American Samurai: Warrior for the Coming Dark Ages of American Business

Bill writes in a straight forward, no-nonsense style. He gets straight to the point and he is right on target. Bill explains the what, why and how of 20 of the most important concepts for anyone wishing to create an effective manufacturing organization. For example, lesson 1 is: Management's obsession with outcomes must be abandoned and replaced by process improvement activites. And it gets better from there.

Although the economic situation has changed since this book was written (Americans no longer tremble before the Japanese juggernaut), the advice in this book is certainly still relevant.Humorous and to-the-point, the author points out the follies still rampant in traditional American management style - the caste system of hourly and salaried workers, the unwillingness to engage the workforce, the traditional appraisal system, "Management By Objective", and the failure to view the business as a web of interconnected micro-processes. His argument is based on the philosophy of Dr. Deming and other leading quality practitioners.True - American business has changed somewhat, but we're not as good as we think we are. This book can still open some eyes, and deserves to be read.

Since his review was written in July 2001, maybe it's easy to criticize, but why not? American business has been shown to be fat, overweight and in very serious trouble. Maybe had more businesses taken Doctor Lareua's advice, we wouldn't have had the Enron, Worldcom, Tyco type debacles and shareholders would still be interested in investing in Corporate America. You may not like the messanger of American Samurai, but ignore its message to your own peril!

Outstanding analysis and an extremely well thought out system for the continual improvement of all processes, be they manufacturing or service . . . whatever the industry. The author's writing style is blunt and pulls no punches, but is engaging and entertaining while dealing with very serious business issues. A must read for anyone involved in continual improvement.