The manufacturing manager’s role in NPD in Taiwanese electronics

Abstract

The Taiwanese Government developed a series of six‐year plans promoting its industrial strategy. Part of the emphasis of the latest plan was to increase product sophistication in ten selected industries, of which the electronics industry is a leading example. The stimulus for this effort was the then rising value of the yen and rising wage levels, making Taiwan a less cost competitive producer than some of its neighbouring countries. Since the fieldwork was completed, Taiwan’s economy has been affected by the Asian economic crisis. In a sense this has given Taiwanese industry a breathing space in which it can learn how to overcome the problems shown in this paper. The paper shows that the Government’s strategy was partly frustrated in six plants in the electronics industry by limitations within senior manufacturing management. These were deficiencies in the technologies supporting production of new products, limited skills in the pre‐production phase, and weaknesses in the relationships with managers in other functions. The need to restore quickly the levels of manufacturing yield and productivity following new product introductions was recognised as important. However, the ability to achieve these goals was constrained by weak systems.

Citation

Woodcock, D.J. and Chen, C.Y. (2000), "The manufacturing manager’s role in NPD in Taiwanese electronics", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 20 No. 4, pp. 481-495. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443570010314809