A comparative study of the use and effectiveness of production management systems in the UK and Libya

• Main Author: Sameda, Ahmed Ali
• Published: University of Manchester 2004
• Subjects: 658.5
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.488250

Production management systems (PMSs) are techniques or philosophies by which manufacturing enterprises manage their production. These include not only such highly sophisticated, fully integrated computer-based systems as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages, but also more `culture-based' systems such as Just-in-Time (JIT). This thesis compares the PMSs of a sample of four UK manufacturing companies with those of a similar number of Libyan enterprises, with the aim of making recommendations for the improvement of Libyan PMSs. The economic, cultural and political background of Libya is presented, followed by a comprehensive review of academic studies of PMSs and related areas, including work on the implementation of various types of PMS in different economic and cultural settings. The appropriate research methodology for the comparative work is established as being the case study technique, with qualitative data collected by means of structured interviews. The empirical findings are that the Libyan PMSs investigated are inefficient and unsophisticated when compared to the UK sample, where ERP and similar IT-based systems are favoured. It is argued that Libyan practice needs to be improved, but that implementation of ERP or similar systems would be inappropriate in the short to medium term because of infrastructural, educational and other barriers. JIT, on the other hand, is appropriate for an immediate programme of implementation in Libya and a framework is proposed by which such an implementation could be planned and executed. Recommendations are also made for further study, including into the question of eventual adoption of ERP in Libyan industry in the longer term.