The auto industry is no longer confined to our small corner of the world. China currently has the highest sales-growth in the world's automobile industry. As a major player in global supply chain, China's economic development and change affect operations of many transnational companies around the globe. The automobile industry in China represents an extraordinatry case of industry development. Utilizing the case study method, Professor Doreen McGunagle has allowed for a better understanding of the automobile industry in China, and answers the question, "What is the impact on the Chinese automobile industry of foreign company entry into China?." Professor McGunagle's extensive research, coupled with personal interviews, and her extensive professional experience in the business sector, offer an interesting and informative approach to what is currently a subject of great interest to the business community. Professionals in the automobile industry, management consultants, and those involed in the global markets will find a wealth of information in Professor McGunagle's work. Anyone doing research in International Business and Strategic Management will find her book a valuable tool.

Ideas are of themselves extraordinarily valuable, but an idea is just an idea. Almost any one can think up an idea. The thing that counts is developing it into a practical product. - from the Introduction The lessons of Henry Ford, one of America's greatest business innovators, are as fresh and vital today as they were in 1922, when this extraordinary book was first published. Though the title suggests the autobiographical, this is in fact a bible of business philosophy from the man many considered "insane" for the very innovations we hail as visionary today: the assembly line, reduced working hours, a minimum wage, the five-day work week. Ford explains: . how his experiences as an employee influenced his philosophies as an employer . why saving money isn't always a good thing . the absolute worst time to approach a bank for a loan . why lowering prices below production costs can be a smart move . and much more. It's easy to see that much of Ford's wisdom has been forgotten today-and that individual entrepreneurs and global corporations alike would do well to take another look. American entrepreneur, inventor, and philanthropist HENRY FORD (1863-1947) was born in Michigan and trained as a machinist and engineer before founding, in 1903, the Ford Motor Company.

A fully revised and extended version of the best selling 'Quality 75', the book includes a full range of Six Sigma tools and philosophy. It is a unique compilation of tools and concepts from Six Sigma, Traditional Quality Management (including notes on the 'Gurus'), Service Quality, and relevant Lean manufacturing. The book is aimed at practising managers from Service and Manufacturing, Green Belt practitioners and Black Belts wishing to extend their expertise into Service Quality and Lean. MBA students and final year undergraduates will find the book an invaluable quick reference to quality, operations, customer relationships and improvement.

Arguing that the sweatshop is as American as apple pie, Laura Hapke surveys over a century and a half of the language, verbal and pictorial, in which the sweatshop has been imagined and its stories told. Not seeking a formal definition of the sort that policymakers are concerned with, nor intending to provide a strict historical chronology, this unique book shows, rather, how the ""real" sweatshop has become intertwined with the ""invented" sweatshop of our national imagination, and how this mixture of rhetoric and myth has endowed American sweatshops with rich and complex cultural meaning. Hapke uncovers a wide variety of tales and images that writers, artists, social scientists, reformers, and workers themselves have told about ""the shop." Adding an important perspective to historical and economic approaches, Sweatshop draws on sources from antebellum journalism, Progressive era surveys, modern movies, and anti-sweatshop websites. Illustrated chapters detail how the shop has been a facilitator of assimilation, a promoter of upward mobility, the epitome of exploitation, a site of ethnic memory, a venue for political protest, and an expression of twentieth-century managerial narratives. An important contribution to the real and imagined history of garment industry exploitation, this book provides a valuable new context for understanding contemporary sweatshops that now represent the worst expression of an unregulated global economy.

"The Epoch of the Shawl Trade in Paisley," writes the author of this interesting volume, "is now rounded off. Like a flower it came up, blossomed, and decayed." Even thus, in Paisley, does the poetic imagination weave garlands of blooming thoughts round textile fabrics. The book, however, is description and history, not an effusion of creative art. The shawls are now rarities sought for by collectors. To such persons this volume must prove uncommonly valuable as explaining, both by pictures and by written descriptions, the technical excellences of garments that must always rank among the most wonderful productions of the world-old craft of the weaver ." - The Scotsman, on publication in 1904.

