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Manufacturing is the base on which our nation’s economy was
built. Nineteen million Americans, 17.7% of the nation’s
workforce, were employed in manufacturing by the new
millennium. Since then the number has dropped. Is this a
warning?
The name of the management game in manufacturing is increasing
productivity and decreasing cost. Beginning in the late
1970s, manufacturing turned to technology to achieve these
seemingly mutually exclusive objectives. Numerically
controlled machines came first and robotics followed. Then the
personal computer appeared, revolutionizing manufacturing once
again. Even more innovations are occurring today. |
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What is the lesson? That change is constantly occurring in
manufacturing, even faster than it has before. Those of us who
work within manufacturing have to adapt accordingly … or risk
becoming as outmoded as the buggy whip was for our
grandfathers.
We must constantly re-invent ourselves.
We must make an impact
... grow, learn, and change with the times ... OR ELSE. Even
if we enjoy good positions now, we must recognize that a job
can no longer guarantee the long-term security it once did.
Thanks to technology, wherever jobs exist, it's only a matter
of time before someone will find a way to automate or increase
productivity so our position is either reduced in importance
or gone.
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As technology advances, individual jobs are eliminated because
many employers, faced with higher labor costs, find it cheaper
in the end to automate jobs rather than pay higher wages.
According to Fortune, this is one reason why 3,000 people lose
their jobs every day in corporate America. Additionally, many
positions no longer offer traditional retirement benefits.
Times have definitely changed and change is the nature of our
times. The first law of modern business is no longer to "find
a need and fill it," but to "imagine a need and create it."
Those who prosper are those who embrace this new paradigm.
The changes that technology brought to manufacturing have been
unprecedented in their scope and speed. There are two primary
concerns facing manufacturing management today. They must be
understood if you are to compete effectively in the
manufacturing job market. |
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The Effects of Technology. The rapidity and complexity of
technological change has created the need for:
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Innovation
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Cost reductions
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Organizational changes
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New job and management
skills
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Continuous education of
employees
The cost of technology is staggering. The more companies spend
on technology, the more urgent their need to reduce costs in
other areas.
The Effects of the Global Economy.
The global economy is a
reality that has had significant local effects. Mergers and
acquisitions are increasing and more companies are moving
their operations offshore. These actions produce:
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Layoffs
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Reductions in job duration
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Increases in the need for job
mobility skills
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Increases in the demand for
multiple job skills
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Increases in the salaries of
managers with hard skills
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Decreases in the salaries of less
skilled workers and managers.
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How can you best cope with the effects of these changes?
Accept the reality of the situation. Like the buggy whip, the
days of working for only two or three companies your entire
career have become a rarity. Equally less prevalent is getting
by with just many years of experience or even just an
undergraduate degree. Today's manufacturing job market, places
a premium on managers with hard management skills and high
mobility. You must:
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Constantly upgrade your management
skills
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You must upgrade your job skills
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Be proficient with computer
programs that support your job
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Stay current with professional
changes in manufacturing
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Stay current on the new ideas of
management
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Job mobility is a constant today. The average manufacturing
job only lasts 3 to 5 years. To prevent being surprised by
layoffs and mergers, you must be prepared to move on. You must
know when to move and you must know how to move on to the next
job.
You must recognize that most managers are industry
independent. Management is management and it can be practiced
in virtually any industry. Don’t limit yourself to a single
industry unless you have extremely limited, highly technical
skills.
So Much to Know…So Much to Learn
Ask yourself, "How marketable would I be if I had to find a
new job today?”
We recognize the breadth of your skills and the applications
they have in the marketplace.
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©2004 R.L.Stevens &
Associates, Inc.
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