, Research Paper
TQM Relating to Saturn of Japan Culture can affect how the impact and meaning of leadership first because people are accustomed to one particular style of leadership and when you change that style it will affect the way the employee works. Second, cultural differences between countries such as shared experiences and history affect the definition of leadership. An example would be, in Germany the engineer is held in high esteem, while the manager is just someone who is just there to tell them what to do. Origins of leadership can affect how the employee works also. Such as leaders in different countries come in to power in different ways some countries the upper class are the leaders like in Turkey and in many Arab countries. In other former socialist countries the lower class end up as the managers. Culture can affect the values of a country in many ways. One of the ways would be if the country is modern or traditional. If the country is traditional culture would dictate respect for the past, family, and class. A sense of duty to family and friends along with little sense of time urgency makes up a traditionalistic culture. As a result this kind of culture may respond favorably to autocratic leadership. The opposite is true in modern cultures the values lie in more of a “take care of myself” kind of attitude. The book shows that many of the same attributes were shared by the same countries and ranked in the top five leadership characteristics on page 142. This shows that universally many of the attributes such as ” can articulate a tangible vision” are high on the list of ideal characteristics. Power and influence tactics vary in many ways culture to culture. The first reason that tactics may vary is simple, it is because different cultures define what the tactics mean much differently than we would and therefore rank them differently. For example in Japan friendliness did not even make the list, when in Australia it is ranked first. This is not to say the Japanese are not friendly, but that they do not associate it with business the way the Australians do. Another difference is the way the Asian cultures use “assertive reasoning” more so than the English speaking countries, this is because in Asian cultures it is important show concern for subordinates, while reminding them of the leader’s authority. When Saturn went to Japan they had to set up TQM system for an American company. To set up the system they had to integrate Demming’s 14 point system. The first step in doing this was to have a constant purpose toward improvement. Saturn’s company philosophy and Japan’s culture are perfect for this step because they are both very focused on making the perfect product. The next step would be to adopt the new philosophy. Depending on what culture Saturn’s Japan factory hires this could be very tricky if they hire a Japanese boss this will be no problem, but if they hire an American boss he or she may have a hard time adjusting to an eastern m
The third step would be to stop mass inspection and to personally look at every car. Again for Saturn and for Japanese workers, this would not be a big deal because this is already done at Saturn plants and in most Japanese plants of any type.Fourth Saturn in Japan and the world over should stop buying parts and services based only on prices, but to buy the best available. This may upset some suppliers but if they want Saturn’s business they will improve the quality of their products.Fifth by constantly improving the system of production and service Saturn will increase productivity and lower costs. This may upset some people because they will have to learn new equipment and ways of doing things periodicallySixth train every one this is a very expensive process and the upper management may express some doubts but in the long run it is a more cost effective way to do things because there are no gaps in the line if every one knows how to do every thing else , saving the company money.Seventh by the management coming out of the up stairs office and helping and advising the employees you create an atmosphere of team spirit and not us against them. Eighth goes right along with seven, employees will not be afraid to ask questions or to point out problems and therefore will be able to relax and do their jobs effectivelyNinth break down the barriers between departments. If the whole plant feels as one big team there will be rivalry. The plant should be in competition with others plants not within it self.Tenth eliminate slogans and the like. Who wants to be bothered by the cheesy slogans when the real problems can be fixed by focusing on the problem and correcting it.Eleventh get rid of quotas focus on the quality of the product instead of how many you can make in one hour. This may affect the employees that are paid piecework. They should be put on salary to eliminate the quota issue.Twelfth watch that the management does not judge or grade the employees this will prevent them from reaching their potential. In Japan this may not be an issue because they appreciate the chance to show their employers how adept at their jobs they are with out having to make it look like showing off or bragging.Thirteenth by starting a program of self-improvement and education you will motivate your employees to do better and they also may learn a technique that will improve the plant as a whole.Fourteenth do not just put some people on the TQM transformation you must put every one together as a team.In Japan the culture is very group oriented and selfless so the previous fourteen points were relatively easy to implement. There was little resistance to the changes when Saturn arrived in Japan, because the culture is geared to a TQM style work place. If Saturn had chose to put a plant in Mexico for instance many of the points I mentioned would be harder to implement because Mexicans do not work as hard for American companies as they would for a Mexican owned plant.