战略柔性一个世界级制造业新的现实外文翻译学士学位论文.docx

战略柔性一个世界级制造业新的现实外文翻译学士学位论文.docx

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战略柔性一个世界级制造业新的现实外文翻译学士学位论文

中文3845字

本科毕业论文（设计）

外文翻译

原文：

Strategicflexibility:

anewrealityforworld-classmanufacturing

Thedevelopmentoftheconceptofflexibilityhasbeenslowinthemanufacturingliteraturebecauseoftherelativelystablemarketstructureandminimalcompetitivepressurepriortothe1960s.Infact,manufacturingwasnotconsideredparticularlyimportantintheformulationofbusinessstrategy.Asthecompetitivenessproblemsincreased,practitionersandacademiciansbegantorecognizethatmanufacturingstrategywasvitalinsupportingchangesofcorporatestrategy.Consequently,anumberofanalyticalmodelsandempiricalstudiesweredevelopedtoenhancemanufacturingflexibility.AccordingtoSuarez,Cusumano,andFine（1995）,mostempiricalstudiesonmanufacturingflexibilityserveoneofthefollowingpurposes:

（1）todeveloptaxonomiesofflexibility;

（2）toinvestigatetherelationshipbetweenflexibilityandperformance;（3）tocoverhistoricalandeconomicalanalysesofflexibility;and（4）todevelopstrategicframeworksforflexibility.Carlsson（1989）,SethiandSethi（1990）,HyunandAhn（1992）,andUpton（1994）arejustafewresearchworksthatprovidefurtherliteraturereviewsonflexibility.

Flexibilityisoftenregardedasoneofthecompetitivepriorities,alongwithcost,quality,andinnovation.Justaslowcostandhighqualityhavealreadybecomearequirementformarketentry,flexibilitymightultimatelybethekeytoenhancingafirm'scompetitiveability.Whileuncertaintycanbeathreattosomefirms,itprovidesopportunitytothosewithhigherdegreesofflexibility,eithermarket-orientedorresources-oriented.Firmsthatareabletodealwithuncertaintiesthattheircompetitorscannothavemarket-orientedflexibility.Byreducingmarketuncertaintiesorexertinginfluenceoncustomerexpectations,firmshavemorestrategicchoicesandcanadoptamoreproactiveapproachtocompeting.Firmswithhighlyflexibleproductionsystemshaveresource-orientedflexibilityandcanbemoreresponsivetothechangingmarket.

Bycombiningthesetwoconcepts,Figure1showsthedominantcompetitiveprioritiescorrespondingtothefirm'sabilitytocopewithuncertainties.Notonlycanworld-classmanufacturingfirmsadapttothechangingenvironmentswiftly,buttheyalsocaninfluencemarketdemand（e.g.,bycreatinguncertaintiesorcustomerexpectationsthatcompetitorscannotdealwith）.Bothreactiveandproactiveapproacheshaveprovedtobeequallyimportantandrequiredifferenttypesofflexibility.Insteadoffocusingononeparticulardimensionofflexibility,world-classmanufacturingfirmsneedastrategicperspectiveofflexibility-theabilitytoquicklyadjusttheircompetitiveobjectivestomeetnewbusinessconditions.

Inastablecompetitiveenvironmentlikedecadesago,acompetitivestrategysimplyinvolveddefiningacompetitivepositionandthendefendingit.Sincethecompetitiveenvironmenthaschangedrapidlyandunpredictably,however,newknowledgeandcapabilitiesareneededtosupportanystrategytocreateasustainablecompetitiveadvantage.Therefore,thegoalofthelatestdevelopmentsinmanufacturingstrategyistoattainstrategicflexibility.Competitiveadvantagecommonlyreferstothecreationofaproduction-distributionsystemthathasauniqueadvantageoveritscompetitors.Achievingcompetitiveadvantagedoesnotimplythatthecompanymustalwaysdobetterthanthecompetitorsinallareas.Thekeyistodocertainthingsbetterinmostoftheareas.Decidingwhichareastotargetisthecentralissueofcompetitivepriorities.Competitiveadvantagestraditionallyhavebeenaccomplishedthrougheconomiesofscaleandproductandprocesstechnology,butthesearenolongersufficient.

Competitiveadvantagethrougheconomiesofscaleisbestillustratedbymassproduction.Furthermore,HenryFord'sdictumthat"customerscanhaveanycoloraslongasit'sblack"stillconvincesmanymanufacturersthattheymustchoosebetweenstandardizationatlowcostorflexibilityathighcost.ThishasbeendisprovedbyJapaneseautomobileandelectronicsmanufacturerswhoachieveanoptimalbalanceofproductstandardizationandmanufacturingflexibility.

