The last decade has seen a growing consensus that manufacturing matters. The factory as the producing unit is the core of the firm's manufacturing activities. However, even now, it is not agreed on or even fully understood what constitutes a well-managed factory. This article attempts to create...

A long-standing debate on incentive and reward schemes has taught us that employees are not motivated by money and resources alone. A fundamental emotional motivator is the seeking for status and recognition. Traditional conceptualizations of status-seeking behavior viewed it as a rational means...

A large body of work on new product development (NPD) has identified a number of general success drivers, which imply 'best practice' approaches in NPD. In particular, a newer market or a newer technology renders a project riskier and, therefore, requires a higher hurdle rate on returns....

Business Process Reengineering has been the most influential management movement of the 1990s, and like the quality movement of the 1980s, it has put management attention squarely on processes and operations. At first glance, however, it is hard to see any relationship between the precepts of...

The automotive industry has reached a mature state, as is evidenced by its growth and by the nature of competition (cost, speed, variants, a rush into a few growing regions and segments), and industry consolidation. In parallel, technical progress continues to be dynamic. In this paper, we...

The public debate in Europe is turning against business because outsourcing and off-shoring are perceived to destroy jobs, and corporate profitability is seen as inconsistent with a wage stagnation of salaried employees. Managers in Europe feel surrounded by hostile regulation, protected product...