Business Changing Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business Changing Environment - Essay Example Digital Equipment Corporation, Scotland, came into existence in 1983 as a small scale test facility for computer chips made in Hudson, America. Digital is one the largest computer manufacturing company in America and its plant in Ayr, Scotland, became the first overseas plant to launch worldwide distribution of computer system which was locally designed and developed. When assembling operations were added in 1985, there was impressive growth in the output of VLSI chips and the strength of the employees grew from 14 in 1984 to 470 employees in 1989. VLSI volume rose from 2000 per week to whopping 35000 per week in 1989 which were not only more complex and sophisticated in design but also comprised of forty different product types that needed to be packed in lots of batch sizes from 50 to 100!The plant is nonunionized and has 24 hours working schedule that is divided into three shifts with the total floor area of more than 25,000 square feet. Working conditions are generally good and t he skilled and non-skilled jobs are well defined and streamlined for smooth functioning. The hierarchal managerial supervision does not encourage much collective decision making. Employees in the operation and assembling units are trained for specific jobs and have no wider understanding or knowledge of the production processes. The work is repetitive with hardly any scope for individual growth. The organization singularly lacks effective communication and knowledge sharing processes.