ABSTRACT
Contemporary enterprises apply information-based technology to automate different aspects of design, planning, and operation of manufacturing systems including, for example, engineering, production planning and control, management of human resources, marketing, purchasing, and finance. All these functions must also be integrated to improve competitive advantage in view of changing market requirements. This is because effectiveness of such systems depends on abilities of the people to compensate for the limitations of technology. Therefore, organizational and related human issues, which are the focus of the macroergonomic discipline, are critical to the success of technology, which is greatly dependent on the nontechnical characteristics of a corporation. As discussed by the Manufacturing Studies Board (1986a), achieving the full benefits of information-based manufacturing requires interrelated changes in many areas of human resource practices, including: plant culture; organization; job design; compensation and appraisal; selection, training, and education; and labor-management relations. Other studies on the fusion of manufacturing systems and information technologies in Europe (Brödner, 1987) also concluded that organization is the key element of success, which should be valued and appreciated at a level equal to
information technology; for example, human resource utilization is considered essential for assuring efficient manufacturing and high quality products under conditions of market uncertainty (Jaikumar, 1986; Kember & Murray, 1988; Majchrzak, 1988; Wall, Clegg & Kemp, 1987).
