David A. Garvin

Manufacturing strategic planning

This article reviews the existing literature on manufacturing strategy, explores its strengths and weaknesses, and proposes a new, more dynamic, planning framework. The new approach is based on the concept of strategic manufacturing initiatives (SMIs). SMIs are major manufacturing efforts that seek improvement over a specified time period; they include both quantitative goals and specific milestones. The article describes a planning process that managers can use to develop an effective mix of SMIs for their organizations. It begins with the overall business strategy and progresses through four stages of distillation or filtering. The article concludes with recommendations on how best to link SMIs with long-term planning.

Spin-Offs and the New Firm Formation Process

Spin-offs—new firms created by individuals breaking off from existing ones to create competing companies of their own—are common in many high-technology industries and others as well. This articles examines the structural conditions conducive to spin-offs and the environments from which they are most likely to arise.

Quality Problems, Policies, and Attitudes in the United States and Japan: An Exploratory Study

This study drew on surveys of first-line supervisors in a single, broadly representative industry to compare practices and attitudes concerning quality in the United States and Japan. It focused on...

Product quality: An important strategic weapon

Abstract Superior product quality has been one of the keys to Japanese success in American markets. Today, many American corporations are also beginning to recognize its competitive importance. This author defines what product quality is, and explains how it can be used in positioning and selling products.

What you don't know about making decisions

This publication contains reprint articles for which IEEE does not hold copyright. Full text is not available on IEEE Xplore for these articles.

Can Industry Self-Regulation Work?

What has been our experience with industry self-regulation—the setting of standards, the policing of deceptive practices, and the grading of products by industry groups in the absence of federal or state regulation? What are its implications for effective public policy? The author reviews a number of examples of industry self-regulation, presents a simple classification scheme to help evaluate the social desirability of the practices that result, and concludes by suggesting that mixed systems combining industry standard setting with government oversight may be the most desirable policy option.