Abstract
Purpose - Purpose- The specific objective of this research is to understand the configuration of a job production system with reference to manufacturing decision areas. The aim is to identify the process specific decisions for job shop and non-process specific decisions that are influenced by other contextual factors. Design/methodology/approach - Design/methodology/approach- A case study research approach is used in the present paper to investigate the decisions of five manufacturing companies that satisfy the characteristics of job production system. Data is collected from case company’s products, order winners and choices made in manufacturing decision areas. The paper uses with-in case and cross case analysis to identify various patterns in the data with a view to meet the required research objectives.Findings - Findings- The present paper identifies a number of decisions specific to job shop. Further, many non-process specific decisions are seen to be influenced by competitive priorities (order winner), strategic orientation of manufacturing (stages in H-W model), top management and size of the company. After the study of the case companies, it is also observed that the companies employing job production system may have high product complexity.Research limitations/implications - Practical implications - Practical implications- The findings derived from this research would facilitate practitioners in understanding both process specific and non-process specific decisions for the job production system. The observation that the job shops can also use progressive practices like other shops to gain competitive advantage in the market could be very useful for practicing mangers. Originality/value - Originality/value- This exploratory research contributes to the existing theory in manufacturing decision areas for job production systems.
Purpose - Purpose- The specific objective of this research is to understand the configuration of a job production system with reference to manufacturing decision areas. The aim is to identify the process specific decisions for job shop and non-process specific decisions that are influenced by other contextual factors. Design/methodology/approach - Design/methodology/approach- A case study research approach is used in the present paper to investigate the decisions of five manufacturing companies that satisfy the characteristics of job production system. Data is collected from case company’s products, order winners and choices made in manufacturing decision areas. The paper uses with-in case and cross case analysis to identify various patterns in the data with a view to meet the required research objectives.Findings - Findings- The present paper identifies a number of decisions specific to job shop. Further, many non-process specific decisions are seen to be influenced by competitive priorities (order winner), strategic orientation of manufacturing (stages in H-W model), top management and size of the company. After the study of the case companies, it is also observed that the companies employing job production system may have high product complexity.Research limitations/implications - Practical implications - Practical implications- The findings derived from this research would facilitate practitioners in understanding both process specific and non-process specific decisions for the job production system. The observation that the job shops can also use progressive practices like other shops to gain competitive advantage in the market could be very useful for practicing mangers. Originality/value - Originality/value- This exploratory research contributes to the existing theory in manufacturing decision areas for job production systems.
