This book, in contrast with previous research and popular discussions
that focus on the productivity of workers, identifies the critical
influence of supervisors and engineers as key drivers of productivity
differentials. To do so, it analyzes productivity at a Japanese car
component plant and its three offshoot plants located in the United
States, Thailand, and China and how productivity evolved at these plants
from the mid-1990s to the early 2010s. The author's participatory
observation approach reveals that productivity and work practices
converged to a limited degree over the years at all four plants.
Particularly influential are the persistent differences at these plants
in the extent to which workers learn how to combine and integrate their
production skills with troubleshooting skills. Supervisors play a key
role in developing this integration in Japan, while worker skills remain
separated in the other countries. Integrated skill development is
promoted in Japan through the trusting relationships that first-line
supervisors enjoy with their workforce. In the plants abroad, in
contrast, the persistence of workers' control over their individual
skill development and careers impedes the development of integrated
skills. Manufacturing engineers at the Japanese mother plant also play
key linking roles, thereby enhancing communications and problem-solving
on the shop floor, whereas manufacturing engineers at the US, Thai, and
Chinese plants play more limited and compartmentalized roles. As a
result, productivity remains high in Japan and lags in the other plants.
Surprisingly, Japanese managers remain reluctant to introduce these more
productive work practices in the offshoot plants.