Leadership today and tomorrow (the critical questions that are facing manufacturing leaders in every sector of US industry)

Article Type: Abstracts From: Human Resource Management International Digest, Volume 19, Issue 2

Brousell D.R.Managing Automation, September 2010, Vol. 25 No. 7, Start page: 27, No. of pages: 4

Reports selected results of a questionnaire survey, undertaken by Managing Automation magazine, and involving over 200 senior-level manufacturing leaders across the USA, to gather information about the critical questions that are facing manufacturing leaders in every sector of US industry. Reveals that many believe that the key to a better future lies in the creation of greater customer value, with customer relationships, understanding customer needs, satisfying those needs, and retaining customers, being central to any future success. Explains that 74 percent of survey respondents said that customer satisfaction is their greatest strategic management focus. Concludes that achieving a higher state of customer satisfaction will require other changes, such as cultural shifts and the use of IT, while companies need to collaborate better with customers and partners, make better use of customer data, and apply techniques such as social networking and social media.Article type: ViewpointISSN: 0895-3805Reference: 39BB145

Keywords: Customer loyalty, Customer satisfaction, Customer services quality, Customers, Leadership, Manufacturing, Organizations, Surveys,United States of America