New Wave Manufacturing Strategies : Organizational and Human Resource Management Dimensions

Over the past decade, many companies have adopted new strategies for manufacturing, which have taken their competitiveness on to new planes. A whole array of initiatives, such as FMS, JIT, TQM, CIM, and MRP II, have been introduced. This book deals with the far-reaching significance of these new approaches - collectively labelled "new wave manufacturing". Considerable research evidence as well as practitioners' own experiences make one crucial point time and time again. The organizational as well as the human resource management aspects of these new strategies are critical to their success or failure. The underlying theme which is tackled in this book, therefore, is to what extent do these new operational strategies require a matching set of organizational and HR strategies? By looking at the issues through the joint eyes of production and behavioural analysts, this book provides an unique introduction to the new developments in manufacturing as well as providing an up-to-date assessment of the organizational and H R dimensions to these methods. New Wave Manufacturing Strategies has a vision which goes beyond the "new technology"/advanced manufacturing technology discussions. The chapters have been written in a clear, accessible manner by leading experts from Europe, the USA and Australia as well as from the UK.