Hybrid Factories in the United States

The Japanese-Style Management and Production System under the Global Economy

by Tetsuji Kawamura

A highly useful update on the current research in the field of international production and manufacturing
Product of an extensive international field survey featuring a vast amount of data

Hybrid Factories in the United States

The Japanese-Style Management and Production System under the Global Economy

by Tetsuji Kawamura

Description

Since the early 1980s, Japanese firms have massively globalized their production operations and have shown superb competitive powers in global markets. This meant, however, they had to establish their unique Japanese-style management and production system locally, taking into account different conditions in countries that had not originally nurtured their unique system. In each case, firms found ways to balance applications and adaptations, resulting in a hybridization of their management and production systems. These experiences abroad dictated changes to the traditional system-in order to retain its basic logic and competitiveness, the essentials of the system needed to be redefined.

Hybrid Factories in the United States elucidates the real advantages and weaknesses of the Japanese-style management and production system (JMPS) in the United States and elsewhere in the globalized economy. To assess the success of the "hybridization" dynamics of JMPS abroad, the editor and authors developed their own "hybrid-analysis" model, which has been used successfully around and globe for decades, and has been recognized as a major research framework for elucidating the study of international transferability of management and production systems in general. In very concrete ways and attentive to regional differences, the authors' hybrid-analysis methods identify which aspects of JMPS will inevitably change and which should be sustained. Tetsuji Kawamura and his team have provided a crucial and comprehensive resource not only for anyone interested in the Japanese story, but also for those concerned about the future of American manufacturing industries, for the investigation of Japanese transplants provides an invaluable perspective of the real dimensions of major management innovations of U.S. industries.

Hybrid Factories in the United States

The Japanese-Style Management and Production System under the Global Economy

by Tetsuji Kawamura

Chapter 1 Introduction: The Japanese-style Management and Production System in the U.S.A
(Tetsuji Kawamura)
1.1 Japanese and the U.S. Production System and their Vicissitudes in the United States
-The significance of the Hybrid Model Analysis
1.2 Hybrid Model and the Evaluation Criteria
Chapter 2 The Japanese Management System and Corporate Strategies (Hiroshi Itagaki)
Chapter 3 Hybrid Analysis of Japanese Transplants in the U.S.A
3.1 General Features of the Japanese Transplants in the U.S.A. -Inter-regional and inter-temporal comparisons (Hiroshi Itagaki/ Woosoek Juhn).
3.2 Automobile Industries
3.2.1 Automobile Industries in North America (Hiroshi Kumon)
3.2.2 Japanese Automobile Firms in North America (Shinya Orihashi)
3.2.3 Auto Assembly (Kunio Kamiyama)
3.2.4 Auto parts and Components (Katsuo Yamazaki)
3.3 Electronics Industries
3.3.1 Electronics Assembly (Tetsuji Kawamura/Yanshu Hao)
3.3.2 Other Electronics (Hiroshi Itagaki)
Chapter 4 Specific Cases of Hybrid Factories in the United States
4.1 Toyota Indiana (Kunio Kamiyama)
4.2 Toshiba (Tetsuo Abo)
4.3 Minebea (Hansen Corporation) (Zhijia Yuan)
4.4 GM Lansing (Tetsuji Kawamura)
Chapter 5 Situations and Cases in Mexico and Canada
5.1 Auto and Electronics Industries and the Maquiladora in Mexico (Koji Serita)
5.2 Honda in Canada and Mexico (Hiroshi Kumon)
5.3 Ford Hermosillo (Jorge Carrillo and Yolanda Montiel)
5.4 Delphi Mexico (Jorge Carrillo)
Chapter 6?Conclusion and Prospects (Tetsuji Kawamura)

Hybrid Factories in the United States

The Japanese-Style Management and Production System under the Global Economy

by Tetsuji Kawamura

Author Information

Tetsuji Kawamura is professor of economics and dean of the graduate school of economics at Hosei University, Tokyo. He is head of the North American research project of the Japan Multinational Enterprise Study Group, and is a contributing author to numerous books on the Japanese production system abroad and globalization issues.

Contributors:

Tetsuo Abo, Professor of Economics at Department of Modern Life, Teikyo Heisei University and Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo.
Jorge Carrillo, full time researcher of Social Studies Department at COLEF in Tijuana, Mexico
Yanshu Hao, Professor of School of Business Administration, Meiji University.
Hiroshi Itagaki, Professor of Economics , Musashi University
Woosek Juhn, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Business Management, Chukyo University
Kunio Kamiyama, Dean & Professor of Economics at Department of Economics and the Graduate School of Economics, Josai University
Tetsuji Kawamura, Professor of Economics at Department of Economics and Director of the Graduate School of Economics, Hosei University
Hiroshi Kumon, Professor of International Business at Hosei University
Yolanda Montiel, professor-research of Investigation Center and Superior Studies in Social Anthropology (CIESAS)
Shinya Orihashi, Associate Professor of Economics at Department of Economics, Tohoku Gakuin University
Koji Serita, Associate Professor of Economics at Kushiro Public University of Economics
Katsuo Yamazaki, Professor of International Business in School of Management at Shizuoka Sangyo University
Zhijia Yuan, Professor of Economics at Faculty of Economics, Rissho University