The original renowned account of the Honda Management System was first published in Japan in 1980. For this English translation, the book was thoroughly revised and up-dated. It serves as a key work of reference for all those in management and industry who want to know the key to Japan's industrial success and seek to emulate the meteoric rise of Mr Honda from back-street garage to transnational corporation. First published in 1990, this title is part of the Bloomsbury Academic Collections series.

For decades there have been two iconic Japanese auto companies. One has been endlessly studied and written about. The other has been generally underappreciated and misunderstood. Until now. Since its birth as a motorcycle company in 1949, Honda has steadily grown into the world's fifth largest automaker and top engine manufacturer, as well as one of the most beloved, most profitable, and most consistently innovative multinational corporations. What drives the company that keeps creating and improving award-winning and bestselling models like the Civic, Accord, Odyssey, CR-V, and Pilot? According to Jeffrey Rothfeder - the first journalist allowed behind Honda's infamously private doors - what truly distinguishes Honda from its competitors, especially archrival Toyota, is a deep commitment to a set of unorthodox management tenets. The Honda Way, as insiders call it, is notable for decentralization over corporate control, simplicity over complexity and unyielding cynicism toward the status quo and whatever is assumed to be the truth - ideas embedded in the DNA of the company by its colourful founder Soichiro Honda, sixty-five years ago. With dozens of interviews of Honda executives, engineers,and frontline employees, Rothfeder shows how the company has developed and maintained its unmatched culture of innovation, resilience, and flexibility - and how it exported that culture to other countries that are strikingly different from Japan, establishing locally controlled operations in each region where it lays down roots. For instance, Rothfeder reports on life at a Honda factory in the tiny town of Lincoln, Alabama. When the American workers were trained to follow the Honda Way as a self-sufficient outpost of the global company, their plant pioneered a new model for manufacturing in America. As Soichiro Honda himself liked to say, "Success can be achieved only through repeated failure and introspection. In fact, success represents one percent of your work, which results only from the ninety-nine percent that is called failure."

Technological innovations, as well as the social innovations needed to provide adequate support systems for them, are among the important foundations for economic and industrial growth in the world today. Consequently, the discussions in this important volume of the emerg ing "sociotechnical" trends in various industries around the world are highly instructive and timely. We can learn much of value from oth ers around the world who are facing similar problems of economic and industrial development. Sociotechnical innovation requires a global set ting to be fully understood and appreciated because so much new eco nomic activity that serves the economy of the United States, as well as the economies of other countries, is found in other parts of the world including not only manufacturing innovations, but innovations in the service industries. For all of our economic self-interests, we need to view innovation globally. Sociotechnical innovation is linked with the successful development of cutting edge technologies, such as ultra large-scale integrated elec tronic systems, new larger computers, the "myria-process" systems in computing architecture that use thousands of processors, new biochem ical solutions in high-cost feedstock, applications of genetic engineer ing to crop improvement, and biotechnological improvements in the pharmaceutical industries. There are also developments in the materi als field: new fiber-reinforced plastics, rapid solidification technologies, new polymers and ceramics. And there are advances in air transport technologies that may replace current technologies [1].

The seminal book that began the lean revolution in manufacturing and supply management, Powered by Honda tells the story of what Honda does, and illustrates the BP process with stories, charts, photos, and other powerful methods that guarantee success. From the people on the floor who build the cars, to the suppliers who keep Honda lines running non-stop, and the managers who run the supply chains, you'll feel the Racing Spirit that powers the machine. Honda's global leadership position in profits, growth, and innovation was built on the principles in this book.

'Learning through Knowledge Management' provides an insightful overview of the main issues integrating learning and Knowledge Management. It offers a rich resource of case examples that highlight Knowledge Management in practice. The text explores and defines learning and Knowledge Management concepts, and deals with the elements that play an important part in determining implementation success in the organization. The chapters present a managerially oriented discussion of the following key areas: * The role of processes in managing knowledge * The behavioural side of Knowledge Management * Leadership reflexes for knowledge management success * The key features of Information Technology required for Knowledge Management * The future of Knowledge Management as part of organization management. There are many case studies which include: British Airways BP Amoco Ford Hewlett Packard Xerox Swedish Police IBM The case studies encompass a diverse and broad range of sectors, maturity of practice, problems and approaches to Knowledge Management.

With a proven track record for helping companies achieve critical cost reductions without sacrificing customer satisfaction, target costing provides managers and executives with the tools to survive and prosper in today‘s increasingly competitive market without raising prices on customers. Target Cost Management: The Ladder to Global Survival and S

Asserts that success can slowly dull a company's competitive edge, explains how to maintain creative tension, and looks at successful companies