This paper analyses results from a survey of 962 Australian manufacturing companies in order to identify some of the factors critical for successful agile organizations in managing their supply chains. Analysis of the survey results provided some interesting insights into factors differentiating...

Presents a comparative analysis of the attitudes to and the use of quality management practices (QMP) in Australia’s manufacturing and service industries. Outlines the survey methodologies, lists questions asked and summarizes responses to them. Identifies and comments on statistically...

This article uses data collected from direct observations made during visits to over 20 Asian companies over a period of four years (1992‐1995) and discusses the culture and managerial approaches of companies located in Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. The main objective of these...

This paper compares quality management practices in manufacturing companies in the East and the West. It uses data collected from three countries in the East, namely Japan, Korea and Taiwan and compares these with data collected from four countries in the West, namely Denmark, Finland, Sweden...

Presents the findings of a study which investigated the adoption of lean production methods in Australian manufacturing industry. Data were gathered through a telephone survey from 51 companies representing a range of industry sectors. The study found that a large majority of the companies were...

The manufacturing techniques used by Japanese companies to provide a competitive advantage have been shown by Japan′s outstanding economic performance to be effective over a long period of time. This effectiveness can be measured in terms of the performance of manufacturing systems or by the...

Manufacturing organizations need to develop and maintain competitive advantage in an increasingly turbulent environment. To do this, manufacturing organizations need to rethink the way in which they manage their business. Are they prepared for the challenge? Analyses the role of Australian...

Describes the development and testing in a factory setting of a model of the employee organizational commitment process. Extended from early work in the field, the commitment‐performance model (C‐P model) builds up a structure which links effort and continuance commitment with employee...

Based on interviews conducted with senior managers of four German multinationals, discusses issues of technology management in the context of global manufacturing. An overview of the four companies and their competitive priorities is first presented. Then discusses the role of globalisation and...