Product
Development
and
Manufacturing
has changed
significantly
over time.
Decades ago,
manufacturing
was a dirty,
labor
intensive
job that
required
little
education.
Efficiencies
we gained by
implementing
new
production
equipment or
processes.
Due to these
increased
efficiencies,
America saw
a fifty-fold
increase in
Productivity
in the 20th
century for
the manual
workers in
Manufacturing.
In the 21st
century,
Product
Development
and
Manufacturing
is a complex
process that
relies
significantly
on
information
technology
and
computerized
equipment.
Along with
this change,
we have seen
a shift in
our labor
force from
the manual
worker to
knowledge
worker; the
knowledge
worker now
makes up the
majority of
our
workforce.
Knowledge
work needs
to be made
more
productive
for our
workers,
companies,
and
societies to
maintain and
improve
their
prosperity.
The most
important
contribution
management
needs to
make in the
21st century
is to
increase the
Productivity
of the
knowledge
worker.
The most
valuable
asset of the
20th century
company was
its
production
equipment.
The most
valuable
asset of a
21st century
company will
be its
knowledge
workers and
their
productivity.
Manual work
is visible -
you can see
the physical
inputs and
outputs of
the process.
Therefore,
it is much
easier to
improve.
Since
Frederick
Taylor's
work in the
beginning of
the 20th
century, we
have
improved the
manual
worker's
Productivity
through
Scientific
Management
and
Industrial
Engineering.
Knowledge
work is
invisible -
since the
work is
primarily in
digital
form, the
inputs,
outputs and
process are
not as
easily
evaluated as
they are
with manual
work.
Since
knowledge
workers are
paid much
more than
manual
workers the
benefits of
increased
Productivity
far outweigh
that of
manual
worker
Productivity.
Research
shows that a
high-performance
workforce
will be most
important to
a companies
future
success.

- Skills Gap
Report, NAM,
The
Manufacturing
Institute &
Deloitte
Consulting
The current
Product
Development
process of
manufacturers
is performed
by several
knowledge
workers that
are
employees of
different
companies
that are
located in
different
geographical
locations.
To see the
biggest
increase in
knowledge
worker
Productivity,
we must not
only focus
on their
personal
productivity
but more
importantly
on process
productivity.
The better
companies
can
streamline
and
systematically
improve
their
Product
Development
process, the
better,
faster, and
cheaper they
will be able
to develop
products.

It is the
Productivity
of the
knowledge
worker that
the future
prosperity
and survival
of developed
economies
will
increasingly
depend.
Decades from
now,
leadership
in the world
will move to
the
countries
and
industries
that have
most
systematically
and
successfully
increased
the
Productivity
of the
knowledge
worker.
Therefore,
the first
mission of
The
Innovation
Machine is
to:
1)
Increase the
Productivity
of the
Knowledge
Worker.
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