| Competitiveness in the automobile industry has American manufacturers seeking methods to attain profitability levels, which equal or better Japanese and other Asian rivals. Lean manufacturing has emerged as the driving force associated with Japan's competitive advantage that American companies must duplicate to balance industry growth. The problem facing Western unionized automobile suppliers and manufacturers has been the ability to fully implement lean manufacturing techniques and remain competitive with Japan. Studying perceptions of Western cultural and team social interaction, which differ from those in Japan, was necessary to improve lean process implementation. Two manufacturing locations in Southeastern Michigan were selected for the study: Plant 1, with approximately 400 employees, and Plant II with 300 employees. Both locations operated under a bargaining contract with the United Automobile Workers (UAW). A purposeful sample of approximately 20 employees from each location, totaling 40 participants, participated in the team observation, and a subsample of 10 participants that varied demographically, participated in individual in-depth interviews. Ethnographic qualitative data of respondent perceptions and observations were collected for four primary constructs: (a) empowerment, (b) job enlargement, ( c) management commitment, and ( d) changes to traditional union management philosophies, and six major themes emerged from data analysis: (a) increased workload, (b) decision-making input, (c) team participation and involvement, ( d) empowerment, ( e) empowered authority, and (f) resource allocation. Three minor themes also emerged: (a) training, (b) management support, and (c) organizational culture change. Four recommendations were offered for professional practice: (a) training for mid-level management, (b) training for team members, ( c) consistent focus that avails resources both human and capital in the implementation of continuous improvement projects, and ( d) expansion of cultural change, and three recommendations for future research were offered: (a) expansion of research scope, (b) different plant culture and workplace relationship, and ( c) team socialization training. |
