(FORTUNE Magazine) – ARE AMERICA'S corporate chiefs perhaps slightly behind the power curve on the issue of white-collar productivity? FORTUNE recently picked the minds of CEOs at the nation's top industrial and service companies to get their take on productivity trends. In particular we wanted to find out what improvement, if any, they have seen in the effectiveness of their white-collar work forces. The plurality, some 39%, think that productivity among white- and blue-collar employees has risen at roughly the same rate over the past five years. And 21% think that white-collar gains have actually outpaced blue-collar gains. Maybe they know something that the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not, or perhaps the experience at their companies differs from the norm. As the preceding story makes clear, government data show that productivity gains in the manufacturing sector have vastly outstripped improvements in nonmanufacturing industries and among white-collar workers, where growth has been almost negligible. Tell that to the folks in the corner office, though. Not only do nearly 40% of the brass think that office worker productivity has kept up with that on the factory floor -- at least at their companies -- but one in six disagrees with the premise that white-collar productivity is a headache at all. Says Douglas Yearley, head of mining giant Phelps Dodge: ''Our white-collar work & force numbers 60% of what it did five years ago, but that reduced staff is far more productive. We addressed the problem early on.'' Others, clearly, did not. These are just a few of the findings of FORTUNE's latest CEO Poll. Conducted by the independent opinion research firm Clark Martire & Bartolomeo, the survey includes the responses of 204 chairmen, CEOs, and presidents of FORTUNE 500 and Service 500 organizations. Polling took place between January 15 and January 25. Respondents were upbeat on several fronts. Nearly eight out of ten corporate chiefs believe that office worker productivity puts the U.S. even or at a competitive advantage with companies abroad; only 16% think the U.S. is at a competitive disadvantage. Some 6% just aren't sure. The majority of CEOs, 57%, think the current level of white-collar staffing at their companies is about right. But don't take that as an assurance that your office job is safe. Over a third of the chiefs describe the number of support and service personnel at their outfits as ''more than optimal.'' Compare that with the meager one in 12 who thinks white-collar operations at his shop are understaffed. Says Harry Stonecipher, president of Sundstrand, a $1.7 billion aerospace company: ''Industry always believed manufacturing was the problem. Consequently, we let our white-collar work force grow out of hand.'' Now, he adds, ''we are bloated with excess management.'' William Bourke, chairman of Reynolds Metals Co., used to feel the same way. Says he: ''I had managers working for me who were always in meetings. It was as though they had no offices.'' Slimming did the trick. Today Bourke reports that not only has RMC significantly reduced ''report writing and the number of meetings''; the company has also been able to wrap up twice as much in sales with one-third fewer employees. Unfortunately, places like Reynolds may be the exception. In fact, a sizable minority of those polled, 28%, concede that their corporations have done a better job of increasing the effectiveness of blue-collar personnel than of suit-and-tie wearers. Why hasn't productivity in the white-collar ranks improved more? One reason, according to the chiefs, is that computerization has not been the panacea once proclaimed by the high priests of high tech. While 58% feel that productivity improvements from information technology have been ''about what was expected,'' more than one in four finds that the help derived from automation has fallen short of expectations. Observes Orin Smith, chairman of Engelhard Corp., a New Jersey catalyst, pigment, and additive maker: ''The key mistake that so many companies make is trying to automate what they've done in the past rather than using a new technology to automate a more efficient approach.'' Emmanuel Kampouris of plumbing products manufacturer American Standard cautions that if a function is not adding value to the business, simply adding computers is not likely to help. Says he of such waste: ''Don't automate it -- get rid of it.'' A common obstacle to improvement, cited by 17% of respondents, is the difficulty of measuring and checking the output of office workers. And 15% of the chiefs think the problem of white-collar productivity has been overshadowed by concern for blue-collar operations. Some say it's just a matter of time before things start to change. Notes Richard Teerlink, CEO of motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson: ''In manufacturing it's been conventional practice to measure the blue-collar worker. We haven't focused on the white-collar worker that way. We say that their productivity can't be measured, so we use it as an excuse not to. But that's a fiction -- it can be done.'' Many CEOs think that a new vocabulary of measurement, or what U.S. Bancorp chief Roger Breezley calls ''a whole different set of yardsticks,'' will have to be devised. The executives did not let themselves off the hook. About one in seven places the blame for lagging white-collar productivity on senior management. Kenneth Way of Lear Seating feels that professionals and support personnel need examples set in the executive suite. ''It starts at the top,'' says Way, ''with their productivity.'' Moreover, 12% of the CEOs think that unnecessary layers of management often prove inimical to improving white- collar productivity. A small group, 5%, of respondents believe business has not provided the right incentives to effect change. Albert Gornto of C&S/Sovran Corp., a financial services company, advises corporations to offer support staff ''a share of the pie'' if they want to see office workers do better. Jerre Stead, chairman of Square D Co., an electrical equipment manufacturer, uses cash and stock bonuses as encouragement for his white-collar troops to meet their objectives. Uncle Sam did not escape blame from the CEOs. Several say that government regulations force them to spend hours pushing unnecessary paper. Amos McMullian of Flowers Industries, a big bakery company, argues that productivity has been stifled by regulations saying, ''You've got to do this. You cannot do that.'' Richard Wollenberg, CEO of packaging material manufacturer Longview Fibre, says that most of the compulsory labor and environmental reports prepared by his staff go into files and are never seen again. Can white-collar productivity really be improved? FORTUNE's story on the subject in this issue says yes. But complacency, or ignorance, among corporate leaders won't help. Says James Bere of automotive supplier Borg-Warner: ''The fact is, we humans are reluctant and slow to change.''

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