That Make the Difference! Boyé Lafayette De Mente
There is a fundamental and dramatic difference between the way Japanese and American automobile companies are managed—and the difference is a cultural thing that Americans may recognize but cannot duplicate because the American mind is wired differently than that of the Japanese.
The Japanese are culturally programmed to do the best they can do in everything they set out to do. This motivation is a personal, individual, private thing that is part of their national character.
Americans, on the other hand, are not driven by their culture to strive for excellence in everything they do. They are driven by a number of often conflicting factors, including doing just enough that whatever they are working on will get out of the factory and into the marketplace, just enough to please their superiors, just enough to keep their jobs—and in some cases enough to win promotions, and so on.
In other words, the motivation of most American employees of automobile companies—including top-level management—is more of an emotional response that varies with their own personal circumstances. More often than not, their primary commitment is to themselves.
In contrast to this “American way,” the managers and employees of Japanese automobile companies are dedicated to doing the very best they can for themselves as individuals in order to avoid loss of their own face, to avoid bringing down the competence level of their group and embarrassing everyone, to ensure the survival and success of their company, and to uphold the honor of Japan. This results in team-work from top to bottom.
Putting this in what might be called trade jargon, managers and employees in Japanese automobile companies are committed to making product design information available across the board, to optimizing design information in product development, to maximizing the transfer of product information to the manufacturing process, and maintaining the integrity of the information throughout the process.
Finally, there are five keys to the implementation of kaizen (kigh-zen), the now famous Japanese concept of “continuous improvement.”
These five keys are: enforced detection of problems, the delegation of authority to the workplace; the standardizing of all tools; taking instant action to totally remedy any problem encountered; and immediately integrating all of the resulting incremental improvements into the overall manufacturing process.
Incredibly, all of the character traits that distinguish Japanese managers and employees of Toyota and other companies is often little more than the intelligent application of common sense—something that often seems to be beyond the understanding and grasp of Americans.
Copyright © 2007 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente
_________
The kaizen concept was originally introduced to the West by the author in his book, Japanese Etiquette & Ethics in Business, published in 1959 (and still in print in its 7th edition). To see a list and description of the author's 60-plus books go to his personal website: http://www.phoenixbookspublishers.com/.
