... the Japanese data is sufficiently strong so as to suggest that certain managerial factors should generally be implemented in order to succeed with innovation. The authors then conducted a case study on a notably prominent Japanese company, Toyota, interviewing senior executives both in Japan and Australia...

... method in demand forecasting at Kao Corporation in Japan and extracts useful implications from the case. Findings Even if the forecaster and user are not the same, it is found that firms can realize an integrative method of using judgment as input to model building through effective transition...

... communication, and discipline workers. Katsuki Aoki can be contacted at: kaoki@kanto‐gakuin.ac.jp © Emerald Group Publishing Limited 2008 Japan China Continuous improvement Manufacturing systems Automotive components industry In contrast to the worldwide diffusion of the concept...

... product flows instead (Figure 1). In the extreme application, all assembly work is conducted at the same place (i.e.) on one or a small number of workstations. In Sweden, such stationary assembly work is often referred to as dock assembly; in Japan assembly in parallel product flows is known as cellular...

... by Western companies (Cheser, 1998 ; Malloch 1997 ; Parker and Slaughter, 1988 ; Vasilash, 1998). The most well known proponent of the kaizen concept – Imai (1986, 1997) – provides descriptions of kaizen in Japan, but falls short of a detailed explanation in order to maintain...

... a set of differentiated products or derivatives (Wheelwright and Clark, 1992). Japan Motor industry Product development Product planning Meyer (1997) focuses on the efficiency of the development and production of derivative products. In particular, from the production and assembly...

... explain variations in performance. As a group, European plants trailed the USA and Japan on productivity and quality. Measures of process discipline and control most consistently discriminated between the high and low‐performing plants. There was no clear link between performance and patterns of work...

... than one third of the time during which the plant was in operation. Action research Empowerment Japan Lead times Pharmaceutical industry Set‐up time The study centres on a tablet manufacturing plant which produces more than 150 different items ranging from mineral tablets...

... type of worker and work system is potentially shared by the Swedish unions: Japan Manufacturing Organizations Teamwork Work In this article we focus on the role which work organization in general, and which teamworking in particular, plays in the transformation of production in advanced...

... profits. Explains how Japan’s recent recession has caused the cycle to be broken and considers how factors relating to the external and internal environment have influenced the viability of lean production within Japan’s emerging competitive climate. Uses case studies of four manufacturing plants...

... time existing between Japanese and European workers. The authors establish that Japanese workers do not even utilize the holiday to which they are entitled, and when they do take a vacation it can very well be owing to illness. Similar analysis by the Japan National Defence Counsel for Victims...

...‐best way” approach to shopfloor measurement systems. Discards this in favour of an alternative approach outlined. © MCB UP Limited 1992 Japan Manufacturing Performance measurement Systems design United Kingdom Improvement Competitive advantage Production control Organizational...

... customer and supplier interviews, followed up by a more comprehensive survey. These involve subtle, yet fundamental, changes in companies′ managerial philosophies. © MCB UP Limited 1992 Assembly Car manufacturers Japan Motor industry Supplier relations United Kingdom Management philosophy...

... management techniques under Korean conditions. Also provides a number of cases of their implementation in Korea and outlines considerations and recommendations necessary for their successful implementation based on the study findings. © MCB UP Limited 1992 Japan Just‐in‐time Korea Manufacturing...

...Jit Seng Chan; Danny A. Samson; Amrik S. Sohal The manufacturing techniques used by Japanese companies to provide a competitive advantage have been shown by Japan′s outstanding economic performance to be effective over a long period of time. This effectiveness can be measured in terms...

... Japan Management accounting Manufacturing Stock United Kingdom Why Take the Stocks Out? Britain vs Japan by Karel Williams and John Williams The University College of Wales and Colin Haslam North East London Polytechnic Why Take the Stocks Out? Britain vs Japan 91 Received July 1988 Revised...

... and Japan. Data were collected from 54 companies in the scientific instrument industry concerning 65 new product design projects. These data show that there are significant differences in investment in R&D, in firm productivity, in R&D rewards and motivation, in project manager openness to new ideas...

... JIT is a system at all, or has been fully understood in the West, is considered and future research directions proposed. Time to Forget "Just-in-Time"? Time to Forget JIT? Observations on a Visit to Japan 5 by Roy Westbrook London Business School, UK Received July 1987 Revised September 1987 Japan's...

... UP Limited 1988 Goal Programming Japan Quality Circles Quality Control Technical Paper: Quality Control Circles Measuring the Effectiveness of Quality Control Circles: A Goal 59 Programming Approach by Received October 1986 Revised April 1987 Maling Ebrahimpour University of Rhode...

...Kasra Ferdows; Jeffrey G. Miller; Jinichiro Nakane; Thomas E. Vollmann Large manufacturers in Western Europe, North America and Japan show similarities and differences in their manufacturing strategies. A survey of nearly 1,500 large manufacturers in these areas shows that they all place major...