Focused factories - limited vertical integration, Strategic Management

Assignment Help:

Focused Factories - Limited Vertical Integration

Japanese companies prefer specialisation (derived from Adam Smith's theories on division of labour), with a limited or focused span of activity. They believe that with fewer activities to control, their abilities to master skills and improve productivity, are enhanced. There are some stark comparisons. The Singer Sewing Machine Company in Scotland, once had 14,000 employees working simultaneously on one site. Today IBM in Scotland who are engaged in the large-scale production of personal computers believe their plant has reached an 'optimum' size with 3,000 workers. Under no circumstances, would they allow their plant to approach the dinosaur proportions of the now extinct Singer plant. The issues of organisation and productivity are closely linked. Group technology (GT) This is a technique which is well documented by the British academic, J L Burbidge in his article 'The Future for Batch Production', 1985. Instead of laying out the plant by department specialism, it is considered more sensible to group product families together in cells. The purpose of their grouping is to improve material flow and span of control. For instance, less set up time is needed between parts requiring similar processing. More use can also be made of shared facilities. Group technology has been around for some time - it was widely used by the Soviet Union during World War II to produce tanks. After the war, it was imported to Europe. However, as the literal translation of the Russian is 'family planning' (which has other meanings!) it was altered to group technology.


Related Discussions:- Focused factories - limited vertical integration

Portfolio analysis, In portfolio analysis, the business views its product l...

In portfolio analysis, the business views its product lines and business units as separate investments, each responsible for producing a positive return. These separate investments

Identify suitable non-financial performance measures, Identify suitable per...

Identify suitable performance measures for an insurance company to detect false claims and measure the speed of how they are processing claims? Identify suitable non-financial p

strategic intent, Pick a firm, discuss the effectiveness of current strate...

Pick a firm, discuss the effectiveness of current strategy and make a recommendations regarding a more viable strategy and rational for that Choice. Background to the firm It''s cu

Mission statement, Craft a mission statement for agro based organization wh...

Craft a mission statement for agro based organization which makes it eligible for expansion

Strategic management, 1. “A mission describes what the organization is now;...

1. “A mission describes what the organization is now; a vision statement describes what the organization would like to become.” Differentiate between corporate mission and strategi

What do you mean by trade payable days, Q. What do you mean by Trade payabl...

Q. What do you mean by Trade payable days? Trade payable days (turnover)   {Yearend trade payables / Credit purchases (or cost of sales)} x   365 days This is the length

Tangy spices ltd, what strategic alternatives followed by Tangy spices ltd?...

what strategic alternatives followed by Tangy spices ltd?

Discuss the organizational structure of a restaurant, Question 1: (i) ...

Question 1: (i) In food production, the success of the operation depends on the Executive Chef and his various heads of sections in the main kitchen. What are these sections

Swot analysis, Before conducting SWOT analysis, it is essential to conduct ...

Before conducting SWOT analysis, it is essential to conduct internal and external analysis for the company. Internal Analysis Product quality and variety: The cCompany is goo

What are the essential qualities of negotiators, Question 1: (i) Critic...

Question 1: (i) Critically evaluate this statement: "Disputes can be resolved through use of interest-based negotiations only" (ii) Discuss the prerequisites necessary fo

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd