ABSTRACT
Introduction In Chapter 5, we described the movement of continuous improvement programs from the manufacturing sector to the services sector. In this chapter we describe the movement of continuous improvement programs from services to manufacturing. For a long time, services were considered a necessary by-product of the more important agriculture and manufacturing sectors of the economy. Many authors even claimed that true wealth could be created only through the production of goods. In recent years, however, there has been a change in this thinking. Today, most business authorities agree that services are an integral and increasingly important part of the global economy, at least in industrialized nations. In other words, services have become “the tail that wags the dog.” Service businesses have been dependent on the manufacturing sector for its improvement ideas for a long time. However, a number of new concepts and techniques have been developed in the services sector and are being extended back into the manufacturing sector. Before we look at some of these improvement programs, we review the reasons that services have achieved their increased level of dominance.
