This book in contrast with previous research and popular discussions that focus on the
productivity of workers identifies the critical influence of supervisors and engineers as key
drivers of productivity differentials. To do so it analyzes productivity at a Japanese car
component plant and its three offshoot plants located in the United States Thailand and China
and how productivity evolved at these plants from the mid-1990s to the early 2010s. The
author's participatory observation approach reveals that productivity and work practices
converged to a limited degree over the years at all four plants. Particularly influential are
the persistent differences at these plants in the extent to which workers learn how to combine
and integrate their production skills with troubleshooting skills. Supervisors play a key role
in developing this integration in Japan while worker skills remain separated in the other
countries. Integrated skill development is promoted in Japan throughthe trusting relationships
that first-line supervisors enjoy with their workforce. In the plants abroad in contrast the
persistence of workers' control over their individual skill development and careers impedes the
development of integrated skills. Manufacturing engineers at the Japanese mother plant also
play key linking roles thereby enhancing communications and problem-solving on the shop floor
whereas manufacturing engineers at the US Thai and Chinese plants play more limited and
compartmentalized roles. As a result productivity remains high in Japan and lags in the other
plants. Surprisingly Japanese managers remain reluctant to introduce these more productive
work practices in the offshoot plants.
