1. The Definition of a Manufacturing System and its Place Within Industry
DM307 ProductionandOperationsManagementAssignment1 – Definitionof aSystem
Kerrie Noble pg. 1
Abstract
Aimsto outline the definition of a system and
compare and contrast current systematic
theory approaches in order to outline my
understanding of a manufacturing system. It
will outline the sub-systems and the
interfaces and interactions which occur
between the detailed sub-systems. The
challenge of introduction in a real world
manufacturing context will be explored
throughthe implementationof lean and QRM
theories put in place in Raytheon Systems
Limited, Glenrothes, Scotland.
Introduction
In the late 1960s, theories began emerging
which viewed organisations as complex
systemsof people,tasksandtechnology. The
early theorists recognised that organisations
were part of a larger environment with which
they interacted and were affected by
technical and economic factors just as much
as social ones. The phrase ‘open socio-
technical system’ was developed to describe
theirconceptof a businessenterprise. (Cole.
G. A, 2004)
Picture I – Basic model of an open system
This has led to a modern approach which
viewsorganisationeffectivenesswithitsfocus
on strategic issues. The modern theorists
have therefore concentrated their
development efforts on developing strategic
mission and implanting organisational
values/culture, as well as on managing
change,promotingtotal qualitymanagement,
achieving organisational excellence,
facilitating personal empowerment and
optimising stakeholder relationships. (Cole.
G. A, 2004)
Definition of a System
Overthe last eightyyearsthe development of
coherent theories to explain organisational
performance has moved away from
approaches that rely purely on consideration
of structural or human relations issues in
favour of more comprehensive perspectives
whichview the organisation as a system in its
entirety, from supply to shipping. This
involves defining manufacturing as a system,
put inthe simplest terms a system, according
to Cole (2004), is defined as a collection of
interrelated parts which form some whole.
(Cole. G. A, 2004)
A manufacturing organisation can be seen as
an open system and has three major
characteristics;
 They receive inputs or energy from
their environment
 They convert these inputs into
outputs
 They discharge their outputs into
their environment
As explainedby Cole, (2004), in relation to an
organisation the inputs include people,
material,informationandfinance. The inputs
are then organised and activated so as to
convert human skills and raw materials into
products, services and other outputs which
are then discharged into their environment.
This idea of a system has been expanded on
by many theorists, including Bin Wu and J T
Black.

2. The Definition of a Manufacturing System and its Place Within Industry
DM307 ProductionandOperationsManagementAssignment1 – Definitionof aSystem
Kerrie Noble pg. 2
Both theorists in their separate journals,
entitled A Unified Framework of
Manufacturing Systems design and the
Journal of Manufacturing Systems: Design for
System Success respectively. Both papers
have many similarities;
 Continuous improvement – An
approach to improving performance
which assumes more and smaller
incremental improvement steps.
 Quality control – A systematic
approach to detecting and treating
quality problems.
 Inventory control – Management of
stock levels through sophisticated
computer-basedinformationsystems.
 Reduction of lead times – Reducing
the time betweencustomerorderand
delivery.
 Cycle times – The time between
completed products, pieces of
information or customers emerging
fromthe operation. Thisisvital inthe
design of a manufacturing layout.
 Strategy – How the operation will be
achieved with the greatest success.
 Cost – The cost of the product and the
structuring of the operation. (Slack,
Chambers and Johnston, 2001)
There are alsonoticeable differencesbetween
the two theories. WhileBlackconcentratesall
the efforts of the manufacturing system on
satisfyingthe needsof the enduser,Wu takes
a much more comprehensive view of a
system. Wu’s theory concentrates on the
fulfilment of company aims and global
competitionwhichinvolveslookingatprojects
from different perspectives and assessing
interfaces and interactions which occur
throughout the system. In this theory the
system thinking approach, and evidence of a
manufacturing life cycle, is much more
evident. In contrast, Black details a lean cell
designandproductivityimprovementasmore
integral components within his system. Wu
alsodescribessome of these components in a
succinct manner as he prefers to discuss the
integration of a manufacturing strategy in
order to achieve sufficient performance
measurementandmonitoringandidentifying
keymethodologiesandconstraints needed in
order to fulfil this aim.
PersonalOverview of a Manufacturing System
From research in this area and my
understanding of the articles written by Wu
and Black I believe that a comprehensive
manufacturingsystemshouldcome asaresult
of combining the two theories of these
researchers. In the simplest terms a
manufacturing system can be defined as a
processwithinputs,aconversion process and
an output which interacts with its
environment as shown in the diagram.
Picture II – The organisation as an open
system.
This system can be divided into major sub-
systems such as production, marketing and
accounting where the boundaries between
the subsystems create interfaces, sensitive
internal boundariescontainedwithinthe total
system. These boundaries are defined by as
much by corporate strategy as fact. The
boundariesof anyorganisationare not visible
as they are based on relationships and not

