MANUFACTURING PRACTICE IN A TRANSITION ECONOMY

The paper summarizes the results of two surveys conducted in 1986 and 1991 in Hungary to explore manufacturing management practices. The dramatic changes of the region have exposed companies to a completely new situation, which is reflected in the survey results. Hungarian companies have apparently turned to the new direction and their current. practice is definitely closer to the one in the developed countries than to that used to be: resource orientation has been replaced by customer orientation; efforts for cost-sensitive, efficient production are much more sensitive; there is a slow but steady move towards more developed and sophisticated methodology. However, there is still a long way to go to meet world standards.