Flexible Production in the International Automobile Industry
{'Code': '04040400', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'SBE', 'LongName': 'Direct For Social, Behav & Economic Scie'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'BCS', 'LongName': 'Division Of Behavioral and Cognitive Sci'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Thomas Baerwald', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
In response to increased competition from producers throughout the         world and to more volatile patterns of consumer demand, industrial              firms in the U.S. and elsewhere have developed new forms of "flexible           production" that allow them to quickly adjust to changes in demand.             The abilities of U.S. firms to maintain a competitive position in an            increasingly interdependent global economy will depend to a great               extent on how well they pioneer and adopt new, more efficient forms of          production.  These new forms of production have dramatic impacts on the         location of production, which in turn affects social, economic, and             demographic development in regions where industrial operations are              established, grow, or decline.  Social and management scientists have           examined the general character of the new forms of flexible industrial          production, but the locational ramifications of these changes have been         examined only in isolated case studies focusing on single regions.              This project will build on work already undertaken in Mexico and Europe         to compare how different forms of flexible production have been adopted         and have altered the geography of production for automobile companies           in the U.S., England, Italy, and Yugoslavia.  Data on economic                  conditions, policies, and company operations will be gathered and               analyzed, and lengthy interviews with high-ranking executives of about          a dozen automobile manufacturers will provide the basis for a                   controlled assessment of how different companies have responded to              different socio-economic and market conditions.  The results of this            project are expected to be presented in a book that will compare                flexible production and its geographic impacts in at least seven                nations.                                                                             This project will generate better understandings of how automobile         companies and other manufacturers have adapted to changes in markets            and other economic forces and of how different forms of flexible                production affect patterns of development and economic activity.  To            the extent that the success of other forms of operation can be gauged           within the context of broader socio-economic and market settings, the           information gathered in this report should facilitate more effective            decision making corporate executives and publicly accountable decision          makers.  This carefully constructed comparative analysis also will              provide a basis for testing some of the new theories about industrial           operations, economic development, and urban location that have been             formulated recently by scholars in geography and related disciplines.
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{'Name': 'University of California-Los Angeles', 'CityName': 'LOS ANGELES', 'ZipCode': '900244200', 'PhoneNumber': '3107940102', 'StreetAddress': '10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'California', 'StateCode': 'CA', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '36', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'CA36', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'RN64EPNH8JC6', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
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{'Code': '9120', 'Text': 'CROSS-DIRECTORATE PROGRAMS'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1988&All=true', 'xml': '8813009.xml'}