Written by one of the few executives who have extensive experience in the electronics industry in both the US and Japan, this book compares market research, design, and manufacturing techniques as used in both countries. Unlike other books on theJapanese business culture, Sprague gives specific advice and recommendations about what companies can do now to compete with Japan, clearly pointing out what is and what is not adaptable from the Japanese approach to business.
For three years, seventeen university researchers worked with representatives of thirty-four corporations to analyze the present state of Japanese manufacturing and to identify the challenges Japan will face in the twenty-first century. The result of their study is Made in Japan. Winner of the Shingo Research and Professional Publication Prize for 1999In 1989 the MIT Press published Made in America, a landmark study by The MIT Commission on Industrial Productivity, an interdisciplinary group of MIT faculty members. The study analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of American industry and set forth a strategic plan for revitalizing American productivity. Inspired by the MIT study, the Japan Techno-Economics Society formed the Japan Commission on Industrial Performance (JCIP). For three years, seventeen university researchers worked with representatives of thirty-four corporations to analyze the present state of Japanese manufacturing and to identify the challenges Japan will face in the twenty-first century. The result of their study is Made in Japan. Made in Japan has a broader perspective than its American model, whose focus was limited to issues of productivity. The book is divided into three parts. Part I is a general overview. Part II is an in-depth analysis of seven industries: industrial electronics, consumer electronics, automobiles, metal products, industrial machinery, chemicals, and textiles. Part III identifies common problems and makes recommendations for industrial policy. The topics covered in the study are grounded in such fundamental issues as global environmental problems, competitiveness, and the free market economy system.
This practical work demonstrates that controlling urban growth and reviving central city economies are not mutually exclusive endeavors. Rather than re-hash theories of urban development, the contributors describe and evaluate successful community-tested approaches to sustaining our cities. Revitalizing the City provides actual case examples of urban success stories - ranging from San Diego's "smart growth" initiative to brownfield redevelopment in Pittsburgh. The book is divided into four major sections - Urban Growth; Metropolitan Development and Administration; Central City Redevelopment Strategies; and Central City-Suburban Cooperation. Each chapter includes an analysis of key issues, descriptions of specific local initiatives, highlights of effective policies or programs, and potential pitfalls to avoid. Revitalizing the City has broad appeal for the urban policy community as well as for undergraduate and graduate courses in urban sociology, geography, political science, and urban studies and planning.
This book explores the challenges faced by America's start-up entrepreneurs and innovators. The author presents an action plan centered around a series of tax, regulatory, and other reforms designed to strengthen entrepreneurial businesses.
