Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

NUMMI and Its Prototype Plant in Japan: A Comparative Study of Human Resource Development at the Workshop Level

1998; Elsevier BV; Volume: 12; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1006/jjie.1997.0390

1095-8681

Kazuo Koike,

Global trade, sustainability, and social impact

This study compares skill formation at workshops in NUMMI, a joint venture of GM and Toyota in California, and its prototype plant in Japan. Since two key indicators of skill formation, the breadth of work experience and the capability of problem handling, take the form of shop floor practices, the method of in-depth case study based on intensive interviews is employed. NUMMI workers were even broader for those of short service than Toyota counterparts, while those of long service were broader in Takaoka. Yet, NUMMI workers were less capable of problem handling, which results in a productivity gap. An integration of both practices may produce a better system.J. Japan. Int. Econ.,March 1998,12(1), pp. 49–74. Faculty of Business Administration, Hosei University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162, Japan.Copyright 1998 Academic Press. Journal of Economic LiteratureClassification Numbers J24, J53.