| Automobile quality improvements at U.S. auto-manufacturers during the last ten years have been commonly attributed to Japanese automotive component companies in North America. Then, the question that needs to be asked is: How have the Japanese subsidiaries of these automotive components companies succeeded in manufacturing products with such a reputation for high quality? According to a survey by the Japan Auto Parts Industries Association (JAPIA), Japanese automotive component companies have had 253 subsidiaries in North America with average sales of {dollar}125 million per company in 1997. At that time they sold 63% of their products to Japanese transplants such as Honda of America MFG (HAM), and 25% to the "Big Three", i.e., GM, Ford, and Daimler-Chrysler. Drawing upon the results of a survey conducted in 2000, this paper describes not only technical transfers that create quality but also overall plant management style, based on a hybrid, 5-point scale of application and adaptation theory (Abo et al., 1989). The findings of this survey in 2000, which had about a 50% response rate, suggest that the passage of time significantly affected the hybrid evaluation. Also, judging from the 3.2 point degree of hybridization, it suggested that there was considerable adaptation to the American plant management system. The application of material and human management methods that is characteristic of the Japanese-style management and production systems was evident in the survey conducted in 2000's research to the same extent as in the survey carried out by Abo et al., in 1989.{09}The cluster multivariate analysis indicates that the largest group covers 70% of the companies. The "suburban proactive conservative operation" group is dominant. These factories are located in the suburbs of big cities. On average, they attained 3.4 in application scores and feature a 15.1 monthly turnover rate and 447 employees, and they have been in operation for ten years. |
