Workers, Managers, Productivity

Workers, Managers, Productivity

Author: Akio Hosono

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-02-14

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 9811503648

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This open access book provides a glimpse into the Japanese management technique known as “Kaizen,” and the ways it has been disseminated around the developing world. The novelty of this book is three-fold: it provides a contextualized view of the mechanisms of initiatives implementing Kaizen in developing countries; compared with productivity studies, it places the relationship between workers and managers at the center of inquiry, reflecting the intent of SDG8 concerning decent work and economic growth; and it provides an overview of the heterogeneity of Kaizen in terms of geography and firm size. This book explores how improving management techniques can support firms’ productivity and quality. Given its wide range of case studies from across Africa, Asia and Latin America, this book will be of value to scholars, policymakers and advocates of sustainable development alike.


Japanese Direct Investment in Mexico's Transport Equipment Sector

Japanese Direct Investment in Mexico's Transport Equipment Sector

Author: Melba Falck-Reyes

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-06-19

Total Pages: 147

ISBN-13: 9811077185

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This book introduces an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Japanese foreign direct investment determinants, the close relations between foreign investment and trade flows in the host country, and the effects and responses by the local economy. It provides an accessible and comprehensive view of the overall macro impacts and local effects associated with the increasing flow of Japanese firms to Mexico’s automotive industry. The research and its outcomes presented here follow extensive fieldwork and use unique statistical datasets to integrate qualitative and quantitative approaches to the analysis. Carefully chosen case studies produce an integrated approach to the subject. As a result, the book fills a vacuum on this topic and provides readers with a clear understanding of the complex interactions among participating actors: Japanese multinationals and Japanese parts-and-components suppliers, Mexican local suppliers, government at the national and local levels, and cooperating Japanese agencies. By critically assessing current theories and empirical methodologies the monograph covers aspects related to the creation of regional production networks and their impact on trade patterns of the recipient country, location determinants of Japanese foreign investment, and spillover externalities in host entities. It presents the reader with a comprehensive view of the different levels of interaction between multinational firms, local recipient economies, and local suppliers and the challenges they face to engage in global chains of production. The book is highly recommended to academics and their students who seek to understand the complex international economic relations in the global economy. This compilation also serves as a valuable guide to policy makers, both at national and local levels, as it provides an informed analysis of how to engage local suppliers in regional and global production chains.


Automobile Industry Supply Chain in Thailand

Automobile Industry Supply Chain in Thailand

Author: Munehiko Itoh

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-09-18

Total Pages: 117

ISBN-13: 9811323607

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This research focuses on the process of growth in the automobile industries in the ASEAN region. ASEAN is drawing attention both from the vantage point of its position as an automobile-producing region and as a potential automobile market. Thailand in particular has long treated automobile production as a national strategy, and this research puts considerable focus on Thailand's initiatives. Since 2012, the authors have been carrying out on-site surveys and have visited many of the suppliers that form the local automobile industry; this published research represents a summary of those findings. The fields of specialty of this study’s respective authors differ, so analyses have been made from a range of vectors. In particular, the focus is on the supply chain in what is generally referred to as a keiretsu.


Japan and Malaysian Economic Development

Japan and Malaysian Economic Development

Author: K. S. Jomo

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2006-10-19

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 1134820089

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The Japanese presence in Southeast Asia is treated variously with either suspicion or encouragement. Japan and Malaysian Development critically assesses different dimensions of Japan-Malaysia economic relations. The work presents a balanced collection of essays examining Japanese involvement in Malaysia. The volume also discusses the impact and consequences of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir's 'Look East' policy, which advocated greater emphasis on trading relations with Japan.


Asia and Latin America

Asia and Latin America

Author: Jörn Dosch

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2010-02-25

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13: 1135273227

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Until the late 1980s, Japan was the only country in Asia with notable political and economic relations. Since then, however, several Asian nations have perceived growing links with the Latin American region as a means of diversifying their political and particularly economic relations while many Latin American decision-makers have increasingly recognised the strategic importance of East Asia in their foreign policy and foreign economic policy designs. This book analyses the economic, political and socio-cultural relations between Asia and Latin America and examines their growing importance in international relations. In the first part of the book the contributors look at the policies, interests and strategies of individual Asian and Latin American states, while the second part delves into the analysis of multilateral institution-building in Asia-Latin America relations,. As such, Asia and Latin America will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate scholars of comparative politics, international relations, Asian politics and Latin American politics.


