Engineered in Japan Japanese Technology - Management Practices

by Liker, Jeffrey K.; Ettlie, John E.; Campbell, John C.

• ISBN13: 9780195095555
• ISBN10: 0195095553
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1995-09-14
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Many Japanese companies have developed fundamental technological andmanufacturing strengths. These are generally not in the form of new hardtechnologies that no one else has, but rather management and human resourcepractices that enable the company to learn, evolve, and improve. This editedcollection identifies technology management practices that have become a majorsource of competitive advantage for excellent Japanese companies. The bookdocuments best practices from such companies as Toyota, Hitachi, Toshiba, andNippondenso, and discusses how these technology management practices can beusefully adopted in other cultural contexts.Each chapter is based on original research by a noted scholar in the field. Thebook covers the technology life cycle including applied RandD, product-processdevelopment, manufacturing methods and management, and technology deployment andorganizational learning. Authors all delve below the surface of Japanesemanagement approaches by looking at old practices in new ways, bringing new datato light that contradict conventional thinking, or identifying practices thatare yet to appear in the literature.A general conclusion is that Japanese managers and engineers tend to think interms of systems, focusing not just on the parts but on the connections amongthem.

Table of Contents

Contributors	p. xi
Engineered in Japan: Introduction and Overview	p. 3
Applied RandD
Basic Research in Japanese Electronic Companies: An Attempt at Establishing New Organizational Routines	p. 17
The Growth of RandD Investment and Organizational Changes by Japanese Pharmaceutical Firms, 1975-1993	p. 40
Governance Structure and Technology Transfer Management in RandD Consortia in the United States and Japan	p. 70
Governing United States--Japan High-Technology Alliances	p. 93
Product--Process Development Practices
Nippondenso Co. Ltd.: A Case Study of Strategic Product Design	p. 115
Integrating Suppliers into Fast-Cycle Product Development	p. 152
Toyota, Concurrent Engineering, and Set-Based Design	p. 192
Competing in the Old-Fashioned Way: Localizing and Integrating Knowledge Resources in Fast-to-Market Competition	p. 217
Manufacturing Methods and Management
Producing a World-Class Automotive Body	p. 237
Japan's Development of Scheduling Methods for Manufacturing Semiconductors	p. 263
U.S.--Japanese Manufacturing Joint Ventures and Equity Relationships	p. 278
Technology Deployment and Organizational Learning
Culture, Innovative Borrowing, and Technology Management	p. 311
Does Culture Matter? Negotiating a Complementary Culture to Support Technological Innovation	p. 321
Institutional Pressures and Organizational Learning: The Case of American-Owned Automotive-Parts Suppliers and Japanese Shop-Floor Production Methods	p. 346
Reflections on Organizational Learning in U.S. and Japanese Industry	p. 365
Managing Technology Systemically: Common Themes	p. 380
Index	p. 400
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