Transplanting Japanese management techniques

Long Range Planning, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 81 to 89, 1993 Printed in Great Britain

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002&6301/93 $6.00 + .OO 1993 Pergamon Press Ltd

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Transplanting Japanese Management Techniques Samuel Ho

This article explores the various management tools used in Japanese firms. It covers modern Japanese management from its philosophical, strategic level down through managerial and operationallevels. Much of the existing literature on Japanese management deals mainly with conceptual areas such as management thinking, decision styles, and employee loyalty. In addition to these concepts, this paper investigates some practical features and explains Japanese management using examples from various sources. The objective of the article is to make practical and effective management systems available to practitioners in the U.K. and other countries. Based on this objective, the article describes many unique Japanese systems and techniques. These techniques can be used wherever they fit local needs and the local environment. If a company in another country wishes to apply the techniques, but the environment is not suitable, the management can folio w one of two courses: the first is to change the work environment; the secondis not to adopt the system. The company culture may be changeable in the short run or in the long run. Even an institutional or social environment can be changed in a longer period of time-as shown in Japan during the past hundred years. Many concepts and systems, however, can be applied immediately, without change. The point is that companies in the U.K. and Europe should carefully examine and selectively adopt Japanese management systems-and also adapt them for their own environments and needs-as the Japanese have done with systems and techniques from other countries.

Much has been written about the Japanese economic miracles over the past decade (North Star, 1987). The success of Japan is also evident from the appreciation of the Yen. In 1982, the Japanese Government tried in vain to maintain the exchange rate level ofU.S.$l to Y190. The rate then slid to the historical low of X114, finally stabilizing at its current level of about X120. Despite this, Japanese products have not lost their competitiveness. There is still no sign of Japan’s enormous trade surplus coming down. David Ricardo (see Samuelson, 1992) is recognized for his economic theory on comparative advantage. This says that economic activities will move to places where overall natural resources are abundant

Dr Samuel Ho is Lecturer in Strategic Marketing at Warwick

University.

and the market is near. Yet this does not explain why Japan exports ten times more to the U.S. than does Brazil which has the same population but is about ten times nearer. To explain this aspect, we have to consider the theory of ‘Dynamic Comparative Advantage’, developed by contemporary economists. This theory stipulates that comparative advantage is not only dependent on natural resources. It is also dependent upon such things as investment in education, public facilities, technology, export promotion, etc. Management, an intangible investment not so widely discussed by economists is equally, if not more, important. Japan could not be as successful without her huge investment in Japanese style management. The objective of this article is to analyse the fundamental reasons for the success ofJapan, with a view to identifying the factors that may be adopted in the environment of the U.K. and other countries. During 1987, the author had a chance to study the Japanese economy. He visited some representative organizations in the manufacturing and services sectors. Further useful information was obtained from the Ministry of International Trade and which has earned its name as the Industry (MITI), ‘invisible hand of the Japanese economic miracle’.

Japanese Management

A-Z

It is not always feasible for one country to adopt another’s successful management practice. Ouchi (1981) has been the pioneer in comparing successful American companies with those from Japan, and thinks that the economic success depends more on management than on culture. In contrast, Fukuda (1987) attributes the Japanese success, in large measure, to the influence of Confucianism on management. There is no straightforward way of understanding the management skills which are widely used in Japan, they have to be gradually acquired through practice. The specific features of Japanese management that are worth considering in

