A comparative study of the use and effectiveness of production management systems in the UK and Libya
General Material Designation
[Thesis]
First Statement of Responsibility
Sameda, Ahmed Ali
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
University of Manchester : UMIST
Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.
2004
DISSERTATION (THESIS) NOTE
Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree
Ph.D.
Body granting the degree
University of Manchester : UMIST
Text preceding or following the note
2004
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
Production management systems (PMSs) are techniques or philosophies by whichmanufacturing enterprises manage their production. These include not only such highlysophisticated, fully integrated computer-based systems as Enterprise Resource Planning(ERP) packages, but also more `culture-based' systems such as Just-in-Time (JIT). Thisthesis compares the PMSs of a sample of four UK manufacturing companies with those ofa similar number of Libyan enterprises, with the aim of making recommendations for theimprovement of Libyan PMSs.The economic, cultural and political background of Libya is presented, followed by acomprehensive review of academic studies of PMSs and related areas, including work onthe implementation of various types of PMS in different economic and cultural settings.The appropriate research methodology for the comparative work is established as beingthe case study technique, with qualitative data collected by means of structured interviews.The empirical findings are that the Libyan PMSs investigated are inefficient andunsophisticated when compared to the UK sample, where ERP and similar IT-basedsystems are favoured. It is argued that Libyan practice needs to be improved, but thatimplementation of ERP or similar systems would be inappropriate in the short to mediumterm because of infrastructural, educational and other barriers. JIT, on the other hand, isappropriate for an immediate programme of implementation in Libya and a framework isproposed by which such an implementation could be planned and executed.Recommendations are also made for further study, including into the question of eventualadoption of ERP in Libyan industry in the longer term.