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The purpose of this paper is to document the extent to which the relative performance of plants varies over an extended period of time, with some plants performing persistently well and sister plants performing persistently poorly. It examines why this phenomenon occurs.

It does so through interviews and surveys of senior manufacturing executives who oversee multiple plants.

The interview and survey results are consistent with one another and point to the importance of the “mentality” of a plant's management and workforce: how they think about the factory and its operations. The nature of that mentality is explored.

This paper captures what the “grey hairs” of manufacturing think of factory performance and how to pursue it.

In a world in which “England's green and pleasant land” sets the standard for garden excellence, gardeners in much of the United States will struggle in vain to adapt the British style to their own volatile climates. American regional gardening literature offers a new vision to help gardeners throughout the United States select plants suited to their climates (especially native plants) and use techniques to prevent losses to cold, heat, humidity, or drought. The resulting gardens may not always resemble the traditional English her baceous border, but their beauty and vigor will enhance the often monotonous American suburban landscape.

The issue of the genetic manipulation of plants, animals and microbes is addressed within the context of food production. Genetic manipulation is defined within the wider area of biotechnology and some of the main benefits of its use are summarised; safety and risk are examined and some of the socioeconomic problems it can create are discussed. It is concluded that the technique can offer great potential benefits in terms of increased quantity and improved quality of food, but it raises social/ethical concerns which can be summed up by asking: Is it safe? Is it fair? Is it natural?

Management literature discusses that the behavioral traits of employees can play an important role in the success of total quality management (TQM). However, little empirical research exists in this regard. Using an international dataset, the present study investigates: the impact of quality management practices on plant competitiveness; and the moderating effect of an employee selection process on the relationship between quality management practices and plant competitiveness. Results show that quality management practices positively impact plant competitiveness. Furthermore, the behavioral traits of employees seem to have a significant impact on the effectiveness of quality management practices. This implies that managers should pay close attention to prospective employees’ behavioral traits and their fit with the TQM philosophy. Managers should not limit their attention to potential employees’ technical skills.

While research has identified potential benefits of specific technology development practices, the literature has largely failed to identify the contextual issues that influence these practices. This paper explores the contextual differences of plants to better understand what types of companies place more emphasis on process technology and have a more disciplined approach to product development. We propose a theoretical framework for understanding the relationship between the context in which a plant operates and the process technology and the product development practices used within the plant. We test this framework using data from 163 plants to determine what types of companies are most likely to emphasize process technology and product development at the plant level. Our results indicate that environmental, organizational and strategic contextual factors are important to the technology practices of a plant.

We undertake an empirical study of the well‐known product‐process matrix using data collected from 128 plants. Our analysis indicates that the relationship between product structure and process structure is significant, but not strong. Furthermore, less than half of the plants operate near the diagonal of the matrix. We found that the off‐diagonal plants are using innovative initiatives to overcome the lack of product structure and process structure match. As a result, we propose that a third dimension be added to the product‐process matrix that measures how aggressively plants are implementing these innovative initiatives, thereby explaining their off‐diagonal behavior.

This paper describes a method developed to schedule the preventive maintenance tasks in separate and linked cogeneration plants while satisfying the maintenance and production constraints.

The proposed methodology is based on a mixed integer programming model which finds the maximum number of available power and desalting units in separate and linked cogeneration plants. To verify that the model can be implemented for a real system, a case study of scheduling the preventive maintenance tasks of a cogeneration plant in Kuwait is illustrated.

An efficient solution can be achieved for scheduling the preventive maintenance tasks and production in cogeneration plants.

The paper offers a practical model that can be used to schedule preventive maintenance for expensive equipment in cogeneration plans.

The model presented is an effective decision tool that optimises the solution of the maintenance scheduling problem for cogeneration plants under maintenance and production constraints.

Against a background of world‐wide recession, there are now definite signs that the chemical industry is again on the upturn. But optimism is clouded by persistent problems of overcapacity, price instability and the difficulty of retaining acceptable profit margins. One possible solution—taken up by ICI—is a commodity exchange offering greater flexibility on contracts. Report by Roger Eglin.

Describes the history and current working of one of the “world′s most interesting collections of botanical books and manuscripts”. Notes in particular the work of William Sherard, one of the outstanding botanists of his day, and refers to other important works in the collection. Comments that the library is Oxford University′s main collection of books covering botany, agricultural science and forestry.

Examines the turnaround of the world′s largest acrylic plant, in Alabama. Discusses the impact of the company′s “Plant for the 1990s” campaign, and the planning sequence of vision hypothesis, verification, analysis, and implementation, as well as a profile of the new workforce. Concludes that while new technology must be implemented slowly, and there is still work to do, the reorganisation achieved so far has already put the firm in a much stronger position than previously.