Deborah J. Bickford

Configurations of Manufacturing Strategy, Business Strategy, Environment and Structure

By developing strategic configurations which describe commonly used paths to competitive advantage for manufacturers, this paper reconciles some basic concepts from competitive strategy and manufacturing strategy. Four basic strategic configurations are identified: niche differentiator, broad differentiator, cost leader, and lean competitor. The configurations are traced conceptually through competitive strategy, organizational structure, environment, and a strategic framework of manufacturing capabilities and decisions. Examples from the major home appliance industry are provided for each configuration.

Successful competitive and technology strategies in dynamic and stable product technology environments

Abstract This study empirically investigates the impact of business-level competitive and technology strategies on the performance of business units in environments characterized by different levels of product technology dynamism. The database contains 102 business units, equally split between more successful and less successful ones. The findings indicate that successful business units in environments characterized by dynamic product technologies employ different competitive and technology strategies than either less successful business units in the same environments, or successful business units in stable product technology environments. We show which dimensions of competitive and technology strategy are emphasized in each condition, and which dimensions distinguish the most successful business units. The substantial differences in the strategic patterns associated with success in dynamic or stable product technologies provide insight into the reasons why firms experience such difficulty in moving between these environments. Implications for researchers and managers are discussed.

Reflections on Artful Teaching

Artfulness is an essential but often ignored element in effective teaching and learning. This article uses the art metaphor to reframe teaching as a creative, holistic learning process for both student and teacher. It challenges the traditional view of knowledge as exclusively scientific and objective and develops the idea of an equally important intuitive way of knowing. It also challenges the traditional hierarchical structure of the classroom and suggests that a collaborative web structure is much more appropriate for building a community of learners and a student-centered classroom.

Overhead surgery or media hyperbole? An examination of manufacturing employment structure in high and low tech industries, 1983 and 1989

Abstract This study investigates changes in the occupational composition of the manufacturing work force between 1983 and 1989 in both high and low tech industries. Various media reported large-scale white collar reductions-in-force in many industries during this period. These reports suggest dramatic retrenchment of employment in many nonproduction or overhead occupations in both high tech and low tech manufacturing industries. This paper uses occupational employment by industry data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to assess the actual changes which have occurred in employment structure. In addition, the following propositions are examined using BLS occupational employment data : (1) Are there any differences in work force composition between high tech and low tech industries?; and (2) Have differential changes in employment structures occurred between high tech and low tech industries between 1983 and 1989?