"The authors of the widely acclaimed "The Purchasing Machine" deliver an eye-opening look at the power of supply management with " The Incredible Payback."

This timely book presents amazing success stories from best-of-the-best procurement organizations like Honda, Delphi, John Deere, and others.

Using the same cost-management strategies implemented at these leading organizations, "The Incredible Payback"shows how any company can reap benefits including:

* saving up to 30 percent on material and service expenses

* leveraging technology to accelerate savings

* high-yield supplier development programs

* extension of financial opportunities throughout the highest levels of the enterprise, exponentially increasing savings potential

Great companies save money every day. Now every organization can realize " The Incredible Payback""

Some countries develop illegal drugs industries, and others do not. Discerning the distinguishing characteristics--social, economic, and political--of countries with these industries forms the subject of this sophisticated and humane study.

The author, Francisco E. Thoumi, though trained as an economist, rejects simplistic economic solutions as well as simplistic moral ones as he addresses the Andean countries of Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia and the attitudes and responses of the United States. He investigates how the United States and the Andean countries perceive drugs issues; the history, structure, and evolution of drug industries in the Andes; the size of the industries in Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia; and their economic, political, and social effects in each country.

Thoumi also addresses the political systems and social characteristics of these countries and why they have been so vulnerable to influence from these industries. And he offers case studies of a variety of anti-drug efforts including crop substitution and alternative development, eradication, interdiction of illicit traffic and manufacturing facilities, and extradition to the United States of traffickers.

A developing country's choice of an appropriate technology from among those available for use in a particular industry is critical: alternative technological strategies that involve varying mixes of capital, labor, and social costs could have significantly different impacts not only on the industry but also on the country itself, especially one whose industrial base is restricted. This book presents one of the first empirical studies in this area.Recent choices of manufacturing equipment procured by a sample of firms in Colombia, Brazil, the Philippines, and Indonesia are the focus of the study, although a few plants in the US and Japan are also included for comparative purposes. These firms are engaged in the spinning and weaving of short fibers (cotton and synthetics) or in the sulfate pulping of wood and paper making. Since both Latin American and Asian experiences are reviewed and both a mechanical and a chemical process industry are treated, the findings are relevant to other countries and other industries.Amsalem's methodology for evaluating alternative technologies goes beyond the consideration of two factors of production (capital-labor ratios). It enables him to factor in differences in labor skills and productivity, the varying efficiencies of machine utilization, levels of energy intensity appropriate to an industry, plant requirements, and market and social costs. The book also examines the effects of government policies and incentives on the decision processes that culminate in a choice among competing technologies.

The Ludwig Book by Rob Cook is the definitive business and historical guide to this legendary drum manufacturer. Includes dozens of interviews, a 64-page color section, a dating guide including every catalogued Ludwig snare drum and outfit, and a handy CD-ROM. Interview sections include the top executives from Ludwig's heyday in the 1960s: Karl Dustman, Frank Baxpehler and Dick Schory, as well as todays leaders: William F. Ludwig III, Todd Trent and Jim Catalano. There are also special segments on Ludwig Electronics, Phase II, and detailed sections about the gear used by famous drummers such as John Bonham and Ringo Starr.

A volume in the series Economy and Society in the Modern South

What are the forces that are driving firms and industries to globalize their operations? This volume explores how specific industries have organized their global operations through case studies of seven manufacturing industries: garments and textiles, automobiles and auto parts, televisions, hard disk drives, flat panel displays, semiconductors, and personal computers. Based on long-term research sponsored by the Sloan Foundation, the chapters provide readers with a nuanced understanding of the complex matrix of factor costs, access to inimitable capabilities, and time-based pressures that influence where firms decide to locate particular segments of the value chain.
The book examines globalization within the context of five factors affecting locational decisions: advances in transportation and communication; the clustering of knowledge assets; the drive to reduce cycle times; the commodification of existing products; and the relative advantages of proximity to customers. The case studies are framed by Paul Deguid's Preface on the significance of power in value chains and Bruce Kogut's conclusion on the importance of knowledge in locational decisions. Together, the chapters reveal a remarkable diversity of responses across industries to these forces, and suggest that any understanding of globalization must appreciate this diversity.
This volume is ideal for both MBA and undergraduate students studying the location of economic activities by multinational firms.

