What are the main differences between Detroit-style production and the Japanese model and why flexible production methods are difficult to implement in all types of institutional settings?
A manufacturing system is a process that involves the systematic conversion of input into sellable output. The conversion method is highly reliant on the type and nature of demand of the product. Production is often classified into two broad categories; intermittent and continuous production. Intermittent production is preferable in situations where the demand for the product is seasonal and the product lacks standardization. In contrast, continuous production is common in companies that require production on a large scale. As a case in point, in the 1930’s
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This system has various features that were not present in the Detroit style production system, such as lean manufacturing. The founders of the company Sakichi Toyoda and his son greatly appreciated the ideology of lean manufacturing. However, the success that was being experienced in Denver drove the founders to be inquisitive about the process used in the assembly line. Upon visiting the US, the Toyota team was unimpressed by the Denver philosophy. As a result they set out and developed the Toyota philosophy that envisages the rationalization of the production process. It further eliminates three main elements from the process; inconsistency, overburden, and waste. The Toyota philosophy is supposedly flexible enough and free from production wastes. According to the system there are 7 types of waste; waiting, inventory, correction, over-production, conveyance, the processing, and motion (Chiarini, …show more content…
The Detroit model pushes for large-scale manufacturing with an aim of creating large stock backed by demand estimates.
Standardization
Both companies embraced the idea of standardization of the equipment, process, and components. Earlier cars used to be individually custom-built, using parts that would only work on that specific vehicle. Ford pushed for the use of interchangeable parts that would be achieved once all the individual car parts were made similarly every time. All individual car parts would fit into any other vehicle of a similar model. This standardization would make it possible for the process to be broken down into various steps. Workers are trained to specialize on one single step through division of labor.
Rate of Output
The Japanese model involves a continual production system where it is produced in quantities that are determined by consumer demand. There is no pile up of finished inventory that is waiting sale. The Detroit model which is inefficient at best, involves the production of goods at a uniform pace irrespective of demand. This creates a huge stock of produce in anticipation of
This idea, to some extent, came from his desire to sell his cars on Main Street in Oshkosh and Topeka. By using the standardized Model T, Ford was able to produce a great amount of cars that are identical for cheap. The assembly line made every working man have the same task and to do that task well and efficient. The assembly line lead to mass production which increased the production by an incredible amount. All three steps contributed to helping Ford accomplish economies of scales because each step decreased the cost of Model T by spreading the costs out over a large number of cars. The process of lowering prices and increasing sales was going right and the people made it plain that they liked the
In the 1920’s the United States economy was booming, and a famous man by the man of Henry Ford came along and had an industry changing idea. He set up the first production line style for producing automobiles. Each assembly line worker had one or two specific tasks to complete on the cars that came through. The process began with a skeleton on the car, and as it went down the line from worker to worker it slowly gained more and more pieces finishing the automobile completely...
Ford’s concept of an assembly line sprang from the thought that a car could be produced much quicker if each person did one, single task. He applied this in his Highland Park plant, and cut down production time of one Model T to a fraction on the time. The carefully timed pace of a conveyer belt moving the parts along further speeded the process. With these new tactics, a factory could produce 40%-60% more cars per month. By late 1913 he had established assembly plants in Canada, Europe, Australia, South America, and Japan. At this point, the Ford Motor Company was the largest manufacturer of cars in the world.
Japan has historically taken ideas from the United States on its business, merchandise, or other corporate sectors to improve within its political borders. These practices have become massive cultural and economic movements in Japan. Interestingly, Japan takes ideas and molds them into Japanese culture and style; therefore, these products are “Japanized.” To further elaborate on this statement, Japan has succeeded in its businesses and corporations such as the automobile industries around the world (for example, the NUMMI plant production transcended those of American automobile productions due to an enhanced Japanese corporate culture). Albeit many Japanese industries have roots in the United States, they have expanded globally. The music
Ford used Taylor’s scientific management principles and come up with the mass production and assembly line. This benefitted the motor vehicle industry highly. The effects of Taylorism and Fordism in the industrial workplace were strong and between the period of 1919-1929 the output of industries in the U.S doubled as the number of workers decreased. There was an increase in unskilled labour as the skill was removed and placed into machines. It lead to the discouragement of workers ability to bargain on the basis of control over the workplace.
