Václav Janeček

Manufacturing investments in the Czech Republic:: An international comparison

Abstract The principal economic measures taken by the Czech Republic (CR) over the last 10 years to encourage investments in more advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) 1 are briefly described. The results of a survey in large CR manufacturing companies are presented which show the current levels of investment in AMT, the techniques and criteria used to assess AMT capital projects, and attitudes to the need for further investment. Comparisons are made with the results of earlier identical surveys in the UK and in the US. The comparisons reveal numerous statistically significant differences. The current levels of investment in the CR are relatively low, the techniques used for evaluation relatively unsophisticated, the investment criteria used favour short-term investments, and there is less concern about the need for AMT. It would appear that more generous incentives and stronger management motivation are needed if the Czech manufacturing industry is to compete effectively in the world markets.

Advanced Manufacturing Technology Projects Justification

This paper brings out selected results of the recent survey targeted on adoption and utilization of advanced manufacturing technology in the Czech Republic. The main focus is on the phase of advanced manufacturing technology project justification and findings ascertained in the Czech Republic are compared with the outcomes of analogous surveys that were carried out earlier in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Despite of some anticipated singularities and differences there are many problems of advanced manufacturing technology projects justification that we have in common in all the above mentioned countries. That is why we believe that technology specialists as well as managers worldwide could learn from issues presented and discussed here.

Information Gap between Technology Specialists and Decision Makers

There is a clear information gap between technology specialists on one side and managers and decision makers on another one. While the representatives of the first group usually think about technology from strictly technological point of view, the representatives of the latter mentioned group often require clear and sound financial justification of respective projects in order to make the right and well-founded investment decision. Universities educating technology specialists as well as managers and decision makers should try their best to prepare their graduates to be able to facilitate mutually beneficial discussion of the representatives of the above mentioned groups. To illustrate some common problems arising within the respective decision making processes, we are going to present here the relevant parts of our research in the field of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT). We hope that by drawing the attention to these issues and by offering some remedies to them we can help our students to be better prepared for their jobs

Problems of advanced manufacturing technology benefits evaluation

The aim of this paper is to draw an attention to the problems of advanced manufacturing technology benefits identification and evaluation. We will present some pieces of evidence that manufacturing companies are aware of their inability to assess these benefits properly and why the cost of technology is usually well known, there are some difficulties to balance the high initial cost of technology implementation by clear and sound benefits that would be quantifiable in financial terms. Many benefits are ignored at all and that is why many AMT project proposal fails in initial phases of the relevant decision making processes or the project is carried on only at the price of various restrictions. Moreover, we will demonstrate that there are appreciably high differences between AMT benefits expected before the particular AMT project has been implemented and the benefits attained after the project actual implementation. We believe that better insight into these problems could help to get more advanced manufacturing technology project implemented and to prevent disappointing results of such a project in an early stages.

Adoption of advanced manufacturing technology - new trends in the Czech republic

use of conventional investment appraisal techniques and the criteria used to assess management performance may discourage investment in AMT. The paper presents some of the most interesting results of two surveys of large manufactunrng companies in the Czech Republic that were carried out in 1998 and 2005. The results gave us the possibility to identify main changes happened during the period of seven years. Moreover, we are able to compare our findings with the results of similar surveys conducted earlier in the UK and the USA. We do believe that our results and recommendations can help engineers and AMT project promoters in general in their effort to get their projects financed and to put the technology in practice.

An exploratory study investigating the perception that ICT capital projects are different: Evidence from the Czech Republic

Purpose – The purpose of this study/paper is evidence to suggest that information communication technology (ICT) capital projects are different from non-ICT projects and that as a result the appraisal of such projects is more difficult. This may suggest that organisations would use dissimilar financial and risk assessment models or place different importance levels on such models between the two types of investment. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this issue and present the results of research into the practices of organisations in Czech Republic that have recently undertaken an appraisal of both ICT and non-ICT capital projects. Design/methodology/approach – A factual and attitudinal survey was developed and conducted during the end of 2011, addressed to organisations based in the Czech Republic. The object of the survey was the identification of current practices in respect of the appraisal of both ICT and non-ICT projects and the opinions of senior executives on a number of important issues...

Issues Affecting Advanced Manufacturing Technology Projects

Manufacturing industry in economically developed countries is undergoing a major change. Vast demands on quality, price cutting and increased throughput together with deepening globalization, put a lot of pressure on manufacturing companies and their management. Efficient utilization of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) seems to be a convenient tool to address the challenges we have to face. However, it is not easy to select the most appropriate technology, purchase it, implement it successfully, and to reach the stage of its routine operation. Especially small and middle-sized companies lack relevant experience and an unsuccessful attempt to adopt AMT can easily lead to serious problems. This paper brings out selected results of several surveys that were carried out in the Czech Republic. We will focus especially on the problems related to AMT benefits expectations, management attitudes toward AMT, and methods used during the appropriate decision making processes.

Advanced technology benefits evaluation: Expectations and attained experience

This paper presents selected results of a recent survey focused on the problems of advanced manufacturing technology benefits identification and evaluation that was carried out in the Czech Republic in 2009. We will present some pieces of evidence that managers of manufacturing companies are unable to identify and evaluate these benefits properly and that there are huge differences between benefits expected when the relevant project is in the assessment phase and the benefits really attained after the project has reach the stage of routine operation. Moreover, we will put these results within international context and we will compare the findings derived from our survey with the results that were ascertained by our predecessors in the United Kingdom.

Formal Assessments, Teams and Influence of a Project Champion in the Selection of ICT Projects: A Czech Republic and UK Study

We present and critically examine the links between the role of formal appraisal procedures, appraisal teams, and project champions and their influence in the selection of information communication technology projects in the Czech Republic and the UK. Our research is empirical and uses comparative analysis and exploratory descriptive analysis to interpret the findings. We draw on the economic, management and consensus-performance literature, and optimism bias theory to support our research. Our findings show significant differences in the practices between the Czech Republic and the UK, which we believe are the result of cultural and economic diversities. There is a high level of involvement of a project champion in the selection of projects with concern being expressed over their excessive/biased influence in the decision-making process. An important fi nding from our research reveals that adopting clearly defined appraisal/selection procedures may reduce this biased influence. As project failure can result from the influence of a project champion at the project selection stage, it is important to fill this perceived gap in the literature. The research is the only empirical study of its kind conducted simultaneously in the Czech Republic and the UK.

Impact of advanced technologies utilization on manufacturing firms' efficiency in times of economic decline

The article deals with an assumption that application of advanced technologies in manufacturing firms brings them higher ability to face up to problems linked with economic crises. It means that manufacturing firms-users of advanced technologies should have the better economic results than manufacturing firms, non-users of advanced technologies. The assumption was tested on the base of results of the survey conducted among Czech manufacturing companies and on the base of their financial reports for the years 2007 and 2009. The relevant economic indicators were computed for the both years and for the group of firms-users of advanced technology and the group of non-users separately. Our results showed that the non-users of advanced technologies reached better results in the field of efficiency, especially in terms of return on equity and return on sales. The last part of our article is devoted to analysis and explanation of these rather unexpected results.