The People Dimension: Managing the Transition to World-Class Manufacturing Book

To succeed in a highly complex marketplace, companies must address not only the technical aspects of world-class manufacturing, but the people side as well. Management must recognize that employees are its most valuable asset and then structure its practices to reflect this commitment. In The People Dimension: Managing the Transition to Manufacturing, authors Ronald J. Recardo and Luigi A. Peluso discuss what it takes to balance a company's technology, business, and people systems so as to be competitive in the world market. They provide a conceptual framework for a company to make the transition to world-class manufacturing performance and identify the key factors that are required to institutionalize such initiatives as Just-In-Time, Total Quality Management, and Administrative Productivity Improvement in an organization. Critical human factors such as employee involvement, reward and recognition, total systems integration, and communication and education are discussed and commonly-used programs -- quality circles, suggestion systems, skill-based pay plans, and profit sharing and gainsharing plans -- are compared and evaluated. A number of case studies are also presented to illustrate the successful application of each program. Most companies have the in-house talent to address the technical aspects of manufacturing, but lack the skills to integrate technical and people issues. This text will prove invaluable to those in middle and senior level management who are interested in leveraging the capabilities of their company's workforce.Read More