Is `Just-in-Time a Product of Japanese Uniqueness?
Nishimoto Ikuko The management literature frequently characterizes Japanese industrial organization in terms such as collectivism, group-orientation, harmony and team spirit, and attributes these traits to Japan’s cultural and traditional uniqueness. However, the author argues that a careful review of Japan’s development reveals that its industrialists owe much to western – and primarily American – industrial techniques. The Just-In-Time system’s stress on group work does not emerge from the national character or the Tokugawa heritage; it is industrial necessity, a means of achieving maximum efficiency. This idea is by no means alien to western economic theory. Just-In-Time pursues efficiency in the division of labor independent of cultural circumstances. Key Words: cultural factor Japan Just-In-Time western system Time & Society, Vol. 8, No. 1, 119-140 (1999) DOI: 10.1177/0961463X99008001006 CiteULike Complore Connotea Del.icio.us Digg Reddit Technorati Twitter What’s this?
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- Is `Just-in-Time a Product of Japanese Uniqueness?
