Since the early 1980s, the diffusion of Just-In-Time (JIT) manufacturing from Japanese manufacturers to U.S. manufacturers has progressed at an accelerated rate. At this stage of the diffusion process, JIT implementations are more common and more advanced in large U.S. manufacturers than in...

If your idea has legs, why not take it for a walk?

Many people assume that Japanese management practices, the Toyota Production System, have been whole-heartedly implemented by American automakers for more than two decades. However, the recent financial and operational crises faced by American automakers indicate that a performance gap still...

After World War II, the Japanese incrementally applied new management practices to improve their global competitiveness. With refinement and systematic integration of these new practices the Japanese achieved a new manufacturing paradigm and, by the 1970s, a competitive superiority in the...