Team Work in Japan: Revolution, Evolution or No Change at All?

Abstract

That 'in Japan, they work in teams' has become 'standard knowledge'. Because of this, 'team work in Japan' is a less fashionable topic today than it was a few years ago. Perhaps, the topic would have been totally marginalized if reports about changes in traditional Japanese management concepts had not caused so much excitement in the scientific community. In literature on the Japanese automobile industry, references are being made to an evolution in the way teams are being organized at the final assembly lines. The question this article poses is whether it is possible to conclude with certainty that an evolution in the degree of selfregulation of teams has actually taken place. The conclusion is that given the lack of theoretically founded, empirical evidence, it is as yet impossible to find a scientifically and analytically sound answer to that question.

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