In very rough terms, one could attribute the success of American manufacturing to effective competition on the cost dimension (i.e., via economies of scale due to mass production), the success of German manufacturing to effective competition on the quality dimension (i.e.., via a reputation for superior product design and conformance with performance specifications), and the success of Japanese manufacturing to effective competition on the time dimension (i.e., via short manufacturing cycle times and rapid introduction of new products). Of course, each newly ascendant manufacturing power had to compete on the dimensions of its predecessors as well, so Germany had to be cost-competitive and Japan used cost and quality in addition to time. Thinking in terms of this simple model-that represents global competition as a succession of new competitive dimensions-give some suggestions for what might be the next important dimension of competition.

Step by step solution

01

Identify competitive dimensions of American, German, and Japanese manufacturing

For each manufacturing country, we will list their competitive dimensions: - American manufacturing: Cost (economies of scale due to mass production) - German manufacturing: Quality (reputation for superior product design and conformance with performance specifications) - Japanese manufacturing: Time (short manufacturing cycle times and rapid introduction of new products) It is important to note that each manufacturing power had to compete on the dimensions of its predecessors as well, which means Germany had to be cost-competitive, and Japan had to be cost and quality-competitive.

02

Suggest the next competitive dimension

With the understanding of previous competitive dimensions, we will now propose a new dimension for an emerging manufacturing power. As progress and technology evolve in the manufacturing world, some potential new competitive dimensions could be: 1. Sustainability (manufacturing processes that minimize an environmental footprint). 2. Adaptability (systems designed to be flexible and agile to help emerge in the global market). 3. Customization (developing highly unique, tailored products to meet specific customer needs). These dimensions are listed as potential suggestions for the next important dimension of competition. A new manufacturing power might choose to focus on one of these dimensions or a combination of them, as Germany and Japan did with their preceding dimensions.

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