ABSTRACT
The end of the millennium was marked by a widespread obsession with the dot.com phenomenon typified by companies with few tangible assets and little likelihood of profits. The bursting of the dot.com ‘bubble’ illustrates the importance of continuing commitment to companies which represent the ‘old’ economy. MFD, a mid-sized manufacturing company, which is the subject of this chapter, is important for a number of reasons. First, MFD is undergoing a transformation from a batch producer of engineering components to the mass manufacturer of electronic assemblies. Second, the company is based in a small, relatively isolated town in which it is the major employer (400 employees) and of massive significance to the local economy. Third, the case illustrates the interaction of corporate entrepreneurship and institutional change. MFD, a privately owned company, was founded over forty years ago to supply casting and machined components to the Ministry of Defence (MoD). An inability to obtain new markets to replace defencerelated work meant that between 1992 and 1994 the workforce was reduced by 50 per cent to approximately 450 employees. The owner/manager who was increasingly concerned about the company’s ability to survive initiated a number of changes including the recruitment of managers with experience of modern manufacturing and marketing techniques. Gradually, a range of new technologies were introduced which were used to develop new products, improve manufacturing processes and create better communication systems within MFD. At an operational level, the change agent was a middle manager who, in contrast to most other long-serving white and blue-collar workers, joined the company less than one year before the change programme began. He drew on his experience of mass-production techniques to instigate a range of changes which revolutionized manufacturing activities within the company.
