In the face of fierce, low-cost competition and an army of high-quality suppliers, manufacturing managers are concentrating more and more on flexibility as a way to achieve new forms of competitive advantage. Having acknowledged the importance of flexibility, however, they are finding it frustratingly difficult to improve. In "What Really Makes Factories Flexible?" David M. Upton explains why the improvement of flexibility has been so elusive.

In the midst of today's call for greater board activism, directors should consider ways to implement a strategic review process that lets them discharge their responsibilities without micro managing the company. Because a board must compare the company's value as an investment with other investments that are available to shareholders, it brings a unique perspective to thinking about its role in the company's strategy.

Recent approaches to strategy have focused the attention of managers inward on their companies' core competcncies and capabilities. In "Competing on Resources: Strategy in the 1990s", David J. Collis and Cynthia A. Montgomery lay out a set of pragmatic tests to help managers build and sustain profitable resource-base estrategics.