The challenge posed by the worldwide competitive environment will demand many things of the enterprise, particularly leaders who understand the system of manufacturing, its elements and their interrelationships. Realizing the benefits of a positive response to these challenges will place unusual demands on all of the participants of the enterprise. Although success in implementing the foundations depends on many things, the committee emphasizes that they represent a system of actions that cannot be embraced piecemeal. They are as interrelated and as over- lapping as are the elements of the manufacturing system that they seek to improve. They must be viewed as a system of action-oriented principles whose collective application can produce important improvements in the manufacturing enterprise.
Effective communications are obviously a key element of success in implementing the foundations.
But it must be recognized that it is easier to develop the mechanisms for collecting inputs from many sources than it is to create an environment that generates rapid, sensitive, and consistent re- sponses to those many voices. This is especially true for those broadly defined as customers. It makes little difference whether the customers are internal to the enterprise, such as those employed in the firm's production activities chain, or organizationally separate from the enterprise as purchasers and users of the products manu- factured. Encouraging the active participation of customers in the affairs of the enterprise places important obligations on both the customers and the enterprise. Organizing the information, assigning responsibility for response, allocating resources, and training people to be good listeners is a daunting task for the enterprise.