A computer based approach for enhancing manufacturing decision making in smaller manufacturing enterprises: A longitudinal study

Earlier research led to the development of a microcomputer based generic package to support production management decisions for the smaller manufacturing enterprise (SME). This was developed using a fourth generation language (4GL), supported by a relational database. It was designed in such a way that it met the majority of the needs of the SME for production planning and control and could readily be modified to meet user specific requirements. The system was based on a general model of the production process. This paper reports the results of a longitudinal study involving implementation within one particular SME and a different mode of operation in a second company. Each step involved in the introduction was fully documented. It demonstrates the evolution of the usage, which developed from a program which is being used essentially to track transactions to a system which was being used to support and extend major production decision making. This study illustrates the use of the system as a ‘change agent’, supported by an action learning environment. This is facilitated by the sound production management practice embodied within the software, which enables organizations to improve the quality of production management decisions. The two stages in the implementation are considered from the standpoint of existing organizational learning and decision making theories.