The Application of Agile Manufacturing Approach to Improving the Competitive Advantage - A Case Study in INTER Hotel -Private Sector - Baghdad

Abstract

Both products or services organizations work in high level competitive world. To be in a leading position in global market, a company must develop new models and new approaches in its processes’ performance. Therefore, manufacturing organizations started to apply the Agile Manufacturing approach which implements manufacturing strategy on the organization level (Level Manufacturing Strategy) to produce new products for a rapid changing market, which reflects the capacity of the organization to strive in the competitiveness environment that is governed by continuous change.This study includes two sections: theoretical and applied sections. which with regard to accelerated manufacturing in basic elements and the (5Cs) under which this approach is implemented, and the association of accelerated manufacturing with the production flexibility to achieve the company's competitive advantage, have been reviewed in the theoretical section. While the practical section included the use of case study method by adopting checklist approach to measure the size of the gap for testing the level of service provided at the Inter Hotel and to diagnose the most important obstacles that tend to occur in the accelerated manufacturing approach. So, the researcher used a checklist to measure a gap size to the second variable (competitive advantage) to diagnose the competitiveness level of the Inter Hotel among other hotels. It appears that there is no database used in the hotel to analyze the gaps in performance level, so the hotel doesn’t have a future vision to make plans by top management to attain the competitive advantage. The most important recommendation of the study is to have work team specialized in operations management in place to promote work styles based on quality management to raise the performance level in the hotel.