Identifying the need for world class manufacturing and best practice for SMEs in the UK
by Zulfiqar Khan, Rajeev K. Bali, Nilmini Wickramasinghe
International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development (IJMED), Vol. 4, No. 4, 2007

Abstract: There has been much written in literature by both academics and industrialists alike about the importance of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to the economic prosperity of the UK and the urgent need for these businesses to improve their competitiveness. UK small firms are still underperforming in comparison to those companies in France and Germany. In order that UK organisations achieve world class levels of competitiveness the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)'s UK Manufacturing Strategy identified an urgent need for the systematic implementation of 'best practices' such as Lean Practices and other World Class Manufacturing (WCM) methodologies. The paper uses an SME company survey to determine the level and breadth of best practice/WCM methodologies implementation. To further the analysis of the survey, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 companies for further clarification and analysis of the survey results. This paper fulfils an identified need for SMEs to achieve WCM status and implement best practice in their facilities. Moreover, by providing a sector by sector analysis it is possible to compare and contrast deficiencies in these SMEs across key sectors.

Online publication date: Tue, 10-Apr-2007

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development (IJMED):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com