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Short
description
In the aftermath of the Second World War,
the Japanese economy lacked the finances for new machinery and, in
consequence, decision-makers concentrated on optimizing existing
resources and processes. Soon lean
production, just in time
production and quality circles became
export hits, even
though Japanese production culture in many ways remained typically
Japanese - for instance on issues such as hierarchy and loyalty on
the
part of employees. Today, the modernity of a factory is measured by the
extent to which these characteristics of Japanese production culture
are put into practice. After the Second World War, this approach
developed into a
model for an international production culture.
By
the beginning of the 21st century, the Chinese economy had surpassed
that of Japan; today, China is a global factory. This subproject
analyzes and defines the "Chinese production culture“ and focuses on
the question of whether any of its modern characteristics can serve as
a model for international production culture. Based on surveys by
Hofstede (2009), case studies by Hong/Pöyhönen/Kyläheiku (2006) and on
fundamental thinking of Philip Huang, the project takes as its premise
that the development of Chinese production culture falls into different
historical periods: from the genuinely Chinese production culture of
silk, china and tea production over the slumbering industrial
revolution, the import of Western manufacturing culture, the building
of larger production units in the socialist a tradition, to today’s
mixed production culture with Japanese and Western elements. But still
today's production culture comes with some genuinely Chinese
characteristics: the Confucian
understanding of the relation boss - team leader – employee, hierarchy,
the concept of face (and critique), the informal network management in
the decision finding process, the esteem for the concept of age,
nepotism, the play instinct (including imitation), flexibility and
speed. This subproject explores which of these elements are exportable
in principle and which ones can be profitably implemented within
international production cultures.
This is a
subproject of the ESSA
research project „Re-defining Chinese Identity at
the beginning of the 21st century“