| The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between plant technology and the design and effectiveness of the production manager's job. A conceptual model was proposed and tested using data collected from 136 Canadian manufacturing firms.; The production manager's job, the dependent variable, was conceptualized and measured by the managerial roles and the job related stress. Eight managerial roles were identified and included in the study. They were: leader role, liaison role, consultant role, monitor role, informer role, entrepreneur role, disturbance handler role, and resource allocation role. The production manager's job stress was examined in terms of total stress, task stress, and role stress. Plant technology, the independent variable, was conceptualized and measured by the usage of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) and the degree of computerization in various plant functions. In addition, plant structure (complexity, formalization, and centralization) and plant workforce composition were introduced in the model to examine their moderating effects on the relationships between plant technology and the production manager's job.; Analysis of the data showed partial support for the model. Overall, the roles of the production manager was found to be more important for AMT plants than for traditional plants. The following roles were found to be more important for the production managers of the AMT plants than for the production managers of the traditional plants: leader role, consultant role, monitor role, entrepreneur role, and resource allocator role.; Plant structure and workforce composition were found to moderate the effects of plant technology on the production manager's roles.; The results showed no direct effects of AMT on job stress among the production managers. However, it was found that plant formalization moderated the relationships between plant technology and the production manager's total stress and task stress.; Finally, the results showed that the interaction between plant technology and the importance of the leader role, the consultant role, and the entrepreneur role were significantly but negatively related to plant performance. |
