The strategic mindset of Australian manufacturing managers : some missing links

Manufacturing managers have a measurable mindset (or frame) that structures their response to the manufacturing environment. Most importantly, this frame represents a set of assumptions about the relative prominence of concepts in the manufacturing domains, about the nature of people, and about the sensemaking processes required to understand the nature of the manufacturing environment as seen through the eyes of manufacturing managers. This paper uses work in the area of text analysis and extends the scope of a methodology that has been approached from two different directions by Carley ( Journal of Organizational Behavior , 18 (51), 533-558, 1997) and Gephart ( Journal of Organizational Behavior , 18 (51), 583-622, 1997). This methodology is termed collocate analysis. Based on the analysis of transcripts of interviews of Australian manufacturing managers mind maps of the concepts used by these managers have been constructed. From an analysis of these mind maps it is argued that strategy plays a minor role in their thinking second only to the improvement domain, whereas design and related concepts play a dominant role in their day-to-day thinking

Manufacturing to Asia : who will win the emerging battle for talent between Dragons and Tigers?

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the issues relating to recruiting highly skilled managerial and professional staff experienced by multinational companies (MNCs) manufacturing in six Asian countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

Design/methodology/approach – Data collected from 529 MNCs were used to examine critical human resource planning and recruitment concerns of companies operating in high growth “Dragon” and newly developed “Tiger” economies. The study examined the differences in recruitment practices between manufacturing and service companies and the issues relating to how manufacturers maintain an adequate skills basis.

Findings – There appears a considerable extent of battle for talent among Dragon and Tiger economies with the latter required to be more aggressive as they attempt to sustain growth. Manufacturing companies are experiencing a higher demand for more job-related managerial and technical capabilities whilst competing with service companies that are also in need for more talent. To succeed, manufacturing MNCs will need to adopt a strategic approach for recruitment and retention, and internal capability training to maintain their skilled employees in order to sustain competitive advantage.

Originality/value – The results shown in the paper provide manufacturing MNCs with insights into managerial and professional recruitment trend in Asia.

Manufacturing consent in Iraq : interference in the post-Saddam media sector

The toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003 saw Iraq's media sector shift from a handful of state-run media outlets that served as propaganda machines, to a vast array of Iraqi-owned newspapers, radio stations and television channels which are being fervently produced and avidly consumed nationally. Not unexpectedly, several problems have accompanied this divergent, ad-hoc and highly volatile mediascape. Although recognizing important factors, including dangers faced by Iraqi journalists, and the dearth of appropriate press laws, this article focuses instead on attempts by certain key foreign and domestic political bodies to manufacture consent in Iraq via their interference in the post-Saddam media sector. These foreign influences are Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States, each of which funds, controls and manipulates different Iraqi media outlets. Not surprisingly, the United States has been the most active in this respect, utilizing both overt and clandestine propaganda techniques as well as forced closures to control the Iraqi media sector. Unfortunately, measures such as these are not limited to foreign governments: both the Iraqi government and the Kurdish Regional Government have used similar means to control and silence Iraq's nascent public sphere. The article concludes by noting the irony of limited press freedom in Iraq during this crucial phase of its transition from despotism to democracy.

Effect of manufacturing process on the final properties of advanced high strength steels for automotive applications

The performance of multiphase steels with high strength and improved toughness or ductility, such as intercritically annealed dual-phase (DP) and transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steels, is of key importance to the automotive industry. In this work we have considered the entire manufacturing process and the effects of this on the final product performance. These steels are formed to produce the required final shape and then the car is paint baked. In this work we also consider the effect of cold working and bake hardening on the fatigue life of the components.

Data with abnormal shift pattern in a manufacturing process

The data represents a shift in process variable presented in a control chart due to the sudden change in the machine setting.

Data with abnormal trend pattern in a manufacturing process

The data represents a trend in a deteriorating process caused by gradually increasing material variability and deteriorations of operator skills or loosening fixtures.