ition to the adoption of Japanese management techni ques by American firms more often than not emphasizes either 35the perceived deficiencies of, or the inapplicability to the American industrial environment of the Japanese management
techniques of lifetime employment, non specialized career paths, and a wholistic approach to management. The suc cess stories involving American companies which have adopted Japanese management techniques, however, most often involve the use of the building block approach, an ability and a will ingness to form special project teams, and less structure and flatter hierarchies in organizations. Additionally, American managers often appear to misunderstand the real meaning of some Japanese management techniques. Thus, when Japanese management techniques have been adopted by some firms, they have failed because of ill conceived implementations.
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