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Drawing from observations made at a couple of manufacturing firms, this paper weaves together behavioral aspects of process improvement and maintenance concepts with ongoing commitments to operations management goals. Causal loop diagramming, part of the system dynamics tool‐kit, is used to structure the interrelated nature of involved concepts and variables. An objective is to offer insights from a systems perspective. The paper offers behavioral explanation for limited success in implementing improvement programs and suggests reversing the traditional “maintenance service supplier‐and‐customer relationship” between maintenance and operations.

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Purpose -The core purpose is to offer a framework that integrates key insights from the literature on knowledge creation, learning and problem solving in conjunction with mapping of customer needs into a closed loop model of knowledge processes in a manufacturing environment. Design/methodology/approach -Based on review of literature on knowledge creation and synthesis of a conceptual model that connects the life-cycle of knowledge and know-how with core product and business processes of a manufacturing company. Specification of requirements and design of a managerial dashboard are illustrated with a case of a medium-sized manufacturing company. Findings -The paper presents properties of knowledge and know-how creation processes in manufacturing environment and proposes the integrated model of those processes. Furthermore, the paper recommends a four-stage approach that can be utilized to create a firm-specific knowledge management system. The model is applied for design of a managerial dashboard system for manufacturing company. Research limitations/implications -Although the model conceptualized is generic, it will benefit from additional applications in different manufacturing settings. Further research has been planned. Originality/value -For practising managers, the model facilitates productive thinking to integrate knowledge and know-how generation that is a consequence of business problem solving and knowledge accumulation and dissemination infrastructure. A new integrated model of those processes is proposed and used for the design of the managerial dashboard.

PurposeThe core purpose of the paper is to propose that improvisational practices have the potential to bring an additional dimension to the learning process in a typical manufacturing organization governed by a culture‐implied “plan what we do and do what we plan” environment. In today's turbulent environment employees should possess both the capability to follow a plan, while at the same time remaining able to respond instinctively to outcomes that are unexpected.Design/methodology/approachSeveral authors view the concept of improvisation associated with performing arts and creativity‐based artistic productions such as jazz performance, comedy and improvisational theater as a model to shape organizational processes. The instances of improvisation cited in the literature are first classified as either proactive or reactive. Using the jazz metaphor, the paper offers a model of decision making by an agent and a process view of communication.FindingsThe authors propose that a culture of a manufacturing environment described as “plan what we do, do what we plan, but improvise with bias toward improved system performance” is very desirable and should be legitimized.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the model is conceptual, it will benefit from more empirical or case‐based research.Practical implicationsFor practising managers, this work offers a goalpost toward productive thinking.Originality/valueThe paper argues that improvisational experience of other domains of activity (e.g. in creativity‐based artistic productions such as jazz bands, theatres) should be considered for adoption into the manufacturing environment after a suitable transformation.