To achieve productivity, firms must be able to cut through the "fog of organisational improvement" and identify the core of their businesses. Profitability, rather than productivity, is thus a more effective goal for a company to pursue, said SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business Visiting Professor (Strategy & Organisation Group) Professor Joseph Porac at the recent industry forum organised by the Institute of Service Excellence at SMU (ISES). Singapore's services productivity still lags behind that of economies such as the US, Japan, Hong Kong and the UK, he noted. This had given the national push to raise productivity - particularly in the services sector - clear imperative.