How have Japanese companies become world leaders in the automotive and electronics industries, among others? What is the secret of their success? Two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi, are the first to tie the success of Japanese companies to their ability to create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. In The Knowledge-Creating Company, Nonaka and Takeuchi provide an inside look at how Japanese companies go about creating this new knowledge organizationally. The authors point out that there are two types of knowledge: explicit knowledge, contained in manuals and procedures, and tacit knowledge, learned only by experience, and communicated only indirectly, through metaphor and analogy. U.S. managers focus on explicit knowledge. The Japanese, on the other hand, focus on tacit knowledge. And this, the authors argue, is the key to their success--the Japanese have learned how to transform tacit into explicit knowledge. To explain how this is done--and illuminate Japanese business practices as they do so--the authors range from Greek philosophy to Zen Buddhism, from classical economists to modern management gurus, illustrating the theory of organizational knowledge creation with case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, Nissan, 3M, GE, and even the U.S. Marines. For instance, using Matsushita's development of the Home Bakery (the world's first fully automated bread-baking machine for home use), they show how tacit knowledge can be converted to explicit knowledge: when the designers couldn't perfect the dough kneading mechanism, a software programmer apprenticed herself withthe master baker at Osaka International Hotel, gained a tacit understanding of kneading, and then conveyed this information to the engineers. In addition, the authors show that, to create knowledge, the best management style is neither top-down nor bottom-up, but rather what they call "middle-up-down," in which the middle managers form a bridge between the ideals of top management and the chaotic realities of the frontline. As we make the turn into the 21st century, a new society is emerging. Peter Drucker calls it the "knowledge society," one that is drastically different from the "industrial society," and one in which acquiring and applying knowledge will become key competitive factors. Nonaka and Takeuchi go a step further, arguing that creating knowledge will become the key to sustaining a competitive advantage in the future. Because the competitive environment and customer preferences changes constantly, knowledge perishes quickly. With The Knowledge-Creating Company, managers have at their fingertips years of insight from Japanese firms that reveal how to create knowledge continuously, and how to exploit it to make successful new products, services, and systems.

The knowledge-creating company

In the competitive market , virtual teams represent a growing response to the need for fasting time-to- market, low-cost and rapid solutions to complex organizational problems. Virtual teams enable organizations to pool the talents and expertise of employees and non-employees by eliminating time and space barriers . Nowadays, companies are heavily investing in virtual team to enhance their performance and competitiveness. Despite virtual teams growing prevalence, relatively little is known about this new form of team. Hence the study offers an extensive literature review with definitions o f virtual teams and a structured analysis of the present body of knowledge of virtual teams. First, we distinguish virtual teams from conventional teams , different types of virtual teams to identify where current knowledge applies. Second, we distinguish what is needed for effective virtual team considering the people, process and technology point of view and underlying characteristics of virtual teams and challenges they entail. Finally, we have identified an d extended 12 key factors that need to be considered, and describes a methodology focused on supporting virtual team working, with a new approach that has not been specifically addressed in the existing literature and some guide line for future research extracted.

Virtual Teams: a Literature Review

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The value stream mapping (VSM) technique, developed within the lean production paradigm, was presented as an innovative graphic technique to help practitioners redesign production systems. This paper presents the results of a project whose main purpose is to evaluate the real applicability of VSM to redesign disconnected flow lines based on manufacturing environments with a diversity of logistical problems. The research was developed using multiple case study methodology in six industrial companies. The experiences have served to highlight the following results: (1) the validity of VSM as a redesign tool is confirmed; (2) resources required for the application process are established; and (3) the differences between theoretical concepts proposed by VSM and their real-world practical applications are indicated and analyzed. These results have led to conclusions relating to: (1) communication solutions for practitioners to obtain maximum efficiency when using VSM; and (2) definitions of theoretical developm...

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Evaluation of value stream mapping in manufacturing system redesign

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the driving engine behind economic growth. While SMEs play a critical role in generating employment and supporting trade, they face numerous challenges, the prominent among them are the need to respond to fasting time-to-market, low-cost and rapid solutions to complex organizational problems. Towards that end, research and development (R & D) aspect deserves particular attention to promote and facilitate the operations of SMEs. Virtual R & D team could be a viable option. However, literature shows that virtual R & D teaming in SMEs is still at its infancy. This article provides a comprehensive literature review on different aspects of virtual R & D teams collected from the reputed publications. The purpose of the state-of-the-art literature review is to provide an overview on the structure and dynamics of R & D collaboration in SMEs. Specifying the foundation and importance of virtual teams, the relationship between virtual R & D team and SMEs has been examined. It concludes with the identification of the gaps in the existing literature's and calls for future research. It is argued that setting-up an infrastructure for virtual R & D team in SMEs still requires a large amount of engineering efforts and deserves consideration at top level management.

Virtual R & D teams in small and medium enterprises: A literature review

Large amounts of money are spent all over the world on R&D, in order to ensure future sustainability. However, much of this research fails to meet its full potential. These R&D projects are often costly and inefficient due to problems associated with working in a team environment, involving members from different geographical regions. One of the main limiting factors that reduce the potential output of this type of project is the poor communication, knowledge sharing and learning between members of the virtual team. In this context, collaboration and virtual team management are key issues that need to be addressed by today's innovation projects. This paper presents a literature review developed on the concept of collaboration between individuals working in a team and the advantages and requirements of virtual teams. It also presents a possible solution for the development of a virtual team environment that fosters better learning and innovation and ensures a good collaboration between individuals working in an innovation project.

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Virtual team environment for collaborative research projects

In the manufacturing organization cost or more specifically cost reduction is an everyday obsession with managers and engineers. To compete globally and win new contracts, manufacturing firms need to learn how to be responsive, lean and efficient. On the other hand, in order to retain and motivate workers, improve systems efficiency and conform to various regulations including health, safety and the environment, manufacturing firms need to continuously invest. Both opposing pressures create a challenging environment for manufacturing managers and engineers. This paper introduces research into how the manufacturing environment is changing and in particular the type of issues that manufacturing managers and engineers need to learn. The paper presents the first results of a study being conducted by a number of academic institutions and industries from around the world into manufacturing education issues. The principle aim of the research consortium is to anticipate the needs of manufacturing organization of ...

Survey of manufacturing curricula from around the world

One of the main limiting factors that reduce the potential output the innovation projects, involving different organisations and individuals from different geographical areas, is the poor communication and knowledge sharing between members of the virtual team. In this context collaboration and virtual team management are key issues that need to be addressed by today's innovation projects. This paper presents a literature review developed on the concept of collaboration between project team members and the advantages and requirements of virtual teams. A possible solution for the development of a virtual team environment that fosters innovation and ensures a good collaboration between individuals working in an innovation project is also presented. This solution was build using the Microsoft Sharepoint Services Beta 2 collaborative platform.

Lavinia Precup

Papers

Virtual team environment for collaborative research projects

Survey of manufacturing curricula from around the world

Virtual Team Environment for Collaborative Innovation