Engineered in Japan Japanese Technology - Management Practices

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.