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the U.K. and other countries are identified below. The terminology used, with the exception of FA, is applicable both in the context of manufacturing and service industries. Corporate Identijication (CI) a name widely In recent years, CI has become CI refers to the process of known in Japan. establishing ‘a clear and positive corporate image to the public by advertising the unique character and culture of the corporation using various kinds of with a clear and slogans and signs’. Corporations outstanding image are usually energetic and well perceived by customers. For instance, NEC has identified itself as a ‘Computer & Communication’ (C & C) company since 1975. This has created a new CI in the eyes of both employees and customers. After establishing its CI, NEC was able to develop rapidly in size and has extended its operations into large computers, office computers, facsimiles, electronic components, and communication equipment. In addition, it has attracted a large pool of talented personnel. (Ueno, 1985). In 1985, Kao Soap Corp. changed its name to Kao Inc. Subsequently, Kao was able to establish an identity as a manufacturer of general household consumables including detergents, hair-care materials, napkins, cleansing and cosmetic products, etc. Hitachi Corp. is changing its image from that of an integrated electrical equipment manufacturer to an integrated electronic equipment manufacturer. Mitushita Electric has also been successful in changing from an integrated home electrical appliance manufacturer to an integrated electronic appliance manufacturer through an emphasis on office automation equipment under the brand name ‘National’. Toyota has a market share of 40 per cent in Japan because it has built up an image as the automobile manufacturer of high quality at the lowest cost. The image of Seven-Eleven is of stores which have ‘a good atmosphere, and are ‘fun for shopping’. In recent years, some U.K. companies have tried to establish their CI through advertising, internal promotion, or the recruitment process. Establishing a good CI is a long process, but the end results usually pay. Corporate Motto (CM) This is different from CI in that it is for internal use rather than for building up the corporate image. To Japanese employees, the company is very important because of life time employment and the company’s loyalty to them. Therefore, most employees treat CM as their ‘commandment’. More often than not, they try their best to follow the CM and achieve it. Usually, these mottos cover not only the corporate objectives, but also the objectives for personal development. For example, Nippon Denso has the CM of ‘Four Better’ which includes better mind and health, better quality, better cost, and better

1993 thinking. Hino Motors’ CM is ‘to produce excellence in people before excellence in products’. Fanuc, the company with the highest profit rate in Japan, states simply that ‘we swear to serve our customers by developing better products continuously’. In the U.K., CM is almost non-existent as company loyalty and job stability are lacking. Should employers change the picture now? Cost Reduction Management This has been a constant process in most Japanese enterprises, particular in the recent years of Yen appreciation. The final target is to arrive at a product that ‘is cheap and works well’ in order to satisfy the consumers’ demand. The manufacturers know that in order to sell a product, they must bring down the price to an affordable level. The U.K. is a high cost manufacturing base, despite the fact that labour cost is actually less than in Japan. In order to remain competitive, the U.K. must rationalize its processes with the aim to cost reduction rather than using cheap materials or processes, at the expense of quality. Factory Automation (FA) Since the beginning of this decade, FA has been sweeping Japan like a forest fire. The core of FA consists of robots and computer numerical control machine tools, supplemented by automated warehouse and unmanned vehicles. The advantage of FA are : A reduction cost.

in direct

A reduction computers.

in human

Nearing round machinery.

the

workers,

hence

errors owing clock

in labour

to the use of

utilization

of

the

The potential to build up Flexible Manufacturing Systems to meet variations in demand. An increase

in worker

An improvement

productivity.

in quality

at reduced

cost.

In Japan, the most successful factory in the application of FA is Fanuc, which is itself a FA equipment manufacturer. In 1985, Fanuc’s average sales revenue per employee was the highest in Japan (LOe5m or six times that of IBM), with pre-tax profits at 37 per cent (Economic Daily, 1986). The additional labour released from the factory floor as a result of FA is transferred, after re-education, to FA control, software development and maintenance. The employees have thus benefited from an improvement in working conditions and job satisfaction. The time to consider seriously the introduction of FA into various industries in the U.K. is fastapproaching in view of rising labour costs and

Transplanting Japanese Management increasing demands for more sophisticated production technology. Foolproojng This is a simple but useful idea. It means that a careful design of work place, work system and product can minimize mistakes arising from carelessness or depression of the employees. (One factory in Japan even has a patent for the design of a foolproof device for the hanging of flags.) Foolproofing is particularly applicable to assembly work. In the service sector, this refers to proper working procedures and working methods. This attention to detail reflects the Japanese quest for quality. It is something that others can adopt without difficulty. British companies have taken the lead in implementing quality management systems (BS-5750). It would be logical to build foolproofing into the procedures to minimize mistakes. On the other hand, everyone in the organization needs to contribute towards foolproofing. Just-h- Time (/IT) This idea originated, some 30 years back, from Mr Toyota, the founder of Toyota Motors Inc. Because of difficulties in setting up business soon after the war, resources had to be used productively. In the JIT system, all capital, manpower, and production facilities are carefully planned and effectively used in order to ‘eliminate wastage totally’ in agreement with the Toyota spirit. In Toyota’s application of JIT to the production of cars, all parts are fed to the production line exactly at the time needed. There is no unnecessary wastage of any kind. Even though modern automobiles have over 80,000 parts, the raw material stocks are usually limited to 3 hours supply, which literally approaches the ideal of ‘Zero Stock’. Through this system, not only is wastage minimized, capital tie-up is also reduced. This in turn results in higher competitiveness. Toyota has over 250 contractors who have all adopted the JIT system and created a ‘co-exist and grow’ relationship. In the service sector, one significant example ofJIT is the ‘Fresh System’ which runs a distribution service with over 40 outlets spread over the country. The system provides a convenient way of ordering food and other household products by telephone. For every outlet, its computer receives the calls from customers over the phone in real time. Then it releases the orders automatically to the suppliers who have the responsibility of delivering the goods before 5:00 a.m. daily. The goods are packed and delivered during the morning. By noon, the depot is free of any stock and is waiting for the next cycle. In the U.K., some modern factories are practising the JIT system, albeit with difficulty in educating their suppliers to follow the rule ofJIT delivery. It appears that the main difficulty is the lack of

