Introduction

       The printing industry, since it involves a large number of separate and quite distinct skills, is mainly made up of skilled craftsman.  It involves the application of scientific knowledge and yet it is often described as an art, understandable because of the complexity of some of the process, it is still regarded by many as something of a mystery.

       There is considerable difference in the problems faced by governmental and non-governmental agencies in the production of academic publications.  An attempt as been made here to project some of the problems faced by semi-governmental agencies.

Constitution of publication unit

       Publication Units in governmental agencies generally have three-tier staff pattern.  Workers of the press constitute the back bone of the production.  Next come the supervisory staff directly concerned with the production of books.  Members of this cadre should have technical expertise and they have direct contact with the workers and the management of the press.  The general staff comprises of clerks, typists, proof readers, sales managers, etc., entire management is vested in some officers or head of the department.]

The main problem

       Most of the publication units of non-governmental agencies are self-complete and autonomous.  They have opportunity to enforce self discipline so as to facilitate very good production.  The main problem with semi-governmental agencies is the failure to recognize publication units as production units which need special attention.  The paper focuses the difficulties in dealing with production units by academic agencies, like university and institutions and governmental agencies.  Generally these agencies treat the productive unit as one of their departments.  Problems of management and union faced by productive units are not given special care.

Major hurdles in production 

       Major hurdles in the production of academic publication in semi-governmental agencies are lack of co-ordination and non-recognition of skills and potentials.  These factors do affect in time production and quality production.  Actually these two are the most important factors in which a publication agency is expected to fare well.  Selections of staff governing affairs of the press dealing with the workers placing of orders and every other thing is done in a semi-governmental agency without giving special attention that is needed in the case of a printing press.  This casual attitude is affecting the production of academic publications.

Examples of factors affecting production

       Selections of supervisory staff and the officials not keeping in view of the technical expertise needed for the job certainly affects the production.  This kind of non-technical supervision of technical items leads to low quality production and also labour problems.  Governmental agencies generally do not suffer lack of machineries but lack of suitable personnel.  Delay in appointments of workers and supervisory staff leads to insufficient production.

       The main hurdle for quality production is, the procedure followed in governmental agencies for the purchase of materials, accepting only the lowest quotations, purchase of low quality materials, contribute towards low quality production.

Measure for improvement

Planning

Planning involves short term activities such as estimating, technical planning, preparation, work instructions, stock, control of work, purchasing and material control and the provision of information for long term planning on such matters as sales forecasting, market research, the purchase of capital equipment, finance and labour requirements.  Provisioning is the procedure with arrangement for the right materials to be in the right place at the right time.

       Control ensures that the plans are being followed and initiates action when production is out of step with the plan.

       The prime aim of a production control system must be to maintain and wherever possible, increase the profitability of the organization.  The secondary aims of increasing customer satisfaction, maintaining delivery dates, evening out the work flow and using the capacity in the press to the maximum are important, but they must be assessed in terms of how they help to improve profitability.

       A satisfactory system needs to be flexible enough to permit sudden re-arrangements if there are breakdowns or sickness holidays are taken at short notice or an important order arrives.

       A production control system must be simple to operate, easily understandable by all members of management, in expensive to install and operative and capable of permitting the installation of a pilot scheme which can be extended as required.

       Important among the measures for improvement is production in the delinking of production unit from other academic departments.  There should be an autonomous management having specific duties and responsibilities which are production oriented.

       Utmost care should be taken while selecting the personnel.  This is one of the most important fields where the semi-governmental agencies fail to understand the need for technically sound personnel.  Technical posts are also filled with academic experts leading to failure in production.

       Often the supervisory staff are not taken into confidence by officials.  This problem arises when the officials are selected from non-technical group.  Every care should be taken to use only high quality materials.  For this officials must always work in co-ordination with supervisory staff.

       Pin pointing the duties and responsibilities for all the cadres of the staff will facilitate intime production.  If the skill and ability are properly recognized and the work is extracted production will definitely increase.

       Supervisory staff in a production unit really face innumerable problems.  Actually they are the mediators between workers and the officials.  All the labour problems are directly faced by the supervisory staff.  They have problems from both the workers and official superiors.  Ill treatment from both the sides often demoralizes the supervisory staff.

Handling complaints

       The most efficient printing organization, even if it has careful production planning and considers its standards of quality to be of  a high order, will at some time or the other make mistakes.  The trouble may arise as the result of an accident, a misunderstanding or much worse a lack of proper instructions, or it could be the result of carelessness or incompetence on the part of member of the staff.

       When some one repeats the same mistake too often and takes undue advantage of situations the value in knowing where weaknesses exist, in what directions they can be improved and how to deal with complaints when they arise plays an important role in press management.

       They are two basic requirements – a correct interpretation of the requirements of the customers and the making of arrangements for the work to be produced in the most expeditions and economical manner and if these are met, then the number of complaints received will received will be increase ad eh customer will sooner or later go elsewhere.

       Recognition of all the above factors certainly helps quality production and intime production.  Co-ordination between different cadres should be given prime importance.

       Properly organized production control has an important part to play in the management of any modern manufacturing organisation by planning the work to be undertaken, arranging the sequence of production in the most economical manner and by constantly monitoring the result and taking action where necessary.  In this way the aim of increased productivity should be achieved.