In this paper, a systematic design procedure for an international mutual parts supply system for global car manufacturing is proposed and investigated. This procedure offers a…
Abstract
In this paper, a systematic design procedure for an international mutual parts supply system for global car manufacturing is proposed and investigated. This procedure offers a rational way to determine the production countries of individual parts/components as well as the import countries for their procurement operations. The proposed procedure consists of three major steps, mathematical programming model development for minimum cost production‐logistic network design, database construction for model analysis and execution of mathematical programming model to obtain a recommendable global production‐logistics system. Actual data from the ASEAN‐China region are collected and processed by the proposed procedure for validity analysis. The results obtained through the investigation have confirmed the effectiveness of the procedure as a decision support model/database for designing such very large systems.
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Hiroshi Katayama, Kamol Sirichan and Shusaku Hiraki
During the past decade, the market for consumer and industrial goods in South‐East Asia has grown at a rapid rate and industrial countries in this region have been trying to…
Abstract
During the past decade, the market for consumer and industrial goods in South‐East Asia has grown at a rapid rate and industrial countries in this region have been trying to advance their national plans to stimulate economic take‐off. However, in the middle of 1997, the ASEAN bubble economy started to collapse after devaluation of the baht. In this paper the current status and future direction of Japanese manufacturers in Thailand are discussed through facts investigations and a survey execution. The results from this investigation indicate that the Japanese offshore manufacturers in Thailand are at an earlier stage than their domestic counterparts in Japan, in terms of manufacturing strategies and action programmes. Therefore, offshore manufacturers are in a much more severe situation than domestic firms, although one of their major reasons for joining the Thai manufacturing industry was to recover from the ending of Japan’s own bubble economy.
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Yasuhiro Hirakawa, Kyoji Hoshino and Hiroshi Katayama
Recently, it has been recognized that production control systemsfor multi‐stage manufacturing processes can be classified into push‐typeand pull‐type systems. The push‐type…
Abstract
Recently, it has been recognized that production control systems for multi‐stage manufacturing processes can be classified into push‐type and pull‐type systems. The push‐type systems are commonly defined as those types of materials requirements planning system which utilize the forecast of demands. The pull‐type systems, on the other hand, are those where order quantities are determined on the basis of real demand. Describes a hybrid push/pull production control system, operated periodically, which combines the benefits of both systems. Discusses theoretical arguments in support of this system and numerical studies are shown to give insight into the system′s performance. Hybrid push/pull‐type systems can attain a higher degree of effectiveness if they are appropriately operated.
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Hiroshi Katayama and David Bennett
Describes the basic concept of lean production and the recent trend in Japanese manufacturing which has been towards a cycle comprising price competition, cost reduction, a…
Abstract
Describes the basic concept of lean production and the recent trend in Japanese manufacturing which has been towards a cycle comprising price competition, cost reduction, a proliferation of new products, higher fixed costs, increased break even points and lower profits. Explains how Japan’s recent recession has caused the cycle to be broken and considers how factors relating to the external and internal environment have influenced the viability of lean production within Japan’s emerging competitive climate. Uses case studies of four manufacturing plants to identify problems, solutions and the need for a new approach to production systems design where costs are more sensitive to changes in demand. Proposes the concept of adaptable production as an approach which can accommodate to greater changes in demand than lean production.
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As de‐localization, restructuring, rationalization, delayering and reengineering chip away at the number of jobs in manufacturing, is there still a future for manufacturing in…
Abstract
As de‐localization, restructuring, rationalization, delayering and reengineering chip away at the number of jobs in manufacturing, is there still a future for manufacturing in Europe? And if so how does it look? Arnoud De Meyer presents the conclusions of empirical monitoring by INSEAD of Europe's largest manufacturers.
Christer Karlsson and Chris Voss
In 2009, the European Operations Management Association (EurOMA) celebrates its 15th anniversary and its precursor, the UK OMA, its 25th anniversary. The purpose of this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
In 2009, the European Operations Management Association (EurOMA) celebrates its 15th anniversary and its precursor, the UK OMA, its 25th anniversary. The purpose of this paper is to review the origins and foundations of today's EurOMA and how it has progressed to being a vibrant and successful organisation.
Design/methodology/approach
The review draws on archived documents, especially newsletters and board minutes, as well as memories of all of those involved.
Findings
The review shows an important evolution from two groups of like minded individuals, through building annual conferences and brings these together as one. It then shows how it has evolved both through formalisation of its activities, building international links and, most importantly, developing a portfolio of activities to develop and support young researchers.