A case study that explains the present location pattern of the synthetic-fiber industry, forecasts the regional distribution of future growth in terms of employment and capital investment, and evaluates the advantages of Puerto Rico as a site for fiber production.

A frequent writer on business and contemporary history, Holland (U. of Virginia) interviewed his own father and other long-time employees of the company to offer a very different view than it promulgated when asking for government relief from foreign competition in the early 1980s. The original titl

An extraordinary opportunity offered by the Du Pont Company gave Professor Hollander free access both to all detailed cost and much investment data related to rayon manufacture at a number of plants, covering a period of thirty years and to a wide range of informed personnel and officers. These data enabled Professor Hollander to make an unprecedented study of a large industrial firm for the purpose of measuring the contribution of various sources of improvement to increased efficiency. From the mass of information available, he has selected sound technical details and concepts, excluded all irrelevant material, and presented a carefully organized case study showing how technical change accounts for a very high proportion of the increases in productivity. Specifically, this information includes descriptions of the contributions of various types of technical change to production cost reductions, quantitative estimates of the contributions of technical change and economies of scale to increased efficiency, and analyses of the relation between technical change and investment and of the sources of new technology.The microeconomic approach is related to certain macrostudies of productivity increase, and several policy implications are drawn.This study should be of great interest to a wide audience including economists, economic historians, and technologists. All those concerned with the problems of economic growth, industrial structure, patent protection, technical invention, research and development, and the general progress of civilian industrial technology will find this book a valuable addition to their libraries.

The first corporate history of an enduring presence on the worldwide carpet manufacturing scene; Shaw Industries, which is based in Dalton, Georgia, is the nation's leading textile manufacturer and the world's largest producer of carpets. This history focuses on the evolution of Shaw's business strategy and its adaptations to changing economic conditions. Randall L. Patton chronicles Shaw's rise to dominance by drawing on corporate records, industry data, and interviews with Shaw employees and management, including Robert E. Shaw, the only CEO the company has known in its more than thirty years. Patton situates Shaw within both the overall context of Sunbelt economic development and the unique circumstances behind the success of the tufted carpet industry in northwest Georgia. After surveying the state of the carpet industry nationwide at the end of World War II, Patton then tells the Shaw story from the boom years of 1955-1973, through the transitional decade of 1973-1982, the consolidation phase of the 1980s and early 1990s, and the "new economy" of the mid- to late 1990s. Throughout, Patton shows, Shaw's drive has always been toward vertical integration - controlling the outside forces that could affect its bottom line. He tells, for instance, how Shaw built its own trucking fleet and became its own yarn supplier, all to the company's advantage. He also relates less successful ventures, most notably Shaw's attempt at direct retailing. The picture emerges of a company proud of its image as a steady and profitable business surviving in a competitive industry. Patton traces the history of Shaw Industries from its start as a family-owned operation through its growth into a multinational corporation that recently joined Warren Buffett's holding company, Berkshire-Hathway. The Shaw saga has much to tell us about the continuing vitality of "old economy" manufacturers.

Die vorliegende Studienausgabe basiert auf der 2. Auflage des seit Jahren als Standardwerk anerkannten Handbuchs Umformtechnik. Sie fuhrt in grundlegende Verfahrensbegriffe sowie die Behandlung von Problemen der Umformtechnik und die metallkundlichen, plastizitatstheoretischen und tribologischen Grundlagen ein. Den Fliesskurven und ihrer Aufnahme ist ein eigenes Kapitel gewidmet, vertieft durch einen Abschnitt uber Fliessortkurven. Weitere Kapitel behandeln die Ermittlung von Verfahrenswerten durch Messen, die Grundlagen der Werkzeugmaschinen zum Umformen sowie die Arbeitsgenauigkeit. Besonders hervorzuheben sind die leicht fassliche Einfuhrung zum Stoff einerseits und die ausreichende Informationen zur selbstandigen Losung nicht zu spezieller Probleme andererseits. Das umfassende Literaturverzeichnis am Schluss eines jeden Kapitels erleichtert die Einarbeitung in Spezialgebiete."

