MANUFACTURING processes, RAPID prototyping, MANUFACTURES, and INDUSTRIAL research

Variation reduction of manufacturing processes is an essential objective of process quality improvement. It is highly desirable to develop a methodology of variation source identification that helps quickly identify the variation sources, hence leading to quality improvement and cost reduction in manufacturing systems. This paper presents a variation source identification method based on the analysis of the covariance matrix of process quality measurements. The identification procedure utilizes the fact that the eigenspace of the quality measurement covariance matrix can be decomposed into a subspace due to variation sources and a subspace purely due to system noise. The former subspaces for different samples will be the same if the same variation sources dominate. A testing procedure is presented, which can determine the closeness of the subspaces under sampling uncertainty. A case study is conducted to illustrate the effectiveness of this methodology. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2006. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CORPORATE growth, RESOURCE-based theory of the firm, ORGANIZATIONAL structure, CHARTERS, and RESOURCE allocation

Research summary: Although most theories of growth presume that growth varies with the focus and limits of managerial attention, the actual role played by attention has remained largely implicit. In contrast, this article explicitly considers attention structure and the processes that place sustained focus on growth issues. We explain how attention structure—specialized attention within a particular unit and integrated attention between units—affects both bottom‐up (stimulus‐driven) and top‐down (schema‐driven) attentional processing of new issues. We also examine the relationship between attention structure and divisional interdependencies, identifying conditions under which different attentional patterns generate organizational tensions that lead to architectural elaboration: the delineation of new organizational units. This logic is illustrated with examples from Motorola, a large telecommunications equipment provider, during a period of sustained growth. In linking theories of growth with the attention‐based view (ABV), we augment both perspectives and offer an approach that provides a better understand growth's cognitive underpinnings. Managerial summary: We examine how, within a multi‐divisional firm, the pattern of organizational attention affects firm growth. We highlight the attention focus within and between divisions and the corporate office and specific processes that shape the intensity and direction of attention in the firm's constituent units. In particular, we examine how corporate interventions, appointment of managerial resources, prototyping, and corporate charters direct managerial attention and the identification and advancement new opportunities in support of growth. Our approach also considers how attention patterns and formal organizational structure interact to cause tensions between managers, and when these tensions lead to the delineation of new subunits. To illustrate our logic, we use examples drawn from Motorola, a large telecommunications equipment provider, during a period of sustained growth. Our approach offers managers insights into attentional design of the multi‐divisional firm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hewlett-Packard Co. -- Production management, Computer peripherals industry -- Production management, Computer industry -- Production management, and Production management -- Methods

Hewlett-Packard's (HP) Printed Circuit Layout department at Lake Stevens Division has been blamed for delaying HP's time to market. Lake Stevens makes printed circuit assembly prototypes for HP's various products. It has been found that bottlenecks occur since prototyping is done late during the product development process and is outside the control of the project team. However, Lake Stevens managers decided to focus on business, technical and people issues to speed up the prototyping process. They also implemented concurrent engineering and used faster tools.