Engineered in Japan: Japanese Technology-Management Practices

Engineered in Japan presents a unique and comprehensive examination of technology management in the most successful Japanese companies: unique in that all chapters go beyond superficial descriptions of stylized practices to look in depth at particular issues, often contradicting or qualifying the conventional wisdom; comprehensive in that it covers the entire technology life cycle from basic R&D, to development engineering, to manufacturing processes, to learning from the Japanese.
Each chapter is based on original research by noted scholars in the field, and identifies technology management practices that have become a major source of competitive advantage for highly successful Japanese companies. Engineered in Japan documents the best practices from such companies as Toyota, Hitachi, Toshiba, and Nippondenso, and discusses how these technology management practices can be usefully adopted in other cultural contexts.
Going beyond past observations, the authors all delve below the surface of Japanese management approaches. They look more closely than has been done before at how particular methods are applied, and they identify some new practices that have not yet been highlighted in books on Japanese methods. Presenting recent data that contradict some conventional thinking about U.S.-Japanese differences, they look at old techniques from a new perspective.
"U.S. managers can perhaps learn more from the process of creation in Japan and the organizational structures that support innovation," say the editors in their introduction, "than from the particular approaches, tools, and technologies created." A running theme throughout the book is that Japanese managers and engineers tend to think in terms of systems, focusing not just on the parts but on the connections between them. Engineered in Japan is must reading for technology managers and engineers, along with anyone interested in Japanese business, engineering, and management.

BookList

The particular genius of the Japanese has been their ability to adopt, adapt, and apply technology. In 1991, in an effort to learn from ways in which the Japanese manage technology successfully, Congress authorized $10 million for the Department of Defense to establish a cooperative program for U.S. and Japanese industry and technology management training. Part of the program required that the "best practices" in manufacturing and the management of technology be identified, and a number of universities were given grants to conduct studies. Each of this book's 17 chapters is based on original research done by the University of Michigan's Japan Technology Management Program from 1991 to 1993. The particular benefit of this book is that it distinguishes a technology life cycle and analyzes each of its stages: research and development, process and product development, manufacturing management and methods, technology deployment, and organizational learning. Offering a comprehensive overview, this book is recommended for technology and management collections.

all at the University of Michigan