Free PDF Notes from Toyota-Land: An American Engineer in Japan
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Notes from Toyota-Land: An American Engineer in Japan
Free PDF Notes from Toyota-Land: An American Engineer in Japan
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From Publishers Weekly
Mehri documents his three years working in Japan as a computer simulation engineer for a subsidiary of Toyota in this book, which is neither a satisfying social critique nor a thorough introduction to Japanese work culture; instead, Mehri provides some of both, but readers looking for either will be left wanting. The author draws on a diary he kept during his time abroad to re-create moments and experiences in and out of the office, and describes interactions with his own colleagues as well as observations of the blue-collar labor force on the manufacturing floor. Mehri argues that the dominant culture at the company is a "culture of rules," consisting of rules written on signs and in memoranda, unwritten rules that employees pick up instinctively and rules regarding language and manners "that are learned culturally, simply by being Japanese or living in Japan." Mehri explores the peculiarities of Japanese corporate life, recalling the trouble he unintentionally caused when he asked about a coffee machine for the workplace. At times, the Dilbert-esque bureaucracy at Toyota seems similar to that common among large American corporations. The author recounts his experiences off the clock, too, discussing meals he shared with co-workers and friends in yakitori places and neighborhood bars. While some of Mehri's recollections are not engaging and some parts of the book could be more fleshed out, the narrative has moments of genuine insight.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Review
"By the end of his stint in Japan, Mehri has matured into an intrepid amateur reporter, exposing the dangers on the assembly line and investigating the sham of the company unions." (Far Eastern Economic Review)"Darius Mehri offers something quite unique: an engineer's inside view of the Toyota Production System, based on an extended work experience in the engineering office of the company's homeland keiretsu. Given the special prominence of the Toyota Production System in debates over the appropriate template for restructuring the auto industry in particular and manufacturing in general, Mehri's book will interest practitioners. Mehri also has a great deal of insight into Japan's contemporary culture and politics." (Steve Babson, Wayne State University Labor Studies Center)"Japan seems to have gone through a mutation in the last decade, as most visibly manifested by multiple races appearing on streets, in shops, schools, and factories. Is Japan becoming global? Darius Mehri represents a remarkable testimony to the internationalization of Japan: an Iranian American employed by Toyota as a computer simulation engineer. This made him a precious top-elite employee in this huge multiplex of the industrial kingdom. Instead of being content with his privileged status, while he was proving a productive engineer, he took every opportunity to learn what was going on under the surface, exploring the company upward and downward and across sections by listening to what workers as well as executives had to say about company life. The information he collected resulted in this book. All these disclosures may sound like a shocking reversal of what we know about successful, industrial Japan. But the corporate survival strategy, often at the cost of individual employee's welfare, sounds familiar." (Takie Sugiyama Lebra, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Hawai'i)"Notes from Toyota-land is a wonderfully rich firsthand report, sure to be welcomed by anyone interested in the organization of work in Japan. This compelling memoir shows the author's transformation from a naïve young engineer to a journalist, social critic, and activist." (Paul Adler, University of Southern California)"Notes from Toyota-land offers interesting glimpses into a work setting―and a world―most Westerners know only at a distance.... It is an attention-grabbing look at the dark side of a company that many experts predict will soon be the world's number-one automaker." (Matt Rusling The Christian Science Monitor)"Send an intelligent, spirited, and slightly bolshie young American into a research and design department in the Japanese manufacturing heartland just as the firm faces its biggest crisis in twenty years. Give him a keenly observant eye, unbounded curiosity about what makes his fellow human beings tick, and a passion for recording his observations, and you have all the ingredients for a fascinating and sensitive ethnography of a system growing harsher by the day as it strives to meet American standards of profitability." (Ronald Dore, Research Associate, London School of Economics)
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Product details
Series: ILR Press Book
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Cornell University/ILR Press; 1 edition (August 29, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0801442893
ISBN-13: 978-0801442896
Product Dimensions:
6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
3.5 out of 5 stars
11 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#2,531,792 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
An insightful book, the story of an American engineer in Japan. The author took advantage of this unique opportunity to tell of his experiences working for a Toyota subsidiary in Japan. In Japan, the conditions seem harsh on the lower level engineering and office staff. Many American business studies stress the conformity of the Japanese decision making process and the "good-neighbor" policy relationships of corporations to the city councils in the area in which they reside. The author demonstrates from office experiences that the conformity is often enforced by the individual's fear of being ostracized. It is a very top-down hierarchal structure with some values that American corporations would consider politically incorrect, such as the role of career women and how foreign guest workers are treated.The author explains the concept of tatemae versus honne. In the workplace confrontation is suppressed under the mask of tatemae (the way things are supposed to be). After some social drinking the individual's "honne", how one actually feels may appear. I appreciate what this author has done. What I read was so different from what other business books have to say about Japanese management that the reader has to wonder is this author at a typical Japanese corporation. Could one judge all of American corporate culture by working at a subsidiary of General Motors? Probably yes, Corporate Cultures must carry most of the cultural trait of the country.Any reader from the curious to a business studies major will find this book fascinating. A light book, no analyzing, just the author telling of his office experiences in a radically different culture.We have all heard of American corporations adopting many of the Japanese business practices. Their strong points seem to be to aid the factory floor. Hopefully their office culture will not be adopted here.
