Aligning Competitive Strategies, Manufacturing Technology, and Shop Floor Skills

摘要

The ongoing explosion of "smart" manufacturing and sup- port technologies continues to raise questions about their most effective deployment in creating and maintaining a company's competitive advantage. Should we adopt new technologies to defend current competitive strategies, or change strategies to pursue new opportunities presented by such technologies? Should we use new technologies to replace people with in- Creasingly hard to find skills, or do smart technologies require Smart people? This article addresses those questions with find- Ings from an extensive study involving more than 400 firms.