Communication’s role for strategic consensus in formation of manufacturing strategy

Paper in proceeding, 2015

This paper identifies the means of communication in a shop floor context and how these influence the workers’ perceptions of MS priorities. 28 interviews with workers and managers at four metal working SMEs in Sweden showed that there are significant similarities among the companies in relation to all communication elements and that the main communication channel is shop floor meetings. However, significant for all four companies is the lack of a strategic perspectives in the message content. This paper contributes to the management of the worker-manager relationship in relation to MS formation and the role communication plays for strategic consensus.