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http://hdl.handle.net/2451/14310
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| Title: | Using the Brain as a Metaphor to Model Flexible Production Systems |
| Authors: | Garud, Raghu
Kotha, Suresh |
| Issue Date: | Dec-1997 |
| Publisher: | Stern School of Business, New York University |
| Series/Report no.: | IS-97-36 |
| Abstract: | Manufacturing flexibility is critical for survival in industries
characterized by rapid change and diverse product markets. Although new
manufacturing technologies make it possible to accomplish flexibility,
their potential remains unrealized by firms whose organizational
elements do not possess adaptive capabilities. We use the brain as a
metaphor to generate insights on how firms might design flexible
production systems. We chose the brain as a metaphor because it is a
self-organizing system capable of responding rapidly to a broad range of
external stimuli. The brain as a metaphor suggests that flexibility can
be enhanced by employing practices that promote distributed processes
occurring in parallel manner. Such practices lie in contrast to those
employed by production systems built on scientific management principles
that promote localized processes in a sequential manner. By exploring
these contrasting modes of operation, we argue that the brain as a
metaphor opens up new avenues for theory development related to the
design of flexible production systems. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2451/14310 |
| Appears in Collections: | IOMS: Information Systems Working Papers
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