Development of Mass Production Systems in Japan and Germany During the 1970–1980s and Its Significance

In the preceding chapters in Part II and III, changes of the system of industrial concentration and business management after the war were analyzed. In Part IV, as major management issues in the period from the 1970s to the present, reforms to mass production systems after the 1970s and transformations toward the American management model, represented by shareholder value-oriented management and capital market-oriented corporate governance system after the 1990s will be examined. This chapter discusses the reforms and developments of mass production systems from the 1970s to the 1980s. The American mass production system, represented by the Ford system, was deployed in major countries and greatly contributed to the development of the countries’ enterprises and economies during the postwar period of high economic growth. However, the limitations of such a production system had become apparent with the shift toward low economic growth. As a result, reforms of the production system became an important issue in each country. In Japan and Germany, there were differences (as well as some commonalities) in the development of the production system. For example, the Japanese production system achieved high economic performance from the 1970s to the 1980s and its introduction was attempted in other countries, as seen in the phenomenon known as “Japanization.” In contrast, in Germany, the reforms of the production system in the same period had certain limitations, which created difficulties for the country in its attempt to catch up to the Japanese system. Therefore, by analyzing these issues, this chapter clarifies the characteristics and significances of the developments of the production systems during this time period.