As other reviewers have mentioned, parts of this reflect experiences the author would have at any first job.Japan is definitely different (from the US anyhow) especially in the way women are treated, and consensus is created (and desired).Sure parts are a bit naive and parts are unreflective, but that's what makes it interesting.
After considerable time in academe, Darius Mehri encountered many difficulties that are common in any first job. Some are more pronounced in Japan, while other difficulties would be more pronounced in other countries. With a few more job experiences under his belt, Darius may learn that - in any setting - things such as protocol, advice from senior members, not immediately tilting at windmills, would help him have a more rewarding work experience.
I am a certified Lean Expert and have worked for the Japanese for some years. Generally speaking I would say that from sociological / anthropological perspective, Darius has accurately captured the culture in Japan and the Japanese manufacturing firms.However from his description, I don't think Nizumi can be considered as a Lean company that practices the Toyota Production System. I am not even sure if Nizumi is a part of Toyota family. As such his book's title is rather misleading.As for his comments about the workplace culture and the Japanese culture in general, although these are accurate, it should understood that the Japanese society has a very different values, priorities and approach to life compared to the US or even other Asian societies. These should not been seen in a negative light or considered as sinister but viewed in a bigger scheme of things.For example, the lack of privacy. This is might not be acceptable to the Americans but the Japanese are much less individualistic and consider harmony and openness within the team/community as more important.
As others have reviewed, this is obviously the author's first job in an industrial setting and some observations are quite naive. It is also not a Toyota plant as one might assume from the title, but a little further down the supply chain. This, in itself is a unique viewpoint, as little has been written about Toyota's 1st or 2nd Tier suppliers or their captive companies. If you have many years of engineering or manufacturing experience under your belt, you might consider that many of his negative observations are not unique to Japan - just lack of exposure on his part.An interesting read to see the social side of Japanese industry, but little insight into the inner working of TPS.
This book details the social structure and rigid hierarchical control found in the executive levels of Japanese companies, and not specific manufacturing techniques and methods. The reviewer who claims the title is misleading because the author worked at Hino and not Toyota does not realize Hino is part of Toyota (see [...] The book is informative and interesting. Don't expect dry information on manufacturing.
The book is filled with terrific insights into what the workplace is really like at a Toyota subsidary in Japan. The insights are provided by Darius Mehri, an American who worked there as an engineer for several years and kept a diary of his experiences and observations. Mehri details the often unfortunate limitations that a rigid hierarchical system can create, as this rigidity is usually blindly obeyed despite the limits on technological advancement. Employees are often forced to abandon their common sense in order to support the understood order of the workplace, which often leads to absurd results. As Mehri's journey progresses, conditions at the factory worsen in a sort of Kafkaesquian absurdity, where legitimate questions are raised (by him) but no legitimate answers are given (by the company). Unfortunately, most of the workers are helpless to change their plight as the events unfold. Mehri artfully describes this state of events, which are somewhat depressing, but he also sprinkles his story with numerous comedic takes on the insanity that he observes around himself! This is defintiely a worthwhile, quick read - and he has put more information at his website, [...]
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