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willingness to stick to the rules. Nevertheless, there are many examples of companies, especially Japanese firms in the U.K. like Toshiba (Trevor, 1988), Nissan (Wickens, 1991), etc. which have practiced JIT successfully. It is an important competitive weapon for companies to develop in modern business. Loyalty to Employees Japanese are renowned for their loyalty to employees as evident from their general policies of life time employment and the spirit of team work. Firstly, despite the growth in office and factory automation, managements usually give redundant workers opportunities to be re-educated to meet the requirements of new jobs. For instance Kao Inc., one of the first corporations undergoing OA, has set up an OA Promotion and Training Centre to reeducate and re-deploy its employees. When the Centre Manager was interviewed, he pointed out that such a move was needed for the growth of the company. Secondly, the average Japanese does not need to change jobs frequently, because his company usually grows adequately to provide for his continuous career advancement. Thirdly, the company often offers consultant posts to senior executives after their retirement. This creates a lifetime relationship for the employee with the company. In the U.K., most companies are uncertain about their future development. It appears therefore that the U.K. scene is not conducive to the development of ‘loyalty to employees’. O&e Automation (OA) OA can broadly be defined as the dynamic use of office and personal computers together with wordprocessors, intelligent facsimiles, photocopiers, and other communication equipment. The purpose of OA is to let the office equipment handle routine jobs, thus freeing the manpower for more creative work and increasing productivity. The next stage of OA is to make use of the increased speed of data processing to report to middle management information for decision making. The decision making unit can make use of tools like simulation, forecasting, marketing strategy and plans, etc. to develop better courses of action. The prerequisites for using OA for information processing are: a common

data bank,

a network system, multi-purpose

workstations,

and

software. The Japanese hardware industry is almost leading the world, whereas this is not the case with software. In the next decade, one of the determining factors for an organization’s success is likely to be its ‘information power’ in meeting changing business environments and developing greater business

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opportunities. Noteworthy in this regard is Toshiba’s OA, developed after moving its new headquarters in 1984. The whole company is now stratified in three broad information levels-Section OA, Department OA, and Board OA. Executives feed filtered information upward through these three levels. Based on such information, the top management can now make strategic decisions rapidly in response to changing market conditions. Toshiba feels that the term OA has been misinterpreted as implying a ‘personless’ office and therefore have changed the term to ‘Office Information System’. The UK has been a leader in the utilization of software in the banking and financial sector amongst developed nations. However, if we do not move into the area of decision support systems for integrating operations with strategic decision making, our leadership will be at stake. People-Centre Management (PM) In classical organization theory, the Hawthorne Experiment (Mayo, 1980) is well known for showing the success of team work. Even today, Volvo in Sweden still relies on team work-it takes 9 employees to produce a car. Another case of relevance is Toyota’s highly productive subsidiary, Hino Motors. In Hino’s monthly production of over 10,000 heavy goods vehicles, assembly line type production is inevitable. However, for Hino, this does not imply the sacrifice of human interaction. On the contrary, assembly lines call for even better co-ordination. In the vast factory floor at Hino, ‘orders’ do not work. They believe in small supervisory group meetings for co-operative activities. Then the objectives identified are disseminated to the grass-root level for refinement and action. Their corporate mission is to make the employees proud of their work. PM has made Hino grow. This is further supported by their corporate motto to ‘produce excellence in people before excellence in products’ (Vogel, 1979). In the U.K. and other countries do organizations give their employees the equitable treatment of personal identity? People complain that there are too many job hoppers and job loyalty is almost nonexistent. However, it is naive to believe the validity of such complaints without looking into what employers offer. Quality Control Circle (QCC) QCC has been a major contributor to the success of Japanese products. In a nutshell, QCC organizes the grass-root level employees in groups of seven to twelve. The middle management will then give them training and guidance so that the circle can have regular meetings to discover, analyse, and solve the daily problems in their work. The objective is to improve quality, reduce defects, increase productivity, reduce cost, improve working environment and safety. The final goal is to