How NAFTA has reshaped the production of clothing in North America

The Breakthrough Program for Increasing Quality, Shortening Cycle Times, and Creating Shareholder Value In Every Area of Your Organization

Time and quality are the two most important metrics in improving any companys production and profit performance. Lean Six Sigma explains how to impact your companys performance in each, by combining the strength of todays two most important initiatives­­Lean Production and Six Sigma­­into one integrated program.

The first book to provide a step-by-step roadmap for profiting from the best elements of Lean and Six Sigma, this breakthrough volume will show you how to:

• Achieve major cost and lead time reductions this year
  
• Compress order-to-delivery cycle times
  
• Battle process variation and waste throughout your organization
  

Separately, Lean Production and Six Sigma have changed the face of the manufacturing business. Together, they become an unprecedented tool for improving product and process quality, production efficiency, and across-the-board profitability. Lean Six Sigma introduces you to todays most dynamic program for streamlining the performance of both your production department and your back office, and providing you with the cost reduction and quality improvements you need to stay one step ahead of your competitors.

Lean Six Sigma shows how Lean and Six Sigma methods complement and reinforce each other. If also provides a detailed roadmap of implementation so you can start seeing significant returns in less than a year.--­­From the Preface

Businesses fundamentally exist to provide returns to their stakeholders. Lean Six Sigma outlines a program for combining the synergies of these two initiatives to provide your organization with greater speed, less process variation, and more bottom-line impact than ever before.

A hands-on guidebook for integrating the production efficiencies of the Lean Enterprise with the cost and quality tools of Six Sigma, this breakthrough book features detailed insights on:

• The Lean Six Sigma Value Proposition­­How combining Lean and Six Sigma provides unmatched potential for improving shareholder value
  
• The Lean Six Sigma Implementation Process­­How to prepare your organization for a seamless incorporation of Lean Six Sigma tools and techniques
  
• Leveraging Lean Six Sigma­­Strategies for extending Lean Six Sigmas reach within and beyond your corporate walls
  

Variation is evil.--­­Jack Welch

Six Sigma was the zero-variation quality lynchpin around which Jack Welch transformed GE into one of the worlds most efficient­­and valuable­­corporations. Lean Production helped Toyota cut waste, slash costs, and substantially improve resource utilization and cycle times.

Yet, as both would admit, there was still room for improvement.

Lean Six Sigma takes you to the next level of improvement, one that for the first time unites product and process excellence with the goal of enhancing shareholder value creation. Providing insights into the application of Lean Six Sigma to both the manufacturing processes and the less-data-rich service and transactional processes, it promises to revolutionize the performance efficiencies in virtually every area of your organization­­as it positively and dramatically impacts your shareholder value.

Despite its long eclipse by Parisian couture, Italian fashion is now celebrated globally for the quality of its tailoring, fabric and design. But an Italian label was not always a yardstick for excellence. In the twenty years following the Second World War, a little known fact is that America played a key role in the development of Italy's fashion industry. More generally known is that the Marshall Plan had a formative influence on the financial and industrial reorganization of Italian postwar reconstruction. But America's specific influence on the regeneration of the Italian textile industry has been largely passed over, despite the meteoric rise of design houses such as Max Mara, Gucci and Prada.However, while American interest was central to the industrial and stylistic expansion of Italian fashion, the lessons learned were combined with Italian ideas and energies to create fashions with a distinctly Italian edge. This book reveals that a deliberate effort went into the development of an Italian national identity in fashion design, partially in response to American interest. Drawing on a wide range of sources, notably the testimonies of key witnesses, contemporary media reports and surviving garments, this book contributes to the scant research on twentieth century Italian dress and specifically exposes for the first time the depth of American involvement in Italian fashion in a crucial phase of its development.