Japanese Productivity Lessons For America

Japanese productivity and quality standards have fired the imagination of American managers, but until now there has been little explanation of how to do it -- how to apply Japanese methods at the actual operating level of U.S. manufacturing plants. This book shows you how, exposing otherwise well-informed westernized readers to a new world of management ideas. Author Richard J. Schonberger demonstrates that the Japanese formula for success is based on a number of specific, interrelated techniques -- stunning in their simplicity -- and he shows how these techniques can be put to work in American industries today. Here, in a clear, handbook format, are nine "lessons" for American manufacturers, introducing scores of techniques aimed at simplifying the overly-complex purchasing, inventory, assembly-fine, and quality-control processes of U.S. firms. At the heart of Japanese manufacturing success are two overlapping strategies: "just-in-time" production and "total quality control." Some American manufacturers already know a little about these methods, but Richard Schonberger provides the most comprehensive description of these techniques available: how they developed, how they all fit together, why they are so potent, and how they "snowball" -- unleashing a powerful chain reaction of productivity and quality control improvements each time more simplification is introduced. -- Publisher description.

This bibliography, first published in 1988, consists of annotated entries of monographs and journal articles published in English that discuss socio-economic aspects of Japanese society as well as the general and economic dynamics of United States-Japan trade relations. Emphasis is on the Japanese perspective.

This book takes a broad perspective to challenge orthodox views about the role of Euroland in the world economy, providing a comprehensive framework to address important questions for the future of the Euro, including the key question: will the single currency contribute to world economic dynamism or be driven by the vigour and vitality of others?