The fractal company : a revolution in corporate culture
The author describes the predicament of an industry which is coming under increasing pressure in the world market and is seeking new approaches to the challenges arising. Then, by drawing an analogy to the paradigm shift taking place in the natural sciences, he discerns the need for manufacturing technology to similarly cast aside existing deterministic philosophies. Self-similarity, self-organization and dynamics are the principles from which the manufacturing corporation of the future, perceiving its identity as a service enterprise, will draw its models. Constant structural development and the maximum exploitation of staff potential will provide new ways of utilizing one's own strengths to best advantage. This insight creates a long-term perspective for retaining competitiveness in the twenty-first century
bibliography
1 online resource (xiii, 228 pages) : illustrations
9783642781247, 3642781241
1425929165
1. Survival in a Turbulent Environment
2. Manufacturing
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Changes through industrial revolutions
question of factory location
Man and employment
aspects of sociology and ergonomics
division of labor
a feature of an efficient economy
Why are successful businesses successful?
Outlines of some approaches from the USA and Japan
Cultural consequences are more serious than technical consequences
3. Organizational Design
a Key Component of Strategy
More knowledge
less plannability
Service in competition
we are all suppliers and customers
Complexity and specialization
Information as a production factor
factory of the future?
Order and chaos
two complementary views of the world
Structure formation through self-organization
world of fractals
4. Fractal Factory
an Integrating Approach
Definition
characteristic of self-similarity
characteristic of self-organization
characteristics of dynamics and vitality
old rule: simplify and maintain order
Communication and information
Goal-formation processes
Navigation and control
Management and the workforce
Performance assessment and evaluation
Working hours
way to the Fractal Factory
an exemplary case-study
5. Glance into the Future
Electronic reproduction, [Place of publication not identified], HathiTrust Digital Library, 2024
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