Kawasaki Case

The plant experienced severe difficulties during its initial phase of operation, and there was considerable conflict between American managers and their Japanese advisors. The Japanese sought to implement a just-in-time (JIT) inventory program, but the Americans were slow to accept this; once the Americans at the plant accepted it, additional time and resources were required to convince the plant's domestic suppliers that the system was in their best interests. Eventually, the plant overcame most of the problems that it encountered with respect to this, and the factory now operates on a modified JIT system, although KANBAN cards have not yet been introduced as the Japanese advisors would like, and there are no quality circles.

Resistance to change was high among the American managers and workers when the JIT system was first proposed. The Lincoln plant was well on the way to imp

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ect in this assumption since continuous improvement, of which JIT and quality circles are both components, is likely to enhance productivity and quality at the Lincoln facility. Kawasaki USA recognizes that its workers are independent and capable of making effective decisions about their tasks. In such an environment, the opportunity to have formal input through quality control circles would probably be welcomed by workers since it would offer them even greater control over how they do their tasks, and reinforce the belief that management does listen to them and values their expertise. Given that the plant has set particularly aggressive goals, having worker input in the form of quality circles is likely to increase the likelihood that those goals will be achieved since the workers will have a direct say in the techniques which will be used. If quality circles are not implemented, workers may determine that the plant will be operated just like any other factory, with direction coming from above and being imposed on workers. Kawasaki USA has come a long way in a little over one year, and it is important that it learn from the lessons which brought it to this point. Over the long-term, this means that managers must continue to
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Approximate Word count = 1202
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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