Detroit was once the mecca for workers pursuing the American dream. In the early 1900’s an innovative inventor named Henry Ford brought mass production of the automobile to this area, turning Detroit into a beacon of opportunity and economic success for many. This Automotive Industry has been at the base of Detroit’s economy for decades; however, it’s not like it once was. During the 20th century the auto industry had many high and lows. Many factors lead to the recent downturn of this industry that led to mass layoffs and displaced workers, which had a negative impact on Detroit, as well as the United States economy.
Ford’s production plants rely on very high-tech computers and automated assembly. It takes a significant financial investment and time to reconfigure a production plant after a vehicle model is setup for assembly. Ford has made this mistake in the past and surprisingly hasn’t learned the valuable lesson as evidence from the hybrid revolution their missing out on today. Between 1927 and 1928, Ford set in motion their “1928 Plan” of establishing worldwide operations. Unfortunately, the strategic plan didn’t account for economic factors in Europe driving the demand for smaller vehicles. Henry Ford established plants in Europe for the larger North American model A. Their market share in 1929 was 5.7% in England and 7.2% in France (Dassbach, 1988). Economic changes can wreak havoc on a corporation’s bottom line and profitability as well as their brand.
and denial on some others for example: the way Japan will only let certain foreign cars into Japan and even then they are so heavily taxed that they are The average Japanese person cann't pay that much and will have to buy a Japanese made car and at the same time in other countries they are selling their cars for less. than anyone else in that country and that is what they do with most of their products and is how they get trade surplus year after year. & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; Manufacturing is the most important economic activity in Japan. accounts for about 28% of its GDP. The Japanese people import more than half.
Toyota is a pioneer of the LEAN manufacturing principle. Lean, as a process, is a way to add value to customers while minimizing waste (LEI, 2011). It can also be thought of in terms of flow, which is how Toyota likes to think of it. It is simply a process of decision making where the problems tend to be thought of in terms of flow, reducing starts and stops or unnecessary motion increases flow, reducing waste.
Toyota’s core competencies seem simplistic, yet they are very powerful. There are two in which they focus on which is continuous improvement and respect for people. These core competencies are a part of their production system, better known as the Toyota Production System (TPS). The TPS is based on the philosophy “completely eliminating all waste”. Excess inventory, defective products, and unnecessary processing steps are all inclusive when discussing excessive waste, which eventually negatively effects the corporation as a whole. In 1924, Sakichi Toyoda created the Toyoda Automatic Loom, which improved productivity and work efficiency by eliminating wasteful practices and defective products. Kiichiro Toyoda believed that “the ideal conditions for creating things are more successful when machines, facilities, and people work together to add value without generating any waste.” (The orgin of the toyota production system,
The JIT production hit the West in the 1980’s. It was basically the same concepts as Ohno's, but with different names such as: World Class Manufacturing, Stockless Production, and Continuous Flow Manufacturing. James Womack’s book “The Machine That Changed The World” gave a new buzzword to manufacturing, “Lean Manufacturing”. Essentially this is based on the same principles of JIT and Toyota Production.
In 1950s, Toyota has developed lean thinking. The Toyota Production System aspires to minimize waste and increase efficiency while at the same time enhances its product quality. From this initiative, Toyota managed to widen its competitive edge by employed fewer employees in the car production with a small number of flaw products.
Japanese Management Style Japan was totally destroyed during the World War II but in less than 40 years Japan has risen from the ashes to world leadership in many areas of technology and business. This success is attributed to its unique managerial techniques. Some of the main characteristics that Japanese management have are: participative decision making, bottom-up management, lifetime employment, "amae-dependency relationships", lean production, total quality management, total cost management, and infrastructure support. Applying all these, have produced high levels of teamwork, an atmosphere of innovative ideas and a willingness to constantly improve. To take all these elements from the Japanese management and try to use them in the west as goals would probably be beneficial.
Manufacturing methods advanced and transformed throughout the Industrial Revolution. Mass production is a system of manufacturing where machines quickly produce large quantities of product. Interchangeable parts are pieces of products that are made identically. These identical parts were easy to replace and allowed products to last longer. Henry Ford, who was the previous owner of Ford Motor Company, used interchangeable parts in the automobiles he produced to help keep the costs down. Ford also developed the assembly line. An assembly line uses workers and machines in a succession to create
• While making a methodology is challenging, executing it is considerably more troublesome. Numerous organizations comprehend Toyota Production System now, yet at the same time think that it is troublesome to execute and implement.