This article discusses the philosophy and supporting conditions for Japanese production management techniques like Just‐in‐Time. Western emulation of the practice often overlooks the implications it has for company organisation and personnel. Four issues are explored: high dependence;...

Mechanisms for increasing participation of employees in problem‐solving activities such as continuous improvement (CI) programmes often include the use of problem‐solving teams. Teams can support problem solving by emphasizing accountability for the production process within the work unit,...

For some years now the contemporary management literature has been burgeoning with articles on Japanese management practice. There is debate as to how representative of reality some of these accounts actually are, which practices are crucial to business success and whether their transfer to a...

The management practices of three organisations in the computer industry, one North American, one Japanese and one British owned are described. Although operating in similar marketplaces, markedly different management styles and practices were apparent, with the British company showing much less...

Purpose – In the 1980s and 1990s enthusiasm for Japanese or “lean” manufacturing methods swept through Western industry. At the time, commentators argued that these methods represented a new paradigm of manufacturing, a radical break with traditional methods. The purpose of this paper is...

Images and concepts from contemporary manufacturing (particularly just‐in‐time production) provide models which individuals can use to increase their throughput of work. Concepts of personal throughput, inventory, set‐up times and performance measurement are introduced and used to guide an...

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate governance in service triads, specifically studying significant steering and connecting coordination failures, to reveal typically hidden characteristics and consequences. Design/methodology/approach: This study focuses on coordination functions and...

Purpose - The paper seeks to analyze the evolution of competitive advantage using both "classic" and "extended' resource based theory (RBT) The aim is to examine the different ways in which classic" and extended resource based advantage develops and how they might combine to create long term...

This paper explores theoretical and practical aspects (i.e. resources allocated, activities undertaken, actors/decisions involved) of corporate ‘parenting’ in the development of international service networks. A review of the relevant corporate strategy, supply-chain, networks and services...