Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 8, 2013

By sheer happenstance, I had just gotten a copy of Gemba Walks , a collection of essays by James Womack , a co-author of the automotive classic The Machine That Changed The World and a pioneering importer of Toyota-inspired lean production insights and methodologies to America.

Innovation 8

Innovation Lean Production Disintermediation Automotive 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 22, 2015

Many companies still compete this way and there continue to be successors to Taylorism, including business process reengineering and lean production. Some companies brought together Six Sigma and lean production into “Lean Six Sigma” as a way of competing with both lower costs and higher quality.

Six Sigma 8

Six Sigma Company Lean Production Taylorism 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 27, 2015

companies were making progress on the operations front, but now they seem to have lost their way—and business schools are in a position to help set them right again. In the 1980s, our organizations learned a great deal about how to improve productivity, quality, and costs from Japanese practices. A few decades ago, U.S.

Lean Production 8

Lean Production Operations Health Care Talent Management 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 26, 2016

In addition to improved product quality and delivery times, the lean approach has been linked to improved terms of employment. Could lean manufacturing have a similar positive impact on jobs in the developing world? Workers tend to earn more and report higher engagement with their jobs.

Lean Manufacturing 9

Lean Manufacturing Supply Chain Apparel Compliance 9

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 9, 2012

The reasoning goes something like this: Economists posit as an assumption that firms always have a wide variety of techniques to choose from. This supposed "natural law" slowly conquered the mainstream during the 20th century. And by what mechanism was this natural law enforced?

Automotive 10

Automotive Lean Production Marketing Crisis 10

Harvard Business Review

MAY 28, 2015

automakers took decades to adopt lean production methods despite the obvious benefits from increased productivity and lower work-in-process inventory. Even General Motors, which had a bird’s eye view of the Toyota Production System from its joint venture with Toyota at New United Motors Manufacturing Inc.

Technology 8

Technology Depreciation Christensen Short-term 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 10, 2015

More and more companies are adopting software and product development frameworks like Agile , Scrum , and Kanban — which promote quick, iterative, lean production — to deliver higher quality products, faster. This helps reinforce positive behaviors.

Project 8

Project Management Agility White Paper 8