“The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) reports that only 11 to 15 percent of all machine tools in the U.S. are automated; the majority of those automated are found in large companies.” 

“A Census Bureau study found that half of the small manufacturers surveyed don’t use any of 17 technologies cited by experts as critical to competitiveness and didn’t plan to do so in the next five years. Among firms that used one of the technologies, 60 percent had no plans to adopt other technologies.”

QUESTIONS

1. Why don’t more small companies in the United States adopt modern technologies?
2. How can modern technologies be justified from a cost perspective in a small company?