TECHNICAL EFFORT AS A COMPETITIVE WEAPON - EXPERIENCES OF AUSTRALIAN FIRMS

As a platform of operational excellence begins to emerge within Austra lian manufacturing firms, shortcomings in product, plant and process t echnology are becoming increasingly transparent, As a consequence, the re is a growing interest in rejuvenating firm's technological bases. T his work describes the practices of three leading edge Australian firm s in developing a strategic technological capability. The technical ma nagement practices of these companies are based on some common princip les, which provide both opportunities for learning by others in additi on to a practice-driven set of elements deserving further field resear ch, A common element in each of the organizations studied is the desir e to integrate three key technical management subsystems: strategic, c apabilities and organizational, This managerial perspective is illustr ated through a number of practices and characteristics observed within these firms, Specific areas discussed include strategic planning proc esses, the development of a process management capability, the develop ment of team based work structures, organizational development and res tructuring and outsourcing, Key findings include: the value of balance d sets of performance measures, leveraging a safety management program to develop a process management capability, difficulties in aligning the values of technical personnel with the principles of a quality cul ture and the need to develop approaches to preserve technical capabili ties when structural changes are undertaken.