In 1994, the idea for this project (we were not then thinking about a book) arose in a context of growing publicity surrounding prizes like the D- ing Award, the Malcolm Baldrige Award, and the European Quality Award, prompting us to ask: "Could we de?ne what world-class manufacturing is? It's got to be more than managing processes. Are the US and Japan really in the lead, as so many examples suggest?" Xavier de Groote, our colleague in the Operations...