Japan Manufacturing: Annotated Bibliography
Addicott, D. A. (2017). The Rise and Fall of the Zaibatsu: Japan’s Industrial and Economic Modernization. Global Tides, 11(1), 5.
Addicott’s article aims to highlight how the zaibatsu emerged and their decline, as part of understanding Japan’s economic and industrialization history. Hence, the title of the material captures the author’s objective. The author links Japan’s modern government and economic system to its demonstration of deliberate prowess in fighting both regional and global wars from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. Japan’s formation of its modern nation-state borrowed significantly from Western practices of government, economy, and society and adopted them into a uniquely Japanese flavor. Hence, entities like the zaibatsu represented the industrialization aspect that favored a capitalist framework of economics, which declined with the start of the Second World War.
The article’s strength is in its chronological presentation of the emergence of the zaibatsu, its influence on the Japanese economy, and eventual decline in wartime. The resource also provides specific policies that changed Japan’s manufacturing, which is essential in understanding how in tracing the steps the country took to reach after the war. Further, the article appears to target a general audience, but one with a specific interest in researching the historical development of the Japanese industry. The author has presented his arguments in a simple and orderly manner, with substantial content that researchers can use to develop their backgrounds in further studies on the subject. However, the notable weakness of the resource is its lack of a clearly outlined introduction and conclusion that gives an overview and wrap to the reader.
Neave, H. R. (1987). Deming’s 14 points for management: a framework for success. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series D (The Statistician), 36(5), 561-570.
The purpose of Neave’s article is to summarize Dr. Edwards Deming’s 14 Points for Management, which captures his philosophy on manufacturing. The author introduces his work with a substantial biographical detailing of Deming’s life from birth to his involvement in quality control in Japan. The article indicates that his initial engagement with the Japanese was by offering lectures and training on statistical methods for industry. Neave notes that American companies had started disregarding Deming’s because most of what he taught did not seem relevant to company management. He corrected his shortcomings in America when he arrived in Japan by focusing on statistics and the role of the executives in industrial product improvements. The author then proceeds to list Deming’s 14 points that aid in quality control in the pursuit of economic recovery.
Additionally, the most notable strength of Neave’s article is the presence of an abstract to help the reader understand the author’s aim. The title is also straightforward regarding the 14 points that define Deming’s philosophy. Besides, the biographical details about Deming are useful in understanding how he ended up in Japan and influenced their industrial quality. Moreover, the author has used sections within the text to distinguish specific points, which help the reader locate only the relevant content. However, the article provides too many personal details of Deming, thereby consuming writing space that could capture more useful content. The sections illustrating each point also provide limited information, which can prevent the audience from the correct interpretation of meaning for each position. The article is also useful for providing background information in further research.
Odaka, K. (2001). American factory-Japanese factory. Social Science Japan Journal, 4(1), 59-75.
Odaka seeks to answer the question regarding the origin of Japanese-style factory management. Hence, as the title suggests, the article makes a comparison between the American and Japanese factory management models to identify the historical roots of production control. Odaka notes that Japan’s miraculous economic recovery from the end of the Second World War until the 1980s was not out of the country’s unique factory management style because the approach shares common roots with American strategies. The author adds that although there are managerial practice differences between Japanese and US factories, the intellectual fashion observed in Japan overlapped with the period of rising foreign direct investment. Additionally, the article discusses Japan’s borrowing of technology from abroad in the nineteenth century. The twentieth-century technological adoptions were mostly industrial techniques and tools from the US.
Hence, the article adequately answers the question regarding whether the factory management was unique to Japan by noting significant adoptions of technology from the US. One of the strengths of the resource is that the abstract identifies the common roots of the systems between the two countries. In other words, the article offers a valid thesis statement then proceeds to validate it. The opening of the paper also recognizes that the Japanese factory management miracle remains an unanswered question the author seeks to tackle. Thus, there is a clear identification of the research problem that guides the subsequent discussions. However, a notable weakness with the article is the organization, whereby the author breaks his work down into too many short paragraphs without proper transitions.
Petersen, P. B. (1987, August). The Contribution of W. Edwards Deming to Japanese Management Theory and Practice. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 1987, No. 1, pp. 133-137). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.
Petersen’s article aims to discuss Edward Deming’s influence on the Japanese industrial renaissance after WWII. He observes that the failure of American manufacturing in the 1970s triggered the curiosity of the Americans to assess the factors contributing to the Japanese success story. The author also discusses how the arrival of Deming benefited the Japanese, who were seeking ways of quality improvement in their manufactured products. Petersen recognizes how Deming’s management concepts introduced to Japan influenced the production processes. The article explicitly identifies statistical analysis application to industrial quality control. Further, Petersen underlines the contribution of factors like short-term profit goals to the decline of the western industry compared with Japan’s growth. The article highlights the reasons Deming provided for the fall of western manufacturing and the proposed solutions with the Fourteen Points. Petersen further notes the critics of Deming, such as Juran, who felt Deming’s statistical background translates to inadequacy in commenting on management.
Thus, one aspect of Petersen’s article that stands out is the organization of the various sections to distinguish the crucial issues he discusses. The feature is vital for the reader to navigate quickly and to identify the overall argument of the material. Besides, the article recognizes that there were other personalities, beyond Deming, who influenced the Japanese manufacturing. Moreover, Peterson’s presentation of critics of Deming’s philosophy provides a balanced and fair discussion that points out potential gaps in the arguments. Nevertheless, a significant weakness with the article is the use numbering of some items without the author explaining what each item means. The font used also seems to interfere with the readability of the material.
Takada, M. (1999). Japan’s economic miracle: underlying factors and strategies for growth. Professor Wylie, 18.
The purpose of Takada’s article is to explain the underlying factors and strategies that contributed to Japan’s economic recovery after WWII. For example, the author notes that the end of the war represented a fresh start for the Japanese since the conflict had destroyed everything. Takada identifies the American occupation of Japan as one reason that led to the series of reform policies for recovery and reconstruction. The article identifies the significant impacts of the war, including unemployment, food and energy shortages, and inflation. Takada further discusses the policies introduced by the American Occupation, including the zaibatsu dissolution as part of the industrialization efforts. There were also land reforms and the democratization of labor, which were essential to industry development.
Hence, one of the notable features of Takada’s article is its organization in sections, which eases navigation for the audience. Each segment discusses specific aspects of the industrial growth of Japan, including how the war affected the country, the occupation, and accompanying reform policies. The author also presents a chronological order of events, thereby helping the reader to follow the logical sequence of the discussions. Besides, the choice to use endnotes to reference sources is an essential strategy that allows ideas in paragraphs to flow. The author also utilizes statistics within some sections to provide credibility to his ideas. However, in the section “Korean War Boom,” the article uses a lengthy excerpt to highlight the extent of US foreign currency, which interferes with paragraph structures. The author would be better paraphrasing some of the sentences to communicate his ideas.