After Lean Production

"This book has two main strengths. First, its approach gives a sense of the texture and variety of the implementation of lean production, the forces that shape it in practice, and the alternatives that may be available. Second, the book's international focus provides a wealth of fascinating material concerning the influence of national conditions on the shaping of production practices."—Harley Shaiken, author of Work Transformed: Automation and Labor in the Computer AgeNearly every country that produces cars views the automobile industry as strategically important because of its direct economic significance and because it serves as a bellwether for innovation in employment conditions. In this book, industrial relations experts from eleven countries consider the state of the industry worldwide. They are particularly interested in assessing whether the loudly heralded model of lean production initiated by Toyota has become pervasive.The contributors focus on employment practices: the way work is organized, how workers and managers interact, the way worker representatives respond to lean production strategies, and the nature of the adaptation and innovation process itself.

An informative book that provides an excellent overview of developments in the global auto industry., For anyone interested in international trends in human resource management practices, reviews of lean production in practice, or detailed comparisons of manufacturing operations by nation in the car industry, After Lean Production is a valuable resource.... After Lean Production is a rich collection of case studies, offering detailed pictures of the manufacturing practices and employment policies of a number of plants. The case studies are... well written and informative. This volume... can be recommended for the scholar or practitioner who wants to learn more about how international trends in human resources practices are shaped and molded by the national institutions, laws, and traditions., The essays are useful because they analyze recent changes in the organization of work in various national automobile industries, connect these changes, in almost all cases, to some type of 'crisis,' and demonstrate that these changes are inspired by Japanese methods of so-called 'lean production.'... The relevance and timeliness of the essays make this book a worthy addition to any collection on the world auto industry.

Thomas A. Kochan is the George Maverick Bunker Professor of Management at the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Russell D. Lansbury is Professor of Industrial Relations and head of the department at the University of Sydney. John Paul MacDuffie is Associate Professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.