This article offers the perspectives of a veteran in the field of sustainability. The author shares the steps in the development, evolution, and management of sustainability and sustainable practices at a leading flooring manufacturer. The author leverages over 20 years of experience in industry to discuss the necessary skills and mindsets to…

This study compares self-directed work structures to more traditional supervised work structures in order to determine if the expenditures and efforts required to implement self-directed work teams are warranted. Multiple internal performance metrics are examined in comparing plant work structures in various degrees of implementation between…

Purpose: Relationship learning is a topic of considerable importance for industrial networks, yet a lack of empirical research on the impact of relationship governance structures on relationship learning remains. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of relationship governance structures on learning in partnerships.…

Companies make concerted efforts to survive in a radically changing global society with the advent of a highly-networked and information-rich society that is featured by intense market competition. Manufacturing industries in particular have a tendency to rely on technological development strengths as a means of survival in a highly globalised and…

Engineers and skilled tradesmen stood side by side with executives and politicians as Liverpool High School technology teacher Dan Drogo welcomed parents to a one-of-a-kind graduation ceremony at New Process Gear in Syracuse, New York. The manufacturing shadow program had immersed 25 high school students in an intensive five-week experience inside…

It is no secret that global markets and innovations in technology are driving rapid change in the U.S. economy. While much has been said over the years about the employment shift from goods-producing to service-providing industries, new research suggests that the shift is not due to sectoral employment change but rather a shift in the mix of jobs…

Today's automotive college students will shape the future of the automobile industry. The success of college-level automotive programs has long been dependent on the students' ability to participate in hands-on classroom based interactions. In this article, distance learning and how it can be used to teach automotive management skills, as well as…

Research nationally and internationally found that technical graduates are lacking in employability skills. As employability skills are crucial in outcome-based education, the main goal of this research is to develop an Employability Skill Assessment Tool to help students and lecturers produce competent graduates in employability skills needed by…

The present study demonstrates the processes by which 12 young women working in four production chain factories in China shape their own lives--their developmental trajectories--during the period following their entry into factory work. One-on-one, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted in August, 2005, as part of an evaluation…

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the relationship between the protean career and other variables, including organizational learning climate, individual calling work orientation, and demographic variables. Design/methodology/approach: The research data were obtained from a sample consisting of 292 employees of two South Korean manufacturing…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the employment and training of mature-aged workers, so that suggestions for improving training for mature-aged workers may be offered. Design/methodology/approach: Six expert interviews were carried out by telephone, and three case studies involving company site visits were completed. Each company case study…

Introduction: Improving Performance in Practice (IPIP) is an initiative convened by the American Board of Medical Specialties. It investigates the efficacy of coaches in helping primary-care practices improve the care of patients with diabetes and asthma. Most IPIP states use coaches who have a health care background, and are trained in quality…

In Canadian engineering institutions, a significant design experience must occur in the final year of study. In the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems at the University of Windsor, unsolved, open ended projects sponsored by industrial partners from a variety of sectors are provided to the student teams in order for them to apply…

This is an ethnographic study of a newly created math, science, and technology elementary magnet school in a rural community fiercely committed to cultural preservation while facing unprecedented economic instability brought on by massive loss of manufacturing jobs. Our goal was to understand global- and community-level contexts that influenced…

Lean manufacturing, an outgrowth of the Toyota Production System, has spread far beyond the automobile industry and is seen by many leaders as a key management philosophy in the battle to compete on an international scale. Successful implementation of lean requires that managers and employees be educated in the proper application of lean tools and…