Presents a robot control system dedicated to grinding large Francis turbines. The control system is based on an active force feedback system using a three‐axes force sensor attached to the robot’s end effector. This system offers high flexibility and robustness against workpiece positioning...

Early last century, for industrially‐developing economies, Fayol offered 14 principles of management aimed to help managers ascertain what to do to manage more effectively. Currently, service‐based and high‐tech industries are becoming dominant in some economies, such as the United States....

This article defines the new field of industrial ecology and identifies the fundamental premises which make this approach to the information society a significant improvement over current practices. The article compares the environment as overhead paradigm with the industrial ecology paradigm...

This article will describe a logical and efficient process of developing coherent national strategies in light of environmental forces that are present in the global market. It will then apply that process to the Federal Republic of Germany. The TOWS (threats, opportunities, weaknesses,...

In institutional settings, the decision to adopt technically innovative products is usually made jointly by individuals representing various functional groups. Each individual participant exerts significant influence over the adoption decision; and often the needs and concerns of various...

The success of several newly industrialized countries has created a renewed interest in the role of government in economic development. In contrast to the industrialization of the West, the government was much more involved during the development process of these east Asian nations. Attempts to...

Reports on a joint project between IBM and the London Business School, where over 700 factories have so far been visited in an international benchmarking study. The objective has been to understand how far they have adopted manufacturing best practice and what operational benefits they have...

Reports the findings of a study which examined the attitudes of East and West German managers to the process of strategic industrial change following German reunification. Acknowledges the importance of organizational and national culture, specifically in relation to the process of strategic...

This is a follow‐up of a study conducted by William Shanklin and published in 1988. He found a positive relationship between market share and return on total assets, but concluded that the absence of market share leadership did not preclude achievement of superior profitability. Attempts to...