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Draws on the convergence in enterprise and manufacturing strategies apparent in the established theories and models. Develops this form through enterprise‐wide competitive dimensions into a customizable business environment and manufacturing technology/programme‐specific support framework. This generic framework links the competitive dimensions, the manufacturing‐enterprise, business‐process chains and the manufacturing typology; each is selectable and customizable for a specific manufacturing business operation. Describes the result which is a method of decomposing business goals into aggregate business‐specific, manufacturing‐performance indicators. These can be linked to measures of manufacturing performance and directly related to a manufacturing technology or a manufacturing programme.

Global business pressures have forced manufacturers to restructure design and production processes, adopting radically different management practices to gain competitive advantage. Employee empowerment continues to receive attention as a means of effectively appropriating and deploying human skills and knowledge. Employees are seen as critical components of the innovation‐led model of manufacturing which is evolving in response to unstable markets. This paper explores the concept of empowerment and conditions for its effective realisation in Computer Integrated Manufacturing production. Existing theory which underpins the authors’ view of empowerment is considered as a framework to facilitate further investigation of empowerment in Computer Integrated Manufacturing.

This paper describes the innovative generic business process set (GBPS) model and how this may be used as a functional template for small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) participating in a virtual enterprise. The authors provide specific emphasis on the use of information communication and technology (ICT) in business applications and show how the model can be used as a medium for lifelong learning and workforce development. The SME business model introduced identifies and describes 52 validated specific business processes, the GBPS. A framework and methodology for the application of the model in entrepreneurial firms are provided. Emerging ICT applications are also an integral part of business operations. Using the GBPS, the identification of training needs is directly related to the activities of the business. This approach overcomes the problem, inherent in SMEs and owner‐managed businesses, of a reluctance to endorse training because it is not clearly relevant to entrepreneurial business operations. The same model can be used as a gateway into an e‐learning programme designed for the virtual business environment via a low overhead and easy to implement process.

Manufacturing industry’s success in reducing time‐to‐market, costs, environmental impact; and improving quality, and flexibility, has exposed an underlying factor limiting further significant improvement in competitive performance ‐ the effective management of production data. This article identifies the business benefits of product data management and examines the building blocks for a product data management strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology for rapidly and reliably capturing, representing and analysing process systems to facilitate the potential for operations performance improvement within a complex product design and manufacturing facility operating in a high‐performance business environment.

This paper demonstrates the proposed methodology within an electro‐mechanical design and manufacturing environment producing complex non‐standard products for a global market. The technique has national and international application for a wide spectrum of design and manufacturing facilities.

The authors also demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology in capturing, representing and analysing processes to assess the feasibility of and identify the issues involved in realising further performance improvements in an existing complex product, high variety, design and manufacturing facility.

Through the enhanced level of understanding of business processes and knowledge intensive operations, the design and manufacturing facilities managers can now realise the next level of performance enhancement by fully exploiting the potential of performance improvement initiatives. Since the proposed methodology creates an environment in which risks inherent in new techniques are controlled, the facilities managers can also gain competitive advantage by becoming the early adopters of radical performance enhancement approaches.

Most major and many smaller manufacturing companies have adopted the popular performance improvement initiatives. These companies are now striving to achieve the next level of performance enhancement at the system or enterprise level and require a better understanding of their business processes and knowledge intensive operations. This understanding needs to be achieved rapidly, cost effectively and in a readily communicable and quantifiable form to allow analysis and ongoing re‐analysis within the volatile industrial environment. The proposed methodology achieves this through the identification, communication, understanding and analysis of the internal and external interactions and dependencies of the facility.

The benefits of integrated design and manufacturing systems in mid to high volume production are widely accepted. The low production volume, large component size and high complexity product domain is less well served by this technology. Examples of this kind of product are machine tools, ships, aircraft and buildings. Design for assembly techniques are a method by which design and manufacture can be integrated and aid the realization of full‐process concurrent engineering. Quantifies the significance of this product domain to the UK economy, describes the particular nature of these designs for assembly processes, reviews existing work in the field and specifies the problems encountered. Defines an industrial and academic solution programme. Proposes an integrated approach to applying design for assembly to this repetitive direct engineering domain.

The techniques that help organisations implement leading edge cost and quality practices in manufacturing operations management are typically disparate and generic in nature. There is a need to identify integrated practices at the right level of granularity, based on a clear definition of the existing operations practices. This paper proposes a novel framework for achieving and maintaining good cost and quality operations management practice within a manufacturing environment.

The framework uses a new approach for identifying the profile of current activities and better practice activities for the roles of team leaders, cell leaders and operations managers within a manufacturing company.

The paper proposes a recommended set of context‐specific activities for these roles. These recommended activities are utilised to develop a cascade of deployable recommendations.

The framework is illustrated within a manufacturing environment producing complex product ranges. The implementation of the framework enables improved operational efficiency and effectiveness. It also enables the benefits of improved operational standardisation and consistency.

Models able to describe state of the art practice are fundamental to understanding the manufacturing phenomenon. A study of innovative current practices enables us to foresee the emergence of a new manufacturing paradigm: the Extended Enterprise. This arises from the need to satisfy customers who are increasingly demanding tailored products with world class capability in every functional aspect. The Extended Enterprise is made both possible and viable by the progress made in manufacturing processes and information technology. It demands the development of a new management philosophy and particularly new organizational structures. Presents a reference model for the Extended Enterprise, and compares the characteristics of this paradigm against the Mass and Lean manufacturing philosophies. Describes the results of a study that analyses the development of co‐operation mechanisms in the aerospace industry.

The purpose of this paper is to integrate existing body of knowledge on evidence‐based management, develop a theory of evidence, and propose a model of evidence‐based decision making.

Following a literature review, the paper takes a conceptual approach toward developing a theory of evidence and a process model of decision making. Formal research propositions amplify both theory and model.

The paper suggests that decision making is at the heart of management practice. It underscores the importance of both research and experiential evidence for making professionally sound managerial decisions. It argues that the strength of evidence is a function of its rigor and relevance manifested by methodological fit, relevance to the context, transparency of its findings, replicability of the evidence, and the degree of consensus within the decision community. A multi‐stage mixed level model of evidence‐based decision making is proposed with suggestions for future research.

An explicit, formal, and systematic collaboration at the global level among the producers of evidence and its users akin to the Cochrane Collaboration will ensure sound evidence, contribute to decision quality, and enable professionalization of management practice.

The unique value contribution of this paper comes from a critical review of the evidence‐based management literature, the articulation of a formal theory of evidence, and the development of a model for decision making driven by the theory of evidence.