- Hardcover: 330 pages
- Publisher: Rawson Associates (5 July 1995)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0892563508
- ISBN-13: 978-0892563500
- Product Dimensions: 16 x 22.9 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
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- #66 in Books > Business, Finance & Law > Professional Finance > Forecasting
The Machine That Changed the World
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Product Description
Product Description
Today, the industrial world is experiencing the most revolutionary change since Henry Ford's assembly line -- which forever changed the way things are made. Japanese companies are sweeping the world, as Western companies and governments struggle to find ways to emulate them. The Machine That Changed the World points for the first time to a positive way out of this dilemma. It shows that being defeatist about the Japanese threat, and tougher protectionism, are not the answers. This book outlines the enormous tasks facing Western companies in the 1990s and has cogent messages for Japanese firms as well, as they move abroad. The Machine That Changed the World is based on the largest and most thorough study ever undertaken in any industry: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology five-million-dollar, five-year, fourteen-country International Motor Vehicle Program's study of the worldwide auto industry. Twice in this century the auto industry has changed our most fundamental ideas about how to make things. Now it is doing it again. Just as mass production swept away craft production, so a new way of making things, called lean production, is now rapidly making mass production obsolete. Lean production is the Japanese secret weapon in the industrial wars and is spreading throughout the world. If Western companies and their managers and workers are to survive in the 1990s, they must learn and adapt to lean production. Some of the smartest already have begun to do so. Lean production welds the activities of everyone from top management to line workers, to suppliers, into a tightly integrated whole that can respond almost instantly to marketing demands from consumers. It can also double production and quality, while keeping costs down. Its adoption, as it inevitably spreads beyond the auto industry, will change almost every industry and consequently how we work, how we live, and the fate of companies and nations as they respond to its impact. In clear and compelling terms, this book explains what lean production is, and its global implications for all of us.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A prophetic analysis of a complex industry!,
By
This review is from: The Machine That Changed the World: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology 5-million-dollar, 5-year Report on the Future of the Automobile Industry (Hardcover)
A very readable and well researched book that explains how the automotive industry has developed from a 'craft industry', through 'mass production', into the 'lean enterprises' that will dominate the industry of the future. The authors explain the different management philosophies at each stage of development, and explore how these have transformed the lifes and expecations of the workforce and consumers in this global industry. They conclude with a prophetic vision of the future, highlighting the need for the major players to be transformed into 'lean enterprises' as a pre-condition for surival. Essential reading for anybody in the automotive sector or with an interest in the social impact different management techniques and philosophies.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lean foundations,
By Stephen Parry "Author of Sense and Respond" (Lean Service Transformation Designer London) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Machine That Changed the World: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology 5-million-dollar, 5-year Report on the Future of the Automobile Industry (Hardcover)
This book contains all the seeds of the Lean Production Ideas. A must for the serious Lean Practitioner. This is the most influential book on the subject. However it needs a great deal of study and deep understanding but it's worth it for the insight and Lean foundations it provides.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Becoming Lean and Mean!,
By
This review is from: The Machine That Changed the World (Paperback)
Lean production (now frequently called Lean manufacturing) has melded into several industries here in the United States, but back when this book was written, it was just catching on. I read the book in 2000. Many of the concepts are still worthwhile in this book, both for the historical significance as well as the lean ideas presented.
The Machine that Changed the World is a fascinating book that teaches what the Japanese learned and how to apply their ideas to the US auto market. Competition is always tough, but these tools provides a competitive advantage to those companies who embrace them and make them part of doing business. Not all ideas are applicable to every application, but there are plenty of diamonds to be farmed here. Well trained employees, a commitment to excellence by everyone (from the janitor to the CEO), teamwork, flexibility of skill sets, and learning lessons from successes and failures are all important elements of lean manufacturing. Setting up manufacturing lines efficiently, working closely with suppliers, line smoothing, encouraging innovative and cost saving suggestions and much more are also critical lean concepts. Lean manufacturing doesn't happen overnight and a company and its employees must be diligent in their efforts to put high quality products at reasonable prices out the door. The Machine that Changed the World is highly rated by many people and should be. It has timeless ideas to produce higher quality products and recommends never being completely satisfied. Well written and researched, this is a top notch book! The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking
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