The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production
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Book Overview
The Machine That Changed the World points for the first time to a positive way out of this dilemma. It shows that being defeatist about the Japanese threat, and tougher protectionism, are not the answers.
This book outlines the enormous tasks facing Western companies in the 1990s and has cogent messages for Japanese firms as well, as they move abroad.
The Machine That Changed the World is based on the largest and most thorough study ever undertaken in any industry: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology five-million-dollar, five-year, fourteen-country International Motor Vehicle Program's study of the worldwide auto industry.
Twice in this century the auto industry has changed our most fundamental ideas about how to make things. Now it is doing it again. Just as mass production swept away craft production, so a new way of making things, called lean production, is now rapidly making mass production obsolete.
Lean production is the Japanese secret weapon in the industrial wars and is spreading throughout the world. If Western companies and their managers and workers are to survive in the 1990s, they must learn and adapt to lean production. Some of the smartest already have begun to do so.
Lean production welds the activities of everyone from top management to line workers, to suppliers, into a tightly integrated whole that can respond almost instantly to marketing demands from consumers. It can also double production and quality, while keeping costs down. Its adoption, as it inevitably spreads beyond the auto industry, will change almost every industry and consequently how we work, how we live, and the fate of companies and nations as they respond to its impact.
In clear and compelling terms, this book explains what lean production is, and its global implications for all of us.
Related Subjects
Accounting & Finance Automotive Biography & History Business Business & Investing Classic Cars Company Profiles Economic History Economics Education & Reference Engineering Entrepreneurship Foreign Industrial Relations Industries & Professions Industry International Popular Economics Science & Math Small Business & Entrepreneurship Technology TransportationYou Might Also Enjoy
Customer Reviews
Rated 5 starsBecoming Lean and Mean!
Lean production (now frequently called Lean manufacturing) has melded into several industries here in the United States, but back when this book was written, it was just catching on. I read the book in 2000. Many of the concepts are still worthwhile in this book, both for the historical significance as well as the lean ideas presented. The Machine that Changed the World is a fascinating book that teaches what the Japanese...
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Rated 5 starsThe evolution of the business world
A visiting professor recommended this book when I asked him about the LEAN philosophy. What is great about this book is how it introduces the birth of not only the LEAN concept, but also the MASS PRODUCTION which preceded and still dominates the world of manufacturing. With its timeline based structure, this book shows how and why the complex automotive industry is changing to LEAN. All other industries tend to follow...
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Rated 5 starsUnderstanting the Toyota Way
Since the beginning of the 50's, Toyota has been a making a revolution in the way corporation works. A real unique approach named lean has been allowing the company to achieve superior performance concurrently in manufacturing, product development and suppliers management. The Machine brings to the reader a wide explanation of "Toyota Way". If you are looking for a book about Lean and you'd like to understand Toyota, it certainly...
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Rated 5 starsMust Read to Understand How Lean Production Really Works
This book kept my interest. The lean production concept used in Japan automakers was clearly demonstrated as a superior way to American mass production. I can see how lean production can be transferred to other industries than auto manufacturing. The book also contained the history behind mass production and lean production, which was interesting. The insight into automakers in Japan, America, and Europe was also very...
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Rated 5 starsA must-read for manufacturing professionals
This is the best unbiased insight into the operations of the auto industry with great insights into the best practices for design, manufacturing, and marketing. The lessons taught are applicable to any manufacturing industry, especially one that operates on a global basis. It shatters myth, mysteries, and legends and replaces it with scientific data that solidifies the concepts of lean business. A must read for all manufacturing...
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