The Myth of Japanese Efficiency: The World Car Industry in a Globalizing AgeCombining case studies with accessible but rigorous production models and historical background, this provocative book challenges accepted views on Japanese production methods in the world car industry. The book argues that the 'lean and flexible' production model popularly associated with Toyota MC is a myth, but one which sheds light on cultural responses to the attendant stresses of globalization. To illustrate this, Dan Coffey provides individual studies of process flexibility, labour productivity and the re-organization of work in the global car industry. Wider evaluations of Japanese impacts on the global economy and a resurgent Western capitalism are then made, progressing the case for a fundamental re-assessment of the narratives informing popular accounts of Japan's manufacturing success. Beginning with the fictionalization of history and propagation of empirical counterfactuals and finishing with observations on the wider impact of the 'lean and flexible' approach, the bold and controversial conclusion reacheld by the author is that what is at stake is our understanding of the form and meaning of 'production fantasy'. The Myth of Japanese Efficiency casts a familiar debate in an unfamiliar light. It will strongly appeal to management and business strategy academics, political economists and industrial sociologists interested in the debate on Fordist versus 'post-Fordist' production methods/'lean and flexible' manufacture and Japanese post-war success in the world market for manufactured goods. Human resource management specialists interested in best production practice will also find much to interest them within this book. |
From inside the book
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... assessing the data . In addition to the effects of a restricted options set , a proper assessment of the sort of descriptive statistics compiled by Delbridge and Oliver ( above ) also require that judgements be made about the effects of ...
... assessment of these details of the IMVP study naturally relies on the accu- racy of the originally published descriptions of each index employed in the analysis . The possibility , however , that J.F. Krafcik should have slipped at some ...
... assessment ; indeed , Williams et al . seem averse to the notion per se of a survey methodology applied on a large scale . 11 Their conclusions as a result of this particular orientation do not go as far as they might when assessing ...
Contents
Introducing the myth of Japanese efficiency | 1 |
a myth encountered | 15 |
the BMWRover Group controversy | 44 |
Copyright | |
7 other sections not shown