Manufacturing Organization.

6th December 2006.

I am of the firm view that unless the manufacturing sector is given importance and made to contribute substantially, the economy of a country would not grow satisfactorily, and the growth rate of GDP(Gross Domestic Product) would move slowly despite improvements in other sectors of economy. Rightly so, it is often called a wealth producing sector.
Keeping the statistical figures aside, I would like to narrate my own experience, and the thrill I derived from working in a chemical company under private sector, manufacturing synthetic resins, and later in a medium sized engineering unit, under public sector, manufacturing underground telecommunication cables.
The aura about any manufacturing unit is fascinating. The buildings, the machinery,the skilled labor,the movement of overhead cranes shifting the semi-finished and finished products across the production floors is exciting. The working of some of the machines converting materials from one stage to the other is so amazing that you begin to wonder the ingenuity of the persons who have designed such machines. The sheer scale of operations takes your breath away for a while. Sometimes it is inexplicable why such wonderful activities are neglected, and these units wear a deserted look. Much can be said. May be the product is outdated, may be there is no financial infusion, may be increase in costs is prohibitive and may even be bad management. Whatever may be the reasons, the sector needs a passionate revival.
Working in a manufacturing unit provides a wonderful opportunity to learn and practice human skills. One begins to realize the importance of working in a team to achieve common goals. As there exists different functionalities at a single place, there is a scope for interactions and knowledge sharing sessions. One gets a feeling of oneness when all of them attire in the same uniform projecting unity.
As my specialization was in the field of Cost Accounting,this section under the Finance department was responsible in the periodical fixation of prices of products for sale. Although the manufacturing process was similar, there were multiple range of products. And this made the pricing a bit complex and certainly interesting. Cost accounting differs from that of financial accounting as it concentrates more on factory accounting analyzing how effectively the raw materials are transformed into a finished product using the resources like labor, machine operations and production techniques.
It becomes imperative that the cost accountant is fully aware of the manufacturing process. This involves interaction with the production personnel almost on a daily basis. He must have an inquisitive mind, put probing questions to elicit information and analyze them at his desk and present his findings to the management, offering suggestions for growth of the company.
Obviously, the cost accountant must possess communication skills, general knowledge, a flexible temperament to get along with people, literate and illiterate, and the art of getting things done through administrative skills. Team building within the section, and inter personal skills with a positive attitude are some of the important attributes required to discharge duties. My career life in this sector was one of great satisfaction that shaped me as a person with a little all round talent to indulge in activities to acquire and share knowledge.
Following glasnost and perestroika in the erstwhile soviet republic, and the economic reforms that are taking place globally, and with the advent of Information technology, many multi national companies are opening manufacturing facilities around the globe to derive cost benefits. Companies like Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Hyundai, Suzuki, Honda, Ford to name a few, who are into this practice. The IT companies are all over the globe. While this trend is to be encouraged for forging healthy relationships among countries to bring people, and their cultures close, the manufacturing sector within the country must be given top priority.
Small scale industries and small entrepreneurs need to be encouraged and offered facilities for growth. Just like a child is nurtured to grow into adulthood, these companies too need a similar care.
I wonder when the large corporations are making friendly forays into other countries to expand their activities helping those nations to grow economically in the process, why the political breed are not succeeding in their field, when in the first place they are the ones who opened up the gates.