Sincethelate1970’sinthefaceofaseverelossofmarketshareindozensofindustries,manufacturersintheUnitedStateshavebeentryingtoimproveproductivity—andthereforeenhancetheirinternationalcompetitiveness—throughcost-cuttingprograms.(Cost-cuttinghereisdefinedasraisinglaboroutputwhileholdingtheamountoflaborconstant.)However,from1978through1982,productivity—thevalueofgoodsmanufactureddividedbytheamountoflaborinput—didnotimprove;andwhiletheresultswerebetterinthebusinessupturnofthethreeyearsfollowing,theyran25percentlowerthanproductivityimprovementsduringearlier,post-1945upturns.Atthesametime,itbecameclearthatthehardermanufacturesworkedtoimplementcost-cutting,themoretheylosttheircompetitiveedge. Withthisparadoxinmind,Irecentlyvisited25companies;itbecamecleartomethatthecost-cuttingapproachtoincreasingproductivityisfundamentallyflawed.Manufacturingregularlyobservesa“40,40,20”rule.Roughly40percentofanymanufacturing-basedcompetitiveadvantagederivesfromlong-termchangesinmanufacturingstructure(decisionsaboutthenumber,size,location,andcapacityoffacilities)andinapproachestomaterials.Another40percentcomesfrommajorchangesinequipmentandprocesstechnology.Thefinal20percentrestsonimplementingconventionalcost-cutting.Thisruledoesnotimplythatcost-cuttingshouldnotbetried.Thewell-knowntoolsofthisapproach—includingsimplifyingjobsandretrainingemployeestoworksmarter,notharder—doproduceresults.Butthetoolsquicklyreachthelimitsofwhattheycancontribute. Anotherproblemisthatthecost-cuttingapproachhindersinnovationanddiscouragescreativepeople.AsAbernathy’sstudyofautomobilemanufacturershasshown,anindustrycaneasilybecomeprisonerofitsowninvestmentsincost-cuttingtechniques,reducingitsabilitytodevelopnewproducts.Andmanagersunderpressuretomaximizecost-cuttingwillresistinnovationbecausetheyknowthatmorefundamentalchangesinprocessesorsystemswillwreakhavocwiththeresultsonwhichtheyaremeasured.Productionmanagershavealwaysseentheirjobasoneofminimizingcostsandmaximizingoutput.Thisdimensionofperformancehasuntilrecentlysufficedasabasisofevaluation,butithascreatedapenny-pinching,mechanisticcultureinmostfactoriesthathaskeptawaycreativemanagers. EverycompanyIknowthathasfreeditselffromtheparadoxhasdoneso,inpart,bydevelopingandimplementingamanufacturingstrategy.Suchastrategyfocusesonthemanufacturingstructureandonequipmentandprocesstechnology.Inonecompanyamanufacturingstrategythatalloweddifferentareasofthefactorytospecializeindifferentmarketsreplacedtheconventionalcost-cuttingapproach;withinthreeyearsthecompanyregaineditscompetitiveadvantage.Togetherwithsuchstrategies,successfulcompaniesarealsoencouragingmanagerstofocusonawidersetofobjectivesbesidescuttingcosts.Thereishopeformanufacturing,butitdearlyrestsoiladifferentwayofmanaging. Theauthorofthepassageisprimarilyconcernedwith_____.
A.summarizing a thesis B.recommending a different approach C.comparing points of view D.making a series of predictions正确答案B