Thedynamicsoftoday'scompetitiveenvironmentsuggestthateconomiesofscaleandproductorprocesstechnologywillbeadiminishingsourceofcompetitiveadvantage.Asaresult,manufacturersareturningtheirattentiontobuildingtheskillsandknowledgeoftheirworkforce.World-classmanufacturersalsorealizethatcompetitiveadvantagecanbecreatedonlywhenthemanufacturingstrategyiswellintegratedwithotherfunctionalstrategies,whichtogethersupporttheoverallcorporatestrategy.Itimpliesthatchangesinstrategyarenecessarytocopewiththechangesincompetitiveenvironmentandintheorganizationitself.Therefore,thereisno"best"manufacturingstrategy,andallcompetitivemanufacturersshouldbereadytoshiftfromonestrategytoanotherasneeded.Theappropriatestrategydependsonafirm'sstrengthsandweaknesses.Twomanufacturingfirmsmaydevelopdifferentstrategiesyetbothcompeteinthesamemarketwithsuccess.Inaddition,stickingwithasinglecompetitivestrategy（nomatterhowsuccessful）oftenturnsouttobeproblematicwhentheunderlyingconditionschange.

Giventhedynamicnatureofthemarketplace,flexibilityhasalreadybecomethemostimportantcompetitivepriorityofthe1990s.Flexibilityisusuallyclassifiedbroadlyasproductorservice-related（suchasvolume,productmix,andmodification）andprocesstechnology-related（suchaschangeover,scheduling,andinnovation）.Whilethesesourcesofflexibilityareessentialtoprovidecompetitiveadvantagetomanufacturers,theytendtobeoperationalortacticalinnature.Toacquireasustainablecompetitiveadvantage,managementmustdevelopstrategicflexibility,whichrequireslong-termcommitmentandthedevelopmentofcriticalresources.Notethatnospecificmanufacturingtechniquesorimprovementprogramsareincluded.Instead,theemphasisisondevelopingskillssuchasknowledge,capabilities,andaflexibleorganizationalstructure.Thesearethefoundationofstrategicflexibilitythatallowfuturechangestotakeplaceasneeded;and,bestofall,theiruniquenaturemeansthatnooneelsecan"copy"themeasily.

Strategicflexibilityallowsamanufacturingfirmtoshiftfromonedominantstrategytoanother,fromonecompetitiveprioritytoanother,butalsoimpliesalong-termcommitmentofresourcesandaplanofaction.Progress,therefore,dependsonthecurrentstateofthefirm'sresourcesandcapabilities.Generally,strategicflexibilityisattainedthroughathree-stepprocess:

awareness,understanding,andimplementation.

Phase1:

Beawarethatonlystrategicflexibilitywillprovidesustainablecompetitiveadvantageoverthelongrun.Duringthelasttwodecades,qualityimprovement,automation,andadvancedmanufacturingtechniques,tonameafew,haveoftenbeenperceivedasapathtocompetitiveadvantage.Whiletheymayleadtopositiveoutcomes,anumberofempiricalstudiessuggestthatmanyfirmsfoundthemineffective.Manymanufacturersfocusedtoomuchontheformormechanicsofsuchprogramswhileoverlookingthedevelopmentofskillsandcapabilitiesneededtosupportthechanges.Resistancetochangeisgreaterifmanagementfailstoseethenecessityforchanges.Untilmanagementfullyrecognizestheneedforlong-termcompetitiveadvantage,thereisnoclearincentivetodevotethetime,effort,andexpensetodevelopstrategicflexibility.

Phase2:

Understandthatthemanufacturingfunction'sperformancelinksdirectlytocorporateperformanceandsurvival.Understandingtheimportanceofthemanufacturingfunctionanditslinktocorporateperformanceprovidesafocalpointformanagementtothinkmoreproactivelyaboutbuildingcapabilitiesforthefuture.Thepoorperformanceofmanymajormanufacturingfirmsduringthelasttwodecadeswasnosurprisetomanyresearchers.Companiesthatdevelopaclearlinkagebetweenbusinessandmanufacturingstrategiestendtobemoresuccessfulandprofitable.Thisfindinghassubstantiatedtheargumentthatmanufacturingisindeedakeycompetitivevariable,especiallyinthoseindustrieswherecustomersareincreasinglycostandqualityconscious.

Phase3:

Formulateandimplementstrategiesthatcenteronthedevelopmentofskills,manufacturingcapabilities,andleanorganizationalstructures.Theoutdatedmanufacturingstrategybasedonmassproductionisnotresponsiveenoughtocopewithrapidlychangingmarketsandshortenedproductlifecycles.Inaddition,productionjobshavebecomemorechallengingandconceptual,asroutineandrepetitivetasksareperformedbyautomatedequipment.Thefullbenefitoftechnologycanbeexploitedonlywhenworkersunderstandandcontrolalargepartoftheproductionprocess.

*Skillsandknowledge

Aproductiveworkforcetodaymustbehighlyskilledandflexible,characteristicsthatcanonlybedevelopedthroughextensivetrainingandexperienceinavarietyofjobassignments.Therefore,theworkplacemustbereorganizedtopromotecontinuouslearning,whichmustbecomeanormalpartofworklife.Evidencesuggeststhatnotmanymanufacturers,particularlyintheUnitedStates,givehighpriorityandcommitsufficientresourcestotrainingtheirfront-lineworkers.Managementneedstorealizethatmaintainingandupgradingtheskillsoftheirworkforceiscentraltotheircompetitivestrategy.Managementmustfocusonthecultivationofmulti-skilledworkersandstoptreatingthemasreplaceablepartsoracosttobecontrolled.Inanattempttofindoutwhytheimprovementofflexibilityhasbeensoelusi