High Performance Manufacturing: Global Perspectives

The most thorough, valid set of findings on global manufacturing and winning practices worldwide

This eye-opening resource sets a new standard for how manufacturing practices are viewed in today's business world. The results of an extensive research project spanning 164 factories in the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom determine the best path to high performance manufacturing. This is one of the first books to offer comparisons of manufacturing in these five countries, addressing their current issues and providing insights that affect manufacturing worldwide.

Researchers from such universities as the London Business School, Wake Forest University, Yokohama University, and the University of Minnesota detail how manufacturing leaders are raising the bar on practices in product development, organizational alignment, quality management, and more. Covering the vital areas of machinery, electronics, and auto components, they examine the most effective methods and techniques across a host of functions within manufacturing-looking at how everything from new technology and information systems to human resource practices and manufacturing strategy should be introduced into a plant environment to achieve high performance manufacturing.

Using data from companies such as Texas Instruments, Honda, Sony, Prince, John Deere, and Caterpillar, High Performance Manufacturing takes a comprehensive view by showing how to select and integrate the practices that best fit a plant's particular situation-the most critical and difficult task to achieve in practice. With its strong research base and high caliber of contributors, this unique volume will inspire managers of any country or industry to set their own path to high performance manufacturing.

ROGER G. SCHROEDER holds the Donaldson Chair in Operations Management and is Codirector of the Juran Center for Leadership in Quality at the Curtis L. Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. Professor Schroeder has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with high distinction, a master’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Minnesota, and a PhD from Northwestern University. Professor Schroeder is Associate Editor of the Journal of Operations Management and on the Editorial Advisory Board of Production and Operations Management. He is listed in Outstanding Educators of America and has won the Morse-Amoco Outstanding Teacher Award at the University of Minnesota.

BARBARA B. FLYNN is Professor of Operations Management and area coordinator at the Babcock Graduate School of Management of Wake Forest University. She received a DBA in operations management from Indiana University, an MBA with an emphasis in operations management and managerial economics from Marquette University, and a BA in psychology from Ripon College. Dr. Flynn is Editor-in-Chief of Quality Management Journal and Decision Line, and Associate Editor of Journal of Operations Management. She has held leadership positions within the American Society for Quality and the American Production and Inventory Control Society.