Just-in-time manufacturing: Implications for the management of human resources

It has been argued that Western manufacturing systems need revitalisation to remain competitive in the global economic environment. It has also been argued that European and American firms have typically focused on capital investment as a means of reducing labour and consequently ignore the huge benefits to be gained from improved quality, reduced inventories, and more timely introduction of new products. In so doing, they have been short-changing themselves on their own human capital, pouring hundreds of millions of dollars and ECUs into capital equipment rather than retaining and retraining their valuable human resources and gearing their efforts to improve productivity. This article looks at the ways in which Western organisations are changing their production and operations process, and the ways in which these changes are affecting their human resources. Particular attention is given to the use of a 'Just-In-Time' (JIT) manufacturing control systems and some of the most remarkable benefits that have been attributed to it in the literature. The underlying argument is that traditional human resource management practices, the majority of which were developed several decades ago to attract, retain and reward large groups of unskilled workers, require significant adaptation to achieve the technological and cultural advantages promised by JIT.