Chapter 11: Lean Production in Japan: Myth and Reality

Jürgens, Ulrich; Littek, Wolfgang; Charles, Tony

doi:10.1515/9783110890747.349

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…A comparative assessment of the alternative routes to best practice raises three main doubts about the primacy of lean production to which the Baldrige criteria have most affinity (Berggren, 1992;Dankbaar, 1990;Jurgens, 1993):…”

Section: Lean Production As Best Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

The Baldrige quality competition in New Zealand: a critical assessment

Perry

1997

International Journal of Quality Science

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of practical implicationsAround the industrial world, government development agencies and private industry groups have recently promoted models of best practice in business organization and strategy. Across these initiatives there is a remarkable unanimity in the version of best practice being advocated, reflecting the influence of Japanese "lean production" methods. This consensus has partly been arrived at through independent, national investigations but perhaps more influential have been the Baldrige Award criteria. This article examines these criteria and their use in New Zealand. The type of workplace organization and quality management emphasis advocated by the Baldrige criteria are contrasted with other systems of work organization -sociotechnical systems, German diversified quality production, flexible specialization -which, it is argued, offer alternative routes to best practice depending on the market and business environment operated in. Case studies of workplace reorganization in two primary sector industries in New Zealand are used to suggest limitations in the Baldrige assessment criteria.The discussion in the paper offers answers to the following sorts of practical issues faced by industry promotion agencies and business managers seeking to determine the relevance of the Baldrige quality competition criteria and the extent to which they delineate a model of "best practice":• Is the concept of "best practice" meaningful as a basis for the promotion of business development?• What type of quality is emphasized in the Baldrige criteria and how does this interpretation differ from that emphasized in other business systems?• Are the Baldrige criteria relevant to all localities or is it a system that only has relevance to certain industries or places? Can the Baldrige criteria be modified to suit the needs of particular business contexts, if so, what changes might be justified?• How should smaller industrial countries, such as New Zealand, react to the diffusion of the Baldrige model? Should they seek to incorporate it in its entirety, modify the weight given to the individual components in the Baldrige system or look to other interpretations of quality?

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Section: Lean Production As Best Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

The Baldrige quality competition in New Zealand: a critical assessment

Perry

1997

International Journal of Quality Science

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“…Although heavily promoted (Womack et al , 1990; Cooper and Slagmulder, 1997, 1999) much research has been very critical regarding the credibility of the claims made by Womack et al (1990) (especially) and several other proponents of “lean”. Claims for the general superiority of lean production over all other systems or approaches have been convincingly rejected and a number of severe negative side effects of “lean production” documented (Berggren, 1992, 1993; Cusumano, 1994; Jürgens, 1995; Morris and Wilkinson, 1995; Williams et al , 1995; Katayama and Bennett, 1996; James‐Moore and Gibbons, 1997; Benders and van Bijsterveld, 2000; Lewis, 2000; Boyer and Freyssenet, 2002; Cooney, 2002). In general, (critical) research has acknowledged that measures promoted under the label “lean production/manufacturing” (or “Toyota production system”) can be advantageous, depending on circumstances, and it has also substantially enriched the understanding of the impacts of “lean production”.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the integration of design and construction from a “lean” perspective

Jørgensen¹,

Emmitt

2009

Construction Innovation

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Citation: JORGENSEN, B. and EMMITT, S., 2009. Investigating the integration of design and construction from a lean perspective. ConstructionInnovation: Information, Process, Management, 9 (2), pp. 225 -240.Additional Information:• Design/methodology/approach -Following an extensive review of the literature a multiple case strategy approach was used to explore the practical application of lean approaches to design and construction integration in an organisational setting.Summaries of the case studies, one from the USA and two from Denmark, help to highlight a number of pertinent issues facing practitioners and researchers.Findings -Findings suggest that it is possible to identify a number of aspects that (in theory as well as in practice) both influence and, to various extents, limit the applicability of the lean philosophy to construction. Findings also help to emphasise the importance of a number of interdependent factors for achieving better integration, namely: value identification/specification; an appropriate project delivery framework; structuring and planning of delivery processes; transparency; management and leadership; learning; and the importance of local context. Originality/value of paper -The findings provides an original contribution to the integration of design and construction activities from a lean perspective. The findings are generic and could be practically applied in a variety of contexts.

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The Gap Between Science and Society and the Intrinsically Capitalistic Character of Science Communication

Arboledas-Lérida

2022

Social Epistemology

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Chapter 11: Lean Production in Japan: Myth and Reality

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

The Baldrige quality competition in New Zealand: a critical assessment

The Baldrige quality competition in New Zealand: a critical assessment

Investigating the integration of design and construction from a “lean” perspective

The Gap Between Science and Society and the Intrinsically Capitalistic Character of Science Communication

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