1993 develop staff talent and co-operation job satisfaction and loyalty.

so as to create

The Japan Union of Scientists and Engineers @_JSE) established the first QCC in 1962. By January 1980, there were about 100,000 registered circles at JUSE, with another estimated one million non-registered. Today, over 13 million Japanese are participating in QCC. On average there are about 50 suggestions per circle member per annum (JERC, 1986). These millions of suggestions are the driving force behind Japan’s continuous improvement in product design, quality and productivity. Clearly, QCC applies to both manufacturing and service industries, or even to any human activity. QCC arrived in the U.K. in the 1980s mainly in the manufacturing sector. Since then it has been growing steadily and is also being used in some service organizations including banks and the Civil Service. Both the Department of Trade & Industry and the Institute of Quality Assurance have put efforts in its promotion. However, QCC’s popularity in the U.K. is still far behind that in Japan. Research G Development (R 63 D) Although it might appear to be an area outside management issues, a study of Japanese management would be incomplete without taking note of the effect of R & D. Many Japanese enterprises, especially the larger ones, invest an amount equivalent to their pre-tax profit into R & D. This is an acceptable norm in Japan because organizations are looking for long-term growth. For instance, in 1985, the R & D expenditure of some of the large corporations were [Yen, 19851:

The most significant Japanese achievements in R & D are in the electronic, new materials, and biotechnology areas; for instance, VLSI technology, robotics, optical and vision technology, ceramic materials for car engines, Aspartame for low calorie drinks, etc. These R & D departments do not work independently. They have to operate closely with other departments and with definite targets in terms of number and timing of new ideas and products. With the close co-operation with sales departments, for instance, customer needs are reflected and used as directions for development. As a result, Japan is continuously moving into the manufacture of new high-technology goods, and leaving lower-technology goods to SE Asian Countries. This move has

Tran Isplanting been particularly significant during the recent years of Yen appreciation. The Japanese know too well that the only way to grow is to make their product introduction rate so steep that other countries simply cannot keep up with them. Sony organizes a Technology Exchange Convention for about 6000 of its employees every year (Morita, 1986). In 1982, an English Engineer from Sony Bridgend, South Wales proposed a new concept of digital recording of images at the Yokohama Convention. Six months later, he was invited to go to Sony in Japan again. To his surprise, he was presented with a prototype of a Compact Disc Player based on his original concept. He was absolutely astonished and commented that if the players were developed by a British firm, it would take at least 10 years! The U.K., in particular, is well known for its achievements in original research. However, a lot of good ideas have been put into practice by the Japanese. It would be cost-beneficial if we could at least pursue development work on the products already introduced into the market. Further, a lot of R & D work requires Government support which is lacking. Rationalization Most Japanese know that this is the first step towards FA and OA. In simple terms, rationalization means the logical design of activities in order to be effective. In FA, this could mean the applications of industrial techniques like material handling and storage, plant layout, man-machine co-ordination, ergonomics, tool and fixtures, automation equipment, etc. In OA, this could mean procedure simplification, workplace layout, use of audio, visual aids, and automation equipment, etc. Without rationalization, many jobs which could have been improved would continue to be ineffective or inefficient. Because of the importance of rationalization, the Japanese Productivity Centre has organized a special campaign to promote rationalization amongst industries.

improve quality

-

Figure

1. Deming’s

-

(Deming,

1986)

