Kaizezen Motors Case Study

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company at best. In comparison to the functionalist theory, this company has many interconnected duties that create a balanced company when performed by a diverse amount of workers.
The Interconnection
“The dynamics of diversity in a Japanese factory are intimately linked with the nature of interpersonal relations in teams” (Lepadatu and Janoski, 2011, pg. 9). After reading the book, I grasped the concept that at Kaizen Motors there are both challenges and opportunities within the companies system. Being a Japanese company the managing of gender based roles became an experience that managers had to get used to. Because Kaizen Motors is located in the United States, the gender differences were heavily recognized as opposed to how gender roles …show more content…

In many Japanese companies women are the minority where as men are the majority. It was alarming to me that the “Japanese managers had little sympathy for the sometimes conflicting demands of job and family because men did not have a role in managing day-to-day family affairs in japan” (Lepadatu and Janoski, 2011, pg.13). Unlike American management, the Japanese lacked an understanding when it came to family roles in the United States. As a concept learning in this course, individuals who hold management roles must have a concern for not only what is happening within their own organization and company, but also with the relationships between their company and other organizations. According to data analysis and research found on pg. 115 in the Diversity at Kaizen Motors book, the greatest source of dissatisfaction at the auto transplant was the balancing of work and family. However, as the company grew there became an understanding about gender roles within the plant resulting in a cohesive company. In regards to gender, something that I found really interesting about this transplant was that both sexes enjoyed working together. Today it is not uncommon …show more content…

4). Companies today depend heavily on skills and technologies when it comes to performance. Individuals who have worked at a company longer most likely perform skills better than those who have recently been hired. Although Kaizen Motors relies heavily on teamwork, it is evident that employees perform based on skills. In the book, we learn that ageism plays a prominent factor at the transplant. As older workers in any company are, they hold a role almost like a sense of commitment to the company. Those who have been with a company for many years tend to be older and display a mentor persona. Individuals of a younger age are typically the newer employed individuals who hold position that are considered temporary (because of transitioning through a company). Although younger employees have not been in a company as long, there is still a sense of commitment with them as well. Younger employees can be encouraging to older employees, they can provide new ideas, and can work predominantly faster than those of an older age. At Kaizen Motors we see the combination of both working on teams, because Kaizen Motors is all about teamwork. There seems to be a sense of reliability between both the older and younger employees. There is no “discouragement” because they all considered themselves of equal capability to what they can bring to their job.

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