Applications of Ashby's Law of Requisite Variety to the Practice of Manufacturing

摘要

Ashby's Law of Requisite Variety is used as the basis for a conceptual framework for understanding manufacturing systems within an organizational context. Manufacturing systems are represented as a network of interdependent system nodes, in which each node generates output variety that impacts other nodes, and must simultaneously absorb the variety generated by other nodes. Two examples - flexible manufacturing and Japanese-style Just-in-Time Production - are used to illustrate how the framework may be applied to better understand manufacturing systems. An interview-based research method for applying the framework within empirical settings is presented and discussed.