Introduction Commercial aircraft Consumer electronics Steel Chemicals Textiles Automobiles Machine tools Education and training The United States in the world economy A changing world Productivity and productivity growth Manufacturing productivity Productive performance Productive performance and the trade deficit Productive performance and the macroeconomic environment Why manufacturing matters Diagnosing the problem Outdated strategies The mass-production system Parochialism Short time Technological weaknesses in development and production Designing for manufacturability and quality Teamwork in the product-development process A focus on the manufacturing process Continuous improvement Who is the blame? Neglect of human resources Patterns of education and training Formal schooling Training in the firm Education and training patterns Retraining Future challengers Failures of cooperation Cooperation within the firm Labor-management relations Vertical linkages Horizontal linkages and the public good Too much or too litte? Regulatory policy The technological infrastructure National defense Emerging patterns of best industrial practice Simultaneous improvement in quality, cost, and delivery Staying close to the customer Closer relations with suppliers Using technology for strategic advantage Flatter and less compartmentalized organizations Innovative human-resource policies Obstacles to the diffusion of best practices Imperatives for a more productive america Long-term trenda Five imperatives Focusing on the new fundamentals of manufacturing Cultivating a new economic citizenship in the work force Blending cooperation and individualism Learning to live in the world economy Providing for the future Strategies for industry, labor, and government Strategies for industry Strategies for labor Strategies for government How universities should change Changes in the engineering curriculum Changes in the management curriculum ReseARCH aWARENESS