The most thorough, valid set of findings on global manufacturing and winning practices worldwide This eye-opening resource sets a new standard for how manufacturing practices are viewed in today's business world. The results of an extensive research project spanning 164 factories in the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom determine the best path to high performance manufacturing. This is one of the first books to offer comparisons of manufacturing in these five countries, addressing their current issues and providing insights that affect manufacturing worldwide. Researchers from such universities as the London Business School, Wake Forest University, Yokohama University, and the University of Minnesota detail how manufacturing leaders are raising the bar on practices in product development, organizational alignment, quality management, and more. Covering the vital areas of machinery, electronics, and auto components, they examine the most effective methods and techniques across a host of functions within manufacturing-looking at how everything from new technology and information systems to human resource practices and manufacturing strategy should be introduced into a plant environment to achieve high performance manufacturing. Using data from companies such as Texas Instruments, Honda, Sony, Prince, John Deere, and Caterpillar, High Performance Manufacturing takes a comprehensive view by showing how to select and integrate the practices that best fit a plant's particular situation-the most critical and difficult task to achieve in practice. With its strong research base and high caliber of contributors, this unique volume will inspire managers of any country or industry to set their own path to high performance manufacturing.