Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System by Steven J. Spear, H. Kent Bowen
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Book Reviews of Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System
Book Review: A Seminal Work
Summary: 5 Stars
This article summarizes the research Steven Spear did on Toyota for his PhD dissertation at Harvard Business School.
While most previous research on the Toyota Production System looked at the physical systems and artifacts, Spear looked at Toyota through the eyes of an anthropologist. He was interested in how the social and cultural aspects of Toyota combined with the technical systems to create the phenomenal business results they are famous for.
What he found was consistent application of four tacit, undocumented "rules-in-use" guided the design and execution of every process he observed.
He also researched other companies that were trying to emulate the Toyota Production System, and found that while they were implementing the physical aspects of the system, they were not applying the rules-in-use he observed at Toyota.
Understanding these rules, and especially their effect on the organization's framework for thinking, will take the reader up a level from the "implement the tools of lean manufacturing" approach that so commonly stalls and fails today.
I have given it 5 stars because I consider it mandatory reading. However, it is not necessarily an easy read. There was a lot of information to compress into a very few pages. (The original dissertation is 465 pages.) This article is best digested slowly. Read it, apply understanding as you have it, gain some experience, read it again. Upon the second reading you will "get" things that you glossed over the first time. Then do it again. The more practice you have with applying the concepts, the more depth emerges from this research.
Note: Spear will be publishing a book, currently titled "Chasing the Rabbit: How Market Leaders Outdistance the Competition and How Great Companies Can Catch Up and Win in the fall of 2008. Based on his other work, and meeting him and hearing about the research and conclusions presented in the book, I expect it to be very good.
Book Review: Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System
Summary: 3 Stars
I am Teacher in Celaya Tech and review the book for recomendate a my students in Industrial Enginer