| Summary: | ABSTRACT
This study investigates the possibility of a relationship between manufacturing strategy and organizational culture within manufacturing plants, based on examination of the research literature. Survey data were collected from 138 respondents in 16 plants. These plants included random samples of textile, beauty and pharmaceutical industries, which located in Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang, and Bekasi areas.
All necessary data for this study were obtained from a questionnaire through a mail survey. The questionnaires were designed so that multiple respondents answered all perceptual questions. These were finally collected for more than three months after sending them to the same addresses for more than once during July, August and September 1998.
The definition ofmanufacturing strategy in this study is primarily process-based, it does not include such content dimensions. Manufacturing strategy and organizational culture were found to exhibit a statistically significant relationship within the plant. The analysis indicates that a well implemented manufacturing strategy, which includes formal planning processes, communication of strategy, contribution to competitive position, and a long range orientation. It coexists with a clan oriented organizational culture characterized by the use of groups and teams, low emphasis on hierarchy, and high level of loyalty and share plant-wide philosophy.
This analysis suggests several implications regarding the manufacturing strategy process. First, it may be necessary to involve multiple decision makers at different organizational levels in the implementation of manufacturing strategy in order to help them to come up with the right decisions. Second, it may be useful to view culture as a mechanism, which controls the behavior of individuals by defining it certainly.
Key words: manufacturing strategy -- organizational culture
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