The Quality of Growth in Africa

The Quality of Growth in Africa

Author: Akbar Noman

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2019-08-20

Total Pages: 445

ISBN-13: 0231550987

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In recent years, concerns about the outcomes and nature of economic growth have given way to a new emphasis on its quality. This volume brings together prominent international contributors to consider a range of interrelated questions concerning the quality of growth in Africa, with a primary focus on sub-Saharan countries. Contributors discuss the measurement of growth, the transformations necessary to sustain it, and issues around equity and well-being. They consider topics such as the distribution of income gains from growth; the extent to which economic growth has resulted in improvements in employment, poverty, and security; structural transformations of the economy and diversification of the sources of growth; environmental sustainability; and management of urbanization. Offering both diagnoses and prescriptions, The Quality of Growth in Africa helps envision a future that goes beyond increasing GDP to ensuring that growth translates into advancements in well-being. Although the book focuses on sub-Saharan Africa, much of the contributors’ incisive analysis has implications for countries outside the region.


The Japanese Automotive Industry

The Japanese Automotive Industry

Author: Robert Cole

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 2020-06-01

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 0472902032

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As the University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies reflected on the deteriorating position of the domestic auto industry in the fall of 1980, and the strong competitive threat being posed by the Japanese automakers, we were struck by the extraordinary low quality of the public discussion of these critical issues. The national importance of the issues seemed only matched by the superficiality of the analyses being offered. The tendency to think in terms of scapegoats was particularly evident. The Japanese as the basic cause of our problems has been a particularly notable theme. To be sure, cooperation with the Japanese in formulating a rational overall trade policy may be an important part of the solution. It has also been fashionable to blame it all on American auto industry management for not concentrating on the production of small cars when "everyone knew" that was the thing to do. Alternatively, government meddling was blamed for all our problems. Clearly, the complex problem we faced required more penetrating analyses. It seemed therefore, that the time was ripe for a public seminar which moved beyond the rhetoric of the moment and probed some of the deeper causes of our problems and possible directions for future policy. In holding the January 1981 auto conference, the Center took it as their task to begin addressing the critical issues facing the industry, with particular, but not exclusive, attention to examining the role of the Japanese auto industry. They had in mind not to simply conduct a rational discussion of the trade issue but to probe the sources of Japanese competitive strength, especially those features whose study might profit them. In these proceedings, they bring those discussions to a wider audience. Question and answer sessions at the conference were necessarily short and a few speakers delivered abbreviated remarks; this volume restores a number of omissions, and provides additional answers to some pertinent questions put by the audience. The Center hopes to encourage the serious problem-solving these complex issues demand. Far too much time has been spent trying to fix the blame. [intro]


Introducing Foreign Models for Development

Introducing Foreign Models for Development

Author: Izumi Ohno

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-10-03

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 9819942381

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This open access book studies how foreign models of economic development can be effectively learned by and applied to today’s latecomer countries. Policy capacity and societal learning are increasingly stressed as pre-conditions for successful catch-up. However, how such learning should be initiated by individual societies with different features needs to be explained. The book answers this pragmatic question from the perspective of Japan’s past experience and its extensive development cooperation in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Since the late nineteenth century, Japan has developed a unique philosophy and method for adopting advanced technologies and systems from the West; the same philosophy and method govern its current cooperation with the developing world. The key concepts are local learning and translative adaptation. Local learning says that development requires the learner to adopt a proactive mindset and the goal of graduating from receiving aid. Meanwhile, translative adaptation requires foreign models be modified to fit local realities given the different structures of the home and foreign society. The development process must be wholly owned by the domestic society in rejection of copy-and-paste acceptance. These ideas not only informed Japan but are key to successful development for all. The book also asks how this learning method should—or should not—be revised in the age of SDGs and digitalization. Following the overview section that lays out the general principles, the book offers many real cases from Japan and other countries. The concrete actions outlined in these cases, with close attention to individual growth “ingredients” as opposed to general theories, are crucial to successful policy making. The book contains materials that are highly useful for national leaders and practitioners within developing countries as well as students of development studies.