Manufacturer's Library

Manufacturing Renaissance, edited by Gary P. Pisano and Robert H. Hayes, A Harvard Business Review Book, 346 pages, $29.95, ISBN 0-87584-610-6

The past decade has witnessed a rebirth in the competitive landscape of manufacturing. Managers everywhere now share a strategic imperative to pursue world-class productivity, quality and flexibility in manufacturing. Organizations cannot compete in the global marketplace without manufacturing capabilities that match or exceed those of the best in the world.

This book collects 20 articles from the Harvard Business Review on manufacturing strategies and practice. The book offers lessons for developing strategic manufacturing capabilities drawn from the experience of leading-edge companies and covers a wide range of critical issues.

One chapter both describes and predicts the shift of manufacturing from an isolated collection of workstations to a system integrated with the rest of an organization's functions. Another chapter illuminates key managerial tools for increasing productivity that are based on reducing manufacturing complexity and confusion, as well as on a commitment to organization-wide learning. A third chapter provides a description of the Japanese post-war quality movement, analyzes the response of American manufacturers, and attributes Japanese quality leadership to the active participation of senior management.

The editors' capstone essay suggests that staying on top today requires that organizations reassess their strategic goals and focus attention on building manufacturing capabilities that support the strategic flexibility that will move them "beyond" world-class.

The authors are with Harvard Business School.

Click here to return to Table of Contents for the Intelligent Manufacturing November issue.