World‐class Manufacturing versus Strategic Trade‐offs

There has been considerable (sometime acrimonious) debate about the issue of the continuous‐improvement protagonists′ view and the(old‐fashioned) manufacturing strategy view of the nature and extent of“trade‐offs” between manufacturing performance characteristics. Seeks to explore the argument from both sides, starting from the necessity for major transformations in the performance of manufacturing systems over the next few years (the “challenge of transformation”). Explores the characteristics of“World‐class Manufacturing” and examines the relevance of trade‐offs in detail through case‐study illustrations. Develops a balanced view which argues that, while certain trade‐offs have been rendered irrelevant by market pressures and expectations, others have not and remain the key to the choice of technology, process and organization within the manufacturing mix.