3. The Definition of a Manufacturing System and its Place Within Industry
DM307 ProductionandOperationsManagementAssignment1 – Definitionof aSystem
Kerrie Noble pg. 3
things. Certain factual elements, such as
physical location, do have an impact on the
organisation’s boundaries but ultimately the
results of management decisions really
determine where the organisation ends and
the environment begins. (Cole, G, A, 2004)
While I believe a manufacturing system is an
open social system as a whole, their
subsystems may be open or closed i.e. they
are relativelyself-contained and are affected
in ways which are usually predictable.
However I agree with the Quick Response
ManufacturingSystemproposedbyRajanSuri
(2010). If a systemisto be successful itneeds
to become self-regulating with the inclusion
of feedback and communication between
each organisational sub-system. Thisiswhere
I would look to Katz and Kahn, two American
academics, who identified common
characteristics of an open system as follows;
 Importation of energy and
stimulation, e.g. people and material
 Throughput or conversion e.g. the
processingof materialsandorganising
of work activities
 Output e.g. of products and services
 Cyclic nature e.g. the returns from
marketing the output enable further
inputs to be made to complete the
cycle of production
 Negative entropy. Entropy is the
natural process by which all things
tend to break down or die.
Developing negative entropy means
importing more energy etc. than is
required for output, and then storing
it to enable survival in difficult times
 Feedback. Negativefeedbackenables
the system to correct deviations
 Steady state. This refers to the
balance to be maintained between
inputs flowing in from the external
environment and the corresponding
outputs returning to it. An
organisation in steady state is not
static, but a dynamic form of
equilibrium
 Differentiation; the tendency to
greaterspecialisationof functionsand
multiplicity of roles
 Equifinality. The open system does
not have to achieve its goals in one
particular way. Similar ends can be
achieved through many paths and
from a different starting point. (Katz
and Kahn, 1966)
Katz and Kahn, (1966) then further revised
this model to show the consequence of
outputs as information and results to
illustrate that the information can be used to
control the inputs and conversion process as
appropriate. This produces an adaptive
system which can be described as a
‘cybernetic’system, (Cole, G. A, 2004). In this
context, the term cybernetics means the
study of control and communication in the
animal and machine. I believe if this term is
placed in context in the research and
development of manufacturing management
and productionprocessthenit is evident that
this is the basis for the development of
theories such as Lean Manufacture and Quick
Response manufacturing, theories aimed at
creating global companies with control and
communication firmly implemented within a
manufacturing system.
The Katz and Kahn, (1966), system definition
identifies five sub-systems involved;
Production or Technical sub-systems – These
are concerned with the accomplishment of
the basic tasksof the organisation(production
of goods, provision of services etc.)
Supportive sub-systems – These are the
systemswhichprocure the inputsanddispose
of the outputs of the production sub-system.

