Intensified competition in a number of global manufacturing industries has triggered renewed interest in the manufacturing function and the contribution it can make to a company's overall competitive success. There has been a growing recognition that manufacturing can be a formidable competitive weapon if equipped and managed properly, and that a key to doing that is the development of a coherent manufacturing strategy which is in line with the business strategy of the company. 600 Lathes is a medium sized batch manufacturer of products, for the machine tool market, who has adopted a market led business strategy. However, in order to improve its competitive position within a highly volatile market, the company has recognised the need to align its manufacturing capabilities with this business strategy. This thesis investigates the cross-functional integration of business, marketing and manufacturing strategies at 600 Lathes. Its underlying hypothesis is that the alignment of functional strategies at 600 Lathes requires the adoption of a formal planning process, which ensures a multi-disciplinary approach. Using multiple cycle action research, a framework is developed which outlines a process for creating an integrated strategy. The development of this framework is built upon the findings from the empirical research on the process of strategy development at 600 Lathes, and a study of the level of strategic integration in a sample of UK manufacturing companies. The research demonstrates that a formal planning process can be used to aid the sequential development of business and functional strategies, and that by doing so, strategic integration can be achieved. The key elements of this process are the use of cross-functional teams, aligned goals, objectives and performance measures and the use of a comprehensive SWOT analysis. The formal process has been applied to the revision and development of business strategies at both 600 Lathes and a sister company, Electrox.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:616995 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Weir, K. A. |
| Publisher | University of Manchester |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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