FROM MASS-PRODUCTION TO FLEXIBLE AGILE PRODUCTION/

In industrial management, the 1980s marked the end of the twentieth ce ntury, an epoch dominated by US manufacturers, the alleged masters of mass production. This system has now been outstripped in several dynam ic sectors by flexible/agile production. Increases in the pace of tech nological progress, training and aspirations have made the modern cont ext so dynamic that firms which manage to harness the creativity and i nitiative of a good part of their workforce have an advantage over tho se that can only count on the input of their experts and managers. In sectors undergoing relatively broad and rapid change, twenty-first cen tury firms must adopt a more flexible and innovative type of organizat ion to achieve manufacturing excellence.