4. The Definition of a Manufacturing System and its Place Within Industry
DM307 ProductionandOperationsManagementAssignment1 – Definitionof aSystem
Kerrie Noble pg. 4
They also maintain the relationship between
the organisation as a whole and the external
environment.
Maintenance sub-systems – These are
concerned with the relative stability or
predictability of the organisation. They
provide for the roles, the rules and the
rewards applicable to those who work in the
organisation.
Adaptive sub-systems – The first three
systems above serve the organisation as it is.
The adaptive sub-systems by comparison are
concerned with what the organisation might
become. They deal with issues of change in
the environment, e.g. as in marketing, and
research and development.
Managerialsub-systems–These comprise the
controlling and coordinating activities of the
total system. Theydeal withthe coordination
of sub-structures, the resolution of conflict,
and the coordination of external
requirements with the organisation’s
resources. An important managerial sub-
system is the authority structure which
describes the way the managerial system is
organisedforthe purpose of decision-making
and decision-taking. (Cole, G. A, 2004)
Picture III – A diagram of the cyclic nature of
an organisational system.
In a similarview toWuthissystemhasthe key
features of roles, norms and values. Roles
limit the effects of the incumbent’s
personality on performance in the position.
Normsand valueshelptointegrate behaviour
and values are more generally held beliefs
which represent the ideology of the
organisation – its culture. (Cole, G. A, 2004)
This shows that Wu was correct in his system
description when describing the strategy, its
integration and methodologies and
constraintsbutI believethatthe development
of the Katz and Kahn system also shows that
this can only be achieved with the
incorporationof a form a lean cell design and
thisresults in a productivity improvement, as
stated by Black.
The Real World Context
These theories represent the ideal outcome
fromthe use of systemshowever,asstatedby
many academics the reality is that many
managerial and organisational staff are still
reluctantinthe use of these theories and this
causes challenging prospects for the future.
The challenges facing modern manufacturing
organisations are evident in a published
article by Matthew J Joing detailing the
implementation of a system at Raytheon
Systems Limited based in Glenrothes,
Scotland.
Picture IV – Raytheon Systems Limited
company logo
During a six month time period spent at the
company,Joingrealisedthatthe basic system
in place was as Katz and Kahn’s description
but the toolsandmethodsusedtoimplement
the systemandenforce organisational change

5. The Definition of a Manufacturing System and its Place Within Industry
DM307 ProductionandOperationsManagementAssignment1 – Definitionof aSystem
Kerrie Noble pg. 5
were the cause of the challengesfaced by the
company. If Black’s systems description had
been implemented then the company would
have struggledtobecome successful as a lean
cell design was unsuitable and almost
inapplicable. However, with this considered
other areas of lean manufacture theory had
already been implemented in a very
successful way. Joing’s research concluded
that a combination of Lean Manufacture and
QuickResponse manufacturingwasnecessary
for this company. I believe that this shows
how variety in methods to aid system
development can cause problems and leave
the company facing challenges. If we take a
look at the system in place in every
manufacturing organisation, the same
simplisticsystemasoutlinedbyKatzand Kahn
will be found. The introduction of Lean
Manufacture and the progressive
developments of this theory will provide a
challenge and the company will require
knowledge and experience of each
management method to put in the place the
correct tool to produce an outcome which is
correct for that specific company.
References
Cole, G.A, (2004), Management Theory and
Practice, South-Western, Hampshire
Joing, M.J, (2004), “Applicability of Lean
Manufacturing and Quick Response
Manufacturing in a High-Mix Low-Volume
Environment”, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
Suri, R., (2010), It’s About Time – The
Competitive Advantage of Quick Response
Manufacturing, Taylor and Francis Group,
New York
Katz, D. and Kahn, R. L. (1966), The Social
Psychology of Organisations, Wiley
Black, J.T. (2001/2002), “Design For System
Success”, Journal of Manufacturing Systems,
Vol. 20, No. 6
Wu, B. (2001), “A Unified Framework of
Manufacturing Systems Design”, Industrial
Managementand Data Systems, Vol. 101, No.
8/9
Slack, N., Chambers, S., and Johnston, R.,
(2001), Operations Management, Prentice-
Hall, Essex
Picture I – A basic model of an open system
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Basic_Open_
System_Model.gif
Picture II – The organisation as an open
system
http://www.unc.edu/~nielsen/soci410/nm1/n
m1.htm
Picture III – A diagram showing the cyclic
nature of an organisational system
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm
?articleid=1921870&show=html
Picture IV – Raytheon Systems Limited
company logo
http://www.internationalarmouredvehicles.c
om/Event.aspx?id=380246

6. The Definition of a Manufacturing System and its Place Within Industry
DM307 ProductionandOperationsManagementAssignment1 – Definitionof aSystem
Kerrie Noble pg. 6