Archives
Simulating the cladistic evolution of manufacturing
James S Baldwin
Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Peter M Allen
Head, Complex Systems Management Centre, School of Management, Cranfield University, United Kingdom
Belinda Winder
Head, Industrial Psychology Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Keith Ridgway
Director, Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Abstract
A common belief within manufacturing is 'the only constant is change'. Manufacturing cladistics was first developed in the early 1990s not only as a means of classifying manufacturing organisations but also, and perhaps more importantly, as a tool to both help deal with change, and use as a guide for organisational re-engineering. However, this approach has one major limitation – it is only a description of the past; the future is not represented. Uncertainties in decision-making and unknown barriers are thought to be major inhibitors behind the introduction of important innovations in technical, organisational and social domains.
This paper reports on the results of a study that interprets two complementary, but currently unrelated, areas of research, manufacturing cladistics and evolutionary systems methodology. This new framework would enable the exploration of evolutionary processes involved in the interactions of technologies and practices, facilitating decision-making as well as the exploration of new organisational structures.
Keywords
manufacturing cladistics, evolutionary systems modelling, management decision making, organisational transformations
References
Allen PM (1984) Self-organisation and evolution in urban systems, ch 2. In R Crosby (ed) Cities and Regions as Non-Linear Decision Systems. AAAS Selected Symposia 77, Westview Press, Boulder Colorado.
Allen PM (1985) Towards a new synthesis in the modelling of evolving complex systems. Environment and Planning B12: 65-84.
Allen PM, Engelen G and Sanglier M (1986) Towards a general dynamic model of the spatial evolution of urban and regional systems, ch 3. In D Hutchinson (ed) Advances in Urban Systems Modelling. Plenum Press.
Allen PM (1988) Evolution: Why the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, ch 1. In R Wolff, G Soeder and S Drepper (eds) Ecodynamics. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Allen PM (1997) Cities and regions as evolutionary complex systems. Geographical Systems 4: 103-130.
Allen PM (1998) Evolving complexity in social science, ch 2. In G Altmann and WA Koch, Systems: New Paradigms for the Human Sciences. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin and New York.
Allen PM (2000) Modelling complex economic evolution. In D Schweitzer and R Silverberg (eds) Evolution and Selbstorganisation in der Okonmie. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin and New York.
Allen PM (2001) Knowledge, Ignorance and the Evolution of Complex Systems, ch 4. In J Foster and S Metcalfe (eds) Frontiers of Evolutionary Economics: Competition, Self-Organisation and Innovation Policy. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham UK.
Goh P (2000) ‘The Implementation of Total Quality Management in Small to Medium Sized Enterprises'. Unpublished PhD. Thesis, University of Sheffield.
Leseure M (1998) ‘Manufacturing Cladistics: Using Phylogenetic Classifications to Understand and Manage the Complexification of Manufacturing Systems'. Unpublished PhD. Thesis, University of Sheffield.
Leseure M (2000) Manufacturing strategies in the hand tool industry. International Journal of Operations and Production Management 20(12): 1475-1487.
McCarthy IP (1995) Manufacturing classification: Lessons from organizational systematics and biological taxonomy. Integrated Manufacturing Systems 6(6): 37-48.
McCarthy IP, Leseure M, Ridgway K and Fieller N (1997) Building a manufacturing cladogram. International Journal of Technology Management 13(3): 269-286.
McCarthy IP and Ridgway K (2000) Cladistics: A taxonomy for manufacturing organizations. Integrated Manufacturing Systems 11(1): 16-29.
McCarthy IP, Leseure M, Ridgway K and Fieller N (2000) Organisational diversity, evolution and cladistic classifications. The International Journal of Management Science 28: 77-95.
Prigogine I (1973) Irreversibility as a symmetry-breaking process. Nature 246: 67-71.
Ridley M (1993) Evolution. Blackwell Scientific Publications.
Womack JP, Jones DT and Roos D (1990) The Machine that Changed the World. MacMillan Publishing, New York.
eContent Home