@article{761008,
      recid = {761008},
      author = {Shibata, Hiromichi,},
      title = {Explaining productivity differences : comparative analysis  of automotive plants in Japan, the United States, Thailand  and China /},
      pages = {1 online resource.},
      abstract = {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.},
      url = {http://library.usi.edu/record/761008},
}