Using the Brain as a Metaphor to Model Flexible Production Systems

Manufacturing flexibility is critical for survival in industries characterizedby rapid change and diverse product markets. Although newmanufacturing technologies make it possible to accomplish flexibility,their potential remains unrealized by firms whose organizationalelements do not possess adaptive capabilities. We use the brain as ametaphor to generate insights on how firms might design flexibleproduction systems. We chose the brain as a metaphor because it is aself-organizing system capable of responding rapidly to a broadrange of external stimuli. The brain as a metaphor suggests that flexibilitycan be enhanced by employing practices that promote distributedprocesses occurring in parallel manner. Such practices lie incontrast to those employed by production systems built on scientificmanagement principles that promote localized processes in a sequentialmanner. By exploring these contrasting modes of operation, weargue that the brain as a metaphor opens up new avenues for theorydevelopment related to the design of flexible production systems