Management

Techniques

85

It is well recognized that the British people like to keep up traditions. However, when it comes to improvement, rationalization should be given priority. Total Quality Management In today’s economy, competition is greater than ever. In order for companies to continue to survive and grow, the quality of their goods and services is of paramount importance. Many companies are working very hard to achieve good quality goods and services and using them as competitive advantages in their business. In the 199Os, there are two main subjects on quality that capture the attention of most businesses in the world, namely Total Quality Management (TQM) and the International Quality Management Standard ISO-9000. A lot of publicity and promotion has gone into these two areas. The beginning of the Single European Market on 1 January 1993 has added a new dimension to the requirement for ISO-9000. The Market is the largest in the world and thus has attracted tremendous attention from export-oriented countries in Asia. According to Deming (1986), Figure 1 is not new to the Japanese any longer. Since the 1950’s the management in many Japanese firms has adopted this chain reaction. Management and workers have the same aim, namely quality. This chain reaction offers one benefit after another on quality improvement. It is difficult to accept initially that by improving quality you can improve productivity. However, the chain speaks for itself and Japan’s marvellous economic achievement is the undeniable solid evidence. So TQM is a must in activating Deming’s chain reaction. The flow diagram in Figure 2 is used to explain that in Japan the consumers are the most important part of a production line. To meet the customers’ requirements is the task one needs to accomplish. Since TQM aims for customer satisfaction, it ought to be implemented and practised. From

Costs decrease becuase of less rework. Fewer mistakes, fewer delays, snags; better use of machine-time and materials

Capture the market with better quality and lower price

chain reaction

Japanese

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Design Suppliers of materials and equipment

7

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-

Distribution

Production,

\

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Figure

2. An operation

/

Consumers

Receipt and test of materials

A B\

Consumer research

assembly,

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flow diagram

(Deming,

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Outside External

organization

customer

Customer

Customer

Customer

Supplier/ Customer

4

Customer

Customer

External

supplier Outside

Figure

3. The Quality

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(Oakland,

1989)

organization

Transplanting Japanese Management customers do not only exist outside an organization, but also inside it. There is a series of supplier/ customer relationships. These relationships serve as an important interface in the quality chain. Failure to meet the requirements in any part of a quality chain will affect the other (Oakland, 1989). So, in order to avoid this from happening, TQM needs to be practised. Hakes (1991) finds that after the Second World War pressure for quality came from the military. As a result, the 05 series of Ministry of Defence (MOD) quality standards and the Allied Quality Assurance Publication (AQAP) series of NATO standards were born. Major companies in the automotive industry began to establish their own quality system standards and assess their suppliers. In order to control the increase in numbers of different types of quality system standards and to reduce the multiple assessments, the British Standards Institute (BSI) eventually developed the military standards into the BS-5750 series (Part 1,2 and 3 : 1979). Later on, they have been used as the source for the ISOseries. The U.K. is the pioneer country in implementing ISO-9000. There are now more than 16,000 companies registered in the 1991/1992 BSI Guide of Registered Firms, mainly in the U.K. Today, besides the manufacturing industries, there are service organizations that have met the requirements of the quality system standard (Rooney, 1988; Debenham, 1989). The interesting question is whether the average quality of our products and services has been improved over the last decade. If not, are we still some way away from TQM? TSS In Japanese, TSS refers to Tomete, Sugu, Shouti which means ‘If a problem arises, solve it immediately’. Canon Inc. created the motto and used it as one of their tools to meet their production objective: ‘using the lowest possible cost to produce good quality products in the shortest time’. In 1983, Canon managed to save about L80m in scrap and wastage. The money saved was used for production technology improvement, capital investment and staff training. TSS is an effective tool in reducing assembly line wastage. The idea is that whenever an assembly worker finds a problem in his work, he will ring the supervisor for help. If the problem cannot be solved, a red light will go on, stopping the whole assembly line. The supervisor will call upon all relevant staff to solve the problem. No defective parts are allowed to flow to the next workstation. The allowable stoppage time per day is set at 20 minutes. This serious attitude towards quality is worth emulating in the U.K. and other countries in order to create a good image of our products in the world market. Value Added Network (VAN) VAN is now a very popular term in Japan. The basic

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idea is to use computer and communication networks to help business operations. In Japan there are over 10 commercially available VAN, mostly established by large computer firms like NEC, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, etc. They are different from Local Area Networks (LAN) in that they are nationwide and users can join for a fee. For instance, Kao Inc. was the first VAN user and has been building up its Marketing Intelligence System since 1984. Now, Kao can ‘talk’ to about 80 distributors and collect the sales data throughout the country instantaneously. VAN not only saves a lot of documentation cost, but also provides very valuable information regarding the sales of individual products. VAN is also used in other areas such as fresh food telephone orders, spectacles retailing, and tailoring of garments. One co-operative organization uses VAN for their pharmacy retail members in ordering and stock control. It then reinvests the profit into education and training of its members. It is worth noting that when new ideas come to Japan, the Japanese are very good in quickly finding applications for them. In the U.K. and in Continental Europe one may think that VAN would not be so useful. However, when efficiency and stock control is important, as in the distribution/retail industry, VAN is an obvious solution. Some large supermarket and holiday chains are using it now but there is ample scope for development, particularly in the distribution business. To tap this market, a private firm is investigating the feasibility of installing an optical fibre based VAN in the U.K. which could be a multi-million pound project in the near future. Value Analysis (VA) By definition, VA =FUNCTIONS/COST. This is a simple but very useful relationship between the functions of a product and its cost. There are several ways to increase VA. They can be summarized as follows :

