Strategic management of technology for manufacturing operations

Abstract

It is pointed out that the successful management of technology furnishes a critical element in the formulation and implementation of an organization's strategic competitive choices. The links between the strategic choices of cost, leadership, differentiation, and focus, and the key aspects of operations and technology management involved in the formulation and achievement of the corporate goals are considered. A holistic approach to the management analysis process is presented, and alternative assembly manufacturing configurations are used as a vehicle for analysis. It is concluded that careful management of linkages can be a decisive source of competitive advantage, and it develops from positioning the organization in the competitive arena, and then moving toward adjustments in the end-product characteristics, transformation technologies, and operating-control methodologies in a cohesive, iterative fashion.<>