ComputerAided_Design_Engineering_amp_Manufactur.pdf

firms will be penalized for not training their managers. It might be speculated that the inability of
management to truly understand the CAD system may create long-term compromises in the firm’s ability
to find innovative ways of using CAD or in the ability of management to manage CAD workers effectively.
Thus, de-skilling benefits in the short term may imply strategic costs in the long term.
The results of this study further suggest that firms concerned with gaining specific competitive advantages
through CAD can choose the method of training to achieve their goals. Clearly, firms that wish to
leverage the de-skilling process should select more informal training techniques, while firms concerned
with training all levels of the firm should opt for a more formal program. Thus, the choice of the training
strategy becomes a deliberate decision aimed at achieving strategic objectives, rather than a predestined
selection, determined only by the nature of the organizational structure.
6.6 Conclusions
The implementation of a new CAD system presents many issues which the firm must confront if the
true potential of the system is to be realized. The discussion here provides general empirical support for
the argument that the type of training program chosen by a firm is closely related to the organizational
structure. For many firms, the choice of training program involves determining the best fit to the specific
organizational structure, as well as considering the required level of resource commitment. The costbenefit
analysis for a CAD system often focuses on financial requirements during the pre-adoption stage
and on efficiently achieving the benefits of CAD during the implementation stage. De-skilling has been
cited as one benefit that has financial implications for the firm as well as the potential to enhance value
added by design work. These findings suggest that if firms are particularly concerned with benefits
associated with the de-skilling process, then it might be in their best interest to use more informal methods
to train their workers.
One mechanistic firm in the sample adopted informal training methods in order to take advantage of
the de-skilling process. It might be suggested that other mechanistic firms with similar goals alter their
training format to do the same. By allowing for informal, less-constrained flows of information, these
mechanistic firms might be able to achieve the same quality of CAD education that their organic
counterparts seem to enjoy. Organic firms that are concerned with management training, on the other
hand, might be advised to pursue more formal methods of educating CAD managers. As noted above,
this training may promote the effective management of the CAD system as well as the development of
a strategic vision for the use of CAD.
Finally, the apparent difference between training programs for mechanistic and organic CAD firms
suggests many interesting questions. For example, would it be advantageous for mechanistic firms to
adopt more organic structures,
at least in their CAD design groups, or is the simple adoption of different
training methods enough? Is it ever cost-effective for a firm to use a hybrid training program consisting
of both formal and informal methods, as this research seems to suggest? Are there other CAD training
strategies which would emerge if the study were broadened to encompass different industries? These
questions merit future research.
References
1. S. A. Abbas and A. Coultas, Skills and Knowledge Requirements for CAD/
CAM in CAD/CAM, in
Education and Training: Proceedings of the CAD ED 83 Conference, P. Arthur (Ed.), Anchor Press, 1984.
2. P. S. Adler, CAD/CAM: Managerial Challenges and Research Issues, IEEE Trans. Eng. Mgmt. Vol. 36,
No. 3, pp. 202–215, 1989.
3. P. S. Adler, New Technologies, New Skills, California Management Review, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 9–28,
1986.
4. P. Attewell, The De-skilling Controversy, Work and Occupations, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 323–346, 1987.
5. T. T. Baldwin and J. K. Ford, Transfer of Training: A Review and Directions for Future Research
Personnel Psychology, Vol. 41, pp. 63–84, 1988.