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Introduction
The manufacturing industry has experienced an unprecedented degree of change in the last three decades, involving drastic changes in management approaches, product and process technologies, customer expectations, supplier attitudes as well as competitive behaviour ([6] Ahuja et al. , 2006). In today's highly dynamic and rapidly changing environment, the global competition among organizations has lead to higher demands on the manufacturing organizations ([101] Miyake and Enkawa, 1999). The global marketplace has witnessed an increased pressure from customers and competitors in manufacturing as well as service sector ([13] Basu, 2001; [51] George, 2002).
The rapidly changing global marketplace calls for affecting improvements in a company's performance by focusing on cost cutting, increasing productivity levels, quality and guaranteeing deliveries in order to satisfy customers ([126] Raouf, 1994). Organizations that want to survive in today's highly competitive business environment must address the need for diverse product range with state-of-the-art product features, coupled with high quality, lower costs, and more effective, swifter Research and Development (R&D) ([55] Gotoh, 1991; [67] Hipkin and Cock, 2000). In today's fast-changing marketplace, slow, steady improvements in manufacturing operations do not guarantee sustained profitability or survival of an organization ([113] Oke, 2005). Thus the organizations need to improve at a faster rate than their competitors, if they are to be-come or remain leaders in the industry.
With increased global competition, attention has been shifted from increasing efficiency by means of economies of scale and internal specialization to meeting market conditions in terms of flexibility, delivery performance and quality ([175] Yamashina, 1995). The changes in the current business environment are characterized by intense competition on the supply side and heightened volatility in customer requirements on the demand side. These changes have left their unmistakable marks on the different facets of the manufacturing organizations ([53] Gomes et al. , 2006). To meet the challenges posed by the contemporary competitive environment, the manufacturing organizations must infuse quality and performance improvement initiatives in all aspects of their operations to improve their competitiveness ([16] Ben-Daya and Duffuaa, 1995; [120] Pintelon et al. , 2006). In an increasing global economy, cost effective manufacturing has become a necessity to stay competitive.
The nature of production technologies has changed tremendously because of the implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies and Just-In-Time (JIT)...