Research limitations/implications
Where records are not available, the paper draws on individual memories of events from a long time ago.
Originality/value
As well as providing an invaluable record, it can provide a model for the development of similar organisations.
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This study examines fisheries affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011 to explore how the collectivism appears during the recovery process.
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines fisheries affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011 to explore how the collectivism appears during the recovery process.
Design/methodology/approach
The author questions the context of collaboration after the disaster among independent small-scale fishers in Miyagi by conducting semistructured interviews with more than 50 local fishers with anthropological observations of boat fishing operations and using local documents and statistics.
Findings
The corresponding collaboration among the fishers after the disaster is not a mere “disaster utopia,” but is embedded in the socioecological context of fishing. Fishers have developed individual and group fishing. They have institutionalized competitive distribution for sedentary fish with low resource fluctuation, while outcome-equal distribution is adopted for migratory fish with high resource fluctuation. This forms a fishing continuum that connects competitive individualism with collectivism in the community, which has contributed to resilience for disaster recovery.
Originality/value
The balance between individualism and collectivism is decisively coordinated in socioecological contexts. The multifaceted resource strategy for maritime biodiversity that features family-based occupational differentiation in a community is crucial for disaster recovery of small-scale fishers.
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Nobuyuki Chikudate and Can M. Alpaslan
Using as many perspectives as possible to understand large-scale industrial crises can be a daunting task. This paper aims to demonstrate a reasonably complex yet systemic…
Abstract
Purpose
Using as many perspectives as possible to understand large-scale industrial crises can be a daunting task. This paper aims to demonstrate a reasonably complex yet systemic, analytical and critical approach to analyzing what causes crises.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a multi-perspective methodology within which each perspective uses a substantially different ontology and epistemology, offering a deeper understanding of the causes of large-scale crises. The methodology utilizes extant theory and findings, archival data from English and Japanese sources, including narratives of focal people such as Toyota President Akio Toyoda.
Findings
The analysis suggests that what caused Toyota’s crisis was not just Toyota’s failure to solve its technical problems. It was Toyota’s collective myopia, interactively complex new technologies and misunderstanding of corporate citizenship.
Practical implications
The authors argue that crises are complex situations best understood from multiple perspectives and that easily observable aspects of crises are often not the most significant causes of crises. In most cases, causes of crises are hidden and taken-for-granted assumptions of managers. Thus, managers must view crises critically from multiple yet distinct viewpoints.
Originality/value
The authors use Alpaslan and Mitroff’s multi-disciplinary methodology to outline several critical perspectives on Toyota’s messy recall crisis.
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Nobukaza Azuma and John Fernie
The aim of this paper is to develop an understanding of the retail marketing, merchandising, and logistical practices in the Japanese grocery supermarket sector. Most of the…
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to develop an understanding of the retail marketing, merchandising, and logistical practices in the Japanese grocery supermarket sector. Most of the literature in English has focused on the structure of the sector with little detailed research on the Japanese consumer and the corporate response to retail change. This paper highlights the case of Summit Inc., which has established a niche position in the Japanese grocery market through its operational excellence.
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This paper aims to identify relevant innovations in Tokyo’s spatial articulation of infrastructure, building and public space, intertwining large-scale networks with local scale…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify relevant innovations in Tokyo’s spatial articulation of infrastructure, building and public space, intertwining large-scale networks with local scale urban fabrics, to inform urban management towards sustainable urban transitions.
Design/methodology/approach
The research used a methodological combination of literature review, relevant case identification and analysis, on-site survey and photography, morphological interpretation through cartographic analysis and urban space and architectural redrawing and discussion under the conceptual framework.
Findings
Under Japan’s cultural construct, public/private thresholds are blurred and layered, defining a public space network which includes not only large-scale urban objects, such as railroad and commercial hubs but also small scale, hybrid and rather aweless forms of urban space, which can be of interest to the challenges of sustainable urban transition.
Research limitations/implications
Adaptations in urban management and design need to consider the multi-scalar embeddedness of urban networks in local fabrics, considering public space structure and socio-cultural specificities. Limitations to growth-oriented rationale require increasingly decentralized networks and more hybrid spatial configurations in buildings, infrastructures and public space.
Originality/value
Tokyo represents an example of how a network-dependent metropolis, accommodates highly adaptive, inconspicuous and decentralized forms of basic service provision with an impact on the perception, use and management of public space. The main argument lies in the potential that these spatial arrangements hold as references for contemporary urban management and design in what pertains to societal challenges, low-carbon transition and network optimization.