ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with three organisational and managerial questions, which are seen as important in the process of technological innovation within manufacturing industry. It summarises economic, competitive and strategic circumstances interact with technological developments and reinforce the need for compatible organisational structures and relevant managerial control philosophies. The chapter explains control and structure and speculates, again in the organisational context, about the nature of identity. It discusses the issues against a manufacturing background, and one in which the dominant production technology is numerical control (NC) or computer numerical control (CNC) equipment. Scheduling, in one of these functional ancillary departments, is an important form of production control. The organisational structure of an enterprise and the control procedures, both formal and informal, must be compatible with the strategic and competitive circumstances of the firm and the consequent demand on its manufacturing processes.
