater, Minn.-based Readex Inc., offers up a world of interesting data. It helps us ascertain how well we're doing our jobs and directs editorial development in the coming year. We're encouraged by the feedback: 19 percent of our readers rate the magazine as excellent, 68 percent rate it good.

The survey highlights interesting workplace phenomena as well. For instance, while the overall quality ratings of the magazine have remained high, the average time a reader spends with each issue has declined substantially. Readers spent just more than 41 minutes reading 1996 issues, down from 48 minutes reported in our 1994 survey. We can only guess as to why that is. Perhaps readers just don't have that extra seven minutes of time any longer because their jobs require more. Or maybe they're spreading their time among more trade magazines in an attempt to broaden their knowledge of other business functions. Or maybe the World Wide Web and Internet news groups and mailing lists are cutting into the time readers are spending with the magazine. More than half of readers (57 percent) have access to Internet resources on a regular basis (37 percent have access from the workplace).

And while readers are finding less time for reading, I can put a positive spin on your situation. Because even though your are working harder and longer, you're earning more, too. Average pre-tax 1995 earnings for readers averaged $53,400, up from $48,700 just two years before.


Drop us a line
Our goal is to make APICS -- The Performance Advantage an indispensable resource for all APICS members, and every year we're encouraged by the progress we've made (as reported in the Readex Survey). But we'd like to hear from you personally, right now, if you have suggestions about how we can improve your magazine. You'll find my phone number and address in the masthead at right.

-- Gregory A. Farley