the main change is happening due to shift in demands of customers

8/2/2019 The Main Change is Happening Due to Shift in Demands of Customers

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Discussion of Production under Pressure

Question:

1. The author describes a change from mass production of stable product lines of poor quality to a

situation using new technology leading to broad product variety, short lead time and high

quality.

a) Why is this change happening?

b) What implications does it have for manufacturing firms and their operations?

Answer:

a) The change is happening due to new emerging trends in production due to shift in customer

requirements. The source of major changes comes from

1. Increased competition

2. Social changes

3. New technological advancements

These changes are consequently requiring the change in production manager behaviors to shift from

static skills to more dynamic ones. It is also requiring transformations in current production setups from

routine assigned tasks to broader production functions.

In mass productions era, the major concerns were production with a little attention paid to quality of

production, processes and system. However, shift in demands required a variety of product lines from

single production facility, reduced lead times, low costs and better quality posing new challenges for

production managers.

b) Author sees the change from mass production to era of new technology as a major challenge for

local industry. The change is posing a major threat to US manufacturing industry as industry and

production managers are not well prepared for the challenge.

Author raises his concern that many senior management members and production managers are

overlooking these changes. Rising pressure level and demands are putting managers under stress.

Educators and researchers are also unable to train managers up to mark for such challenges. The

specialized workforce is also not available in required number.

Author has characterized problems due to the challenge in three major classes

1. New Pressure from outside the firm

2. New problems within the firm

3. The impacts of accelerating technology



Pressure From Outside

There is a huge external pressure on the production abilities of the manufacturing firms and

their operations. These can be mainly categorized as increasing competition and marketing

pressures

Increasing Competition

There are two sorts of competitions that are putting pressure on the manufacturing industry.

These can be categorized as local industry competition and foreign competition.

Local industries having overcapacity and corporate objectives of growth and diversification has

made the local industries to expand their boundaries to new production lines. This has increased

the competition among the local industry tougher. Defense and consumer industries are looking

opportunities in each other. These factors are intensifying the competition.

Globalization is also posing a threat to local industry. Foreign companies are taking the lead due

to better price and quality. They have also removed their shortcoming of distribution and

service facilities.

Marketing Pressures

Companies are also facing intense marketing demands for shorter lead time, improved quality

without much impact on price and more immediate deliveries. Frequent new products and

modified product launches raise the demand to replace old uninterrupted long runs with special

run. Special runs in turn required more setups, different worker skills, special purpose tools,

unique processes and quality and production control techniques.

Pressure from Inside

As the author suggests, the internal pressures are always there with the industries but it is the

critical nature of change and other two factors which has raise the intensity of the problem.

Reevaluation cost control, manning the operation and handling the paper work fall under this

category.

Reevaluating Cost Control

The costs control has become a difficult task as indirect labor costs and fixed costs getting higher

in proportion than direct labor and variable costs. Change is work condition also posing

challenge that how to motivate employ through wages and incentives. Old techniques of labor

control are not being well enough to serve the task

Manning the Operation

Challenge to handle two diverse classes of highly skilled labor force and relatively unskilled

workforce put a big task in front of management. Low college fees and its recognition as quick

way of earning a job is a big attraction for youngsters but it is also drawing future potential off

the track. Management is also suffering from describing the right person for the right job. There

is a demand of work-force management change along with changes happening around in

environment.

Handling paper Work



The demand of new challenges is becoming a new better information system which would be

more complex rather than old paper work phenomenon. New communications and resulting

integrated systems are making production managers job even tougher.

Accelerating Technology

Technological changes are posing challenges in following ways

Equipment decisions

Newer equipment has enhanced various production aspects including productivity, quality,

product design but it has also made the equipment decision more difficult. New technology is

quite expensive than older one so careful decision is required for the equipment purchase as

there is a high degree of uncertainty about feasibility, reliability and economic life of the new

equipment.

Engineering Changes

From the mass production age where a single layout plan had worked for long time and

methods-engineering groups worked for them, the new workplace was having a shift to where

work had to be done for new products in bits and pieces. This problem was a big challenge for

the production manager as they had to devise the properly engineered layout for the jobs.

Materials and Processes

Another rising problem was due to constant induction of new materials and processes. Research

trends bringing new materials by every day in the market which not only posing a challenge to

adjust and make new processes and equipment but handling the manning, maintenance and

controls for them as well.



Q # 2

Demand of rigorous standards of performance with inadequate improvements in the means of handling

them is the major cause of concern for the author. He argues that managers lack in coping to the

demand of change because of the enlisted factors

1. Outmoded Tools

Production managers had outdated tools to co-op with the current scenario. Demands

of the current challenges were comprehensive thinking, requirement to analyze and

define systems for needs and jobs to be done, careful planning and co-ordination of

technological functions, work of people and informational procedures. Indirect labor,

introduction of new products and planning for integrated and flexible systems make the

current management tools ineffective to accomplish the task.

2. Adaptive Problem with Useful new methods

According to author, new tools have been developed that are good enough to cope with

the changes. However, there are some problems associated in adapting new

technology. First the major concern is complexity of the new tools. Training

requirements to understand and implement new techniques is higher. Moreover,

researchers have more emphasized on theoretical aspects rather than practical

applications of new tools. Simplified models have eliminated vital factors and are

inaccurate and misleading.

3. The Talent Shortage

The shortage of right talent to accomplish the task under current pressure

circumstances is also a concern for the author. In the past, production managers werepromoted from the lower production ranks to the higher ones. Business education

schools were also equipping the managers with the right education for their tasks.

However, both the industry and business schools were unable to equip the industrial

people with the right skills for the new work environment. Manufacturing engineers

were usually graduates from the engineering colleges and did not required much

business education for the production activities. Recently the trend was shifted and

even engineers now required to have some business knowledge to run the operations

matters more smoothly.

the main change is happening due to shift in demands of customers

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