(1) Reduce

functions but reduce cost more--This is a ‘corner cutting’ exercise. Unfortunately, in the modern day competitive market, consumers are more demanding than before. So this is not an attractive solution and would reduce the image of the firm.

(2) Keep

functions unchanged and reduce costThis is typically a cost reduction exercise and should be implemented without the consideration of VA.

is, in (3) Increase functions and reduce cost-This most cases, impossible to achieve, unless the original design is bad. (4) Increase functions and keep cost unchangedThis is difficult to achieve unless there are some dramatic design improvement. (5) Increase functions

more than the cost-Most

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Japanese firms have a firm belief in this approach. This is because in today’s buyers’ market, every consumer wants the best value for money. Thus, consumers would like to increase the functions of their purchases. This is further supported by intense competition in the market place. This is obvious by looking at the full range of electronic consumer goods, particularly audio-visual equipment. Today we find that camcorders have become smaller, multi-functional, are of a professional quality and resolution, yet with just a little increase in price. There are numerous examples of this kind. In Taiwan, an electric fan manufacturer adopted the same strategy in their product development in 1985 (Yip, 1986). They put infrared controls in their freestanding fans: so that the user can control the speed, the angle of swing, and even the decorative lighting from his chair. It may be considered as a gimmick by some people. However, the end result is that the company managed to sell 200,000 sets to the Japanese market which is highly competitive. Very soon, all major Japanese manufacturers had to put remote controls in their more expensive fans! This would indicate how European companies can develop opportunities to export their products to Japan. Visual Management (VM) The principle behind VM is that people are usually attracted by what they see. In Japanese firms VM is well accepted. It can be in the form of a notice board, slogan, indication light, card (Ku&an), visual display unit, etc. The objective is to use visual aids to make communication simple and attractive. An extension of VM is Colour Management. Japanese firms are very good at using colour for the identification ofjobs. For instance, both Toyota and Fanuc’s production lines make use of coloured bins and light signals to control production flow. Visual and colour aids cost little but have a useful psychological effect; they are worth adopting for the workplace in the U.K.

Conclusion The above discussion provides an overview of some typical management terms used in Japan. They are chosen because of their popularity and effectiveness. In an average Japanese firm, these techniques are part of the daily language and culture. Yet many other well accepted terms have not been included. Examples are: Brain Storming, Cross Fertilization, Dynamic Management, Effort Reduction, Flexible Management, Kanban, Management By Objective, Productivity, Safety Management, Self Management, Suggestion Schemes, System Management, Time Management, U-Shape Assembly Line, and Zero Defects Management.

1993 The average Japanese is very eager to learn as can be seen by their reading habits observable in any train and subway. They are also very good in making management practice simple so that everyone can follow easily. Typical examples are QCC, 8S, TPM, TSS, and VM. To sum up, there is one golden rule have to be for the Japanese success: ‘improvements made in every aspect, step by step and continuously, by everybody’. Japanese economic success is well known to the Western world. Japanese experience can teach us a lot. There must be a lesson for everyone. It is for managers in other countries to adopt and adapt the Japanese experience to their particular environment. One might argue that such tools as CI, CM, Loyalty, PM, R & D, and VAN might be inappropriate to other countries’ culture and particularly to the small and medium-size enterprises which are the majority. The counter-argument is that to strive for excellence, organizations must seek ways to improve. If firms can create their own corporate culture and develop it, they can easily be models for other firms. In the case of small and medium size enterprises, the adaptation should be compatible with their scale of operations. For intance they cannot initiate VAN, but they can participate in the VAN systems of their customers. Like Japan, the only way to survive and become prosperous for years to come is to have persistent improvement in the productivity and quality of our products and services.

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at

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Transplanting Japanese Management

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for America,

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