Development of a system model for determining optimal personnel interaction strategy in a production industry

Abstract

Manufacturing organizations have become more complex in recent time as a result of technological advances. Communication among production workers operating in an environment marked by increased organizational complexity may require planning for the economically appropriate selection of network channels/media with enhanced productivity. This paper examines traditional and modern communication channels (media) and their comparative advantages over one another in their adoption in manufacturing organizations. In this framework, six media (human messengers, mobile-phones, intranet, fixed-internet, mobile-internet, and private branch exchange [PBX] phone systems) were subjected to analyses using five identified network patterns (all-channel, chain, Y, wheel, and circle) of interactions in manufacturing organizations. Costs, benefits, and the utility of the channels were integrated into the model and utilized to determine the most sustainable media that could enhance productivity in industry. The developed model was implemented using expert data/information collected from the plastic production industry. The results of an availability assessment showed that the enhancement of productivity could be fully achieved by utilizing mobile phones and internet networks, but when considering overall utility, only mobile phones could bring about the desired productivity with 0.59 probability. The findings suggest that the system developed is robust in revealing how productivity might be affected by means of communication among industrial workers.