战略柔性：一个世界级制造业新的现实外文翻译(编辑修改稿)

战略柔性：一个世界级制造业新的现实外文翻译(编辑修改稿)内容摘要：

expense to develop strategic flexibility. Phase 2: Understand that the manufacturing function39。 s performance links directly to corporate performance and survival. Understanding the importance of the manufacturing function and its link to corporate performance provides a focal point for management to think more proactively about building capabilities for the future. The poor performance of many major manufacturing firms during the last two decades was no surprise to many researchers. Companies that develop a clear linkage between business and manufacturing strategies tend to be more successful and profitable. This finding has substantiated the argument that manufacturing is indeed a key petitive variable, especially in those industries where customers are increasingly cost and quality conscious. Phase 3: Formulate and implement strategies that center on the development of skills, manufacturing capabilities, and lean organizational structures. The outdated manufacturing strategy based on mass production is not responsive enough to cope with rapidly changing markets and shortened product life cycles. In addition, production jobs have bee more challenging and conceptual, as routine and repetitive tasks are performed by automated equipment. The full benefit of technology can be exploited only when workers understand and control a large part of the production process. * Skills and knowledge A productive work force today must be highly skilled and flexible, characteristics that can only be developed through extensive training and experience in a variety of job assignments. Therefore, the workplace must be reorganized to promote continuous learning, which must bee a normal part of work life. Evidence suggests that not many manufacturers, particularly in the United States, give high priority and mit sufficient resources to training their frontline workers. Management needs to realize that maintaining and upgrading the skills of their workforce is central to their petitive strategy. Management must focus on the cultivation of multiskilled workers and stop treating them as replaceable parts or a cost to be controlled. In an attempt to find out why the improvement of flexibility has been so elusive, Upton (1995) observed that most managers put too much faith in machines and technology, and too little faith in the daytoday management of people (p. 75). The basic theme of a skills development program is to encourage continuous learning throughout the pany. Training programs should be developed in ways that are consistent with carefully defined goals and the availability of resources. More important, management should anticipate future skill needs, not just immediate ones. Complex puterbased production systems are likely to prevail. Training people to conceptualize, design, and use new production technology is as crucial as adopting the technology itself. Technology is often perceived as a way to replace workers, it does not mean that human resources are no longer i mportant in achieving petitiveness. Indeed, the only way for manufacturers to maximize their investment in new technology is to upgrade the skill levels of their workforce. As production bees more challenging and conceptual, because automated equipme nt performs most of the routine and repetitive tasks, investment in workforce skills development is increasingly vital. * Manufacturing Capabilities Strategic flexibility is not just about a flexible workforce。 it requires an augmentation of the workforce with advanced process and information technologies to satisfy customer demands. Advanced process technology, such as flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) and puterintegrated manufacturing (CIM), is crucial for achieving mass customization. An FMS can manufacture assorted p。