http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/309223218

High Level Manpower and Technological Change in the Steel Industry:Implications for Corporate Manpower Planning

The purpose of this study was to examine the role that high level manpower plays in the establishment of new technologies at the plant and industry level. The steel industry was selected as an appropriate industry to approach these questions due to: its considerable technological changes; its straightforward, easier-to-understand technology; its lesser degree of influence by governmental policy. The first stage of research involved extensive interviews with executives of five major steel companies and executives of six engineering and equipment companies. The study revealed that steel companies do not decide whether or not to undertake an investment program on the basis of manpower factors. "Technological change per se is almost never a central preoccupation of steel executives." Steel executives engage in continuous learning, with the learning pace accelerating as major technological changes and investments are imminent. The study showed that engineering firms were more concerned with manpower issues and the technological/managerial capacity of their high level manpower. In summary, top-level steel managers are needed to provide leadership, skill, incentives, and general climate that evoke and advance technological proposals; most manpower planning is a response to fairly predictable developments. (Ea).

Open All Close All