History and scholarship
Adam Smith's pin factory (1776) is a classic starting point. Taylor (1911) founded scientific management; Harris (1913) published the EOQ formula; Skinner (1969, HBR) called manufacturing the missing link in strategy; Ohno (1988) described TPS, which Womack et al. (1990) termed lean production; Goldratt (1984) introduced the theory of constraints.
What the job involves
Production planning, line and process management, materials and inventory, productivity and cost analysis, using ERP/MES. Scope and required skills vary by company and industry; check actual job postings and NCS job descriptions.
Hiring and careers
Manufacturers hire industrial and mechanical engineering graduates; works with quality control.
FAQ
- Mostly on-site?
- Often at plants; check location.
- Versus production engineering?
- Engineering develops processes; management plans and runs them.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26
References
- Smith, A. (1776). An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. W. Strahan & T. Cadell.
- Taylor, F. W. (1911). The Principles of Scientific Management. Harper & Brothers.
- Harris, F. W. (1913). How many parts to make at once. Factory, The Magazine of Management, 10(2), 135–136.
- Skinner, W. (1969). Manufacturing—missing link in corporate strategy. Harvard Business Review, 47(3), 136–145.
- Goldratt, E. M., & Cox, J. (1984). The Goal. North River Press.
- Ohno, T. (1988). Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production. Productivity Press.
- Womack, J. P., Jones, D. T., & Roos, D. (1990). The Machine That Changed the World. Rawson Associates.
- 국가직무능력표준(NCS). https://www.ncs.go.kr
- 고용24 직업정보(고용노동부·한국고용정보원). https://www.work24.go.kr