THE IMPACT OF WORLD-CLASS MANUFACTURING PRACTICES ON SMALL MANUFACTURERS - by
David K. Johnson

Chapter Summary

The literature review revealed vast amounts of descriptive publications on the topic of world-class manufacturing. Empirical research on the subject has, however, lagged and is not nearly as plentiful. The following graph (figure 2) summarizes the nature of empirical literature encountered. Each of the publications, outlined in table 1 were classified according to subject matter and size of companies which were included in the studies. Figure 2 The Nature of Prior Research.

As the graph shows, research on the topic of world-class manufacturing has primarily focused on large companies. This is unfortunate, considering the enormous impact that small manufacturers have on the U.S. economy. Some research does exist on the topics of lean manufacturing and quality as they relate to small manufactures, but it is by no means extensive. Even less research has been conducted relating small manufacturers to the topics of supply-chain management and the relationships between world-class manufacturing categories (Supply-chain management, Lean manufacturing, and Quality). This thesis is an attempt to build on the existing research by applying world-class manufacturing concepts to small manufacturers.

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Copyright © 2005. David K. Johnson. All Rights Reserved.