‘Japanese’ Management Techniques

Abstract

Western management is continually bombarded with the latest technique from Japan, often via the USA. Managers are exhorted to change rapidly in the ‘nanosecond nineties’¹ or be overtaken. We are reminded that ‘Survival is not compulsory’,² and that all we took for granted before is about to be stood on its head. It is easy to feel inadequate in a situation where you are encouraged to grasp the latest panacea that will accelerate your business into the world-class league. So what route should change management follow? Total Quality Management or Lean Production? Or should we ‘re-engineer’ our companies? Are they names for the same thing, developments of each other, or totally separate? Do we have a hope of successfully introducing these techniques in the West, or do we need an Eastern culture to make them work? Do we need to change the culture of our organisations first to ensure these new ideas take root and flourish?