Effects of operational employee skills on advanced manufacturing technology performance

This study employs structured interviews in a field setting to develop an in-depth understanding of how a specific human resource decision affected manufacturing performance at 30 plants using advanced manufacturing technologies. Initial results suggested that there is no relationship between the skill level of operational employees and the level of performance of the installations. When a measure of "fit" between environmental characteristics and skills was employed, however. there was a significant relationship between the fit measure and performance.