Cultural Dynamics: Rise of Manufacturing Japan Technology in Postwar
Japan was one of the countries that had been devastated by the holocaust of the Second World War. Despite the devastating experience that the country experienced during the war, Japan dedication has made the country to become one of the top technologically developed countries in the world comparatively with the United States and German.

The objective of this study is to review the article titled " In Search of 'Wakon': The Cultural Dynamics of the Rise of Manufacturing Technology in Postwar Japan"[footnoteRef:1]. The book reveals that Japan develops a unique cultural dynamic to achieve a rise in the manufacturing technology. [1: Koizumi, Kenkichiro. "In Search of Wakon: The Cultural Dynamics of Manufacturing Technology in Postwar Japan.]

Review of the Article

Koizumi was amazed about the technological advancement that happened to Japan 25 to 35 years after the second world war[footnoteRef:2]. Few years after the war,…...

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Bibliography

Koizumi, Kenkichiro. "In Search of Wakon: The Cultural Dynamics of Manufacturing Technology in Postwar Japan." Technology and Culture 43, no. 1 (2002): 29-49. doi:10.1353/tech.2002.0024.

Yamamura, Eiji, Tetsushi Sonobe, and Keijiro Otsuka. "Time path in innovation, imitation, and growth: the case of the motorcycle industry in postwar Japan." Journal of Evolutionary Economics 15, no. 2 (2005): 169-86. doi:10.1007/s00191-004-0239-3.

Organizational Framework for Manufacturing Technology Using Woodward's Model
The Woodward model describes three organization designs including: small batch and unit technology, large batch and mass production, and continuous process production. Toyz is classified as small batch and unit technology. Toyz is classified as small batch and unit technology because it "manufacturers and assembles small orders to meet specific needs of customers (Daft, 256)." Although custom work is usually a norm of such an organizational structure, in the case of Toyz the creation of the products are not made to order but they are unique. In addition the manufacture of Toyz products is highly dependent upon individual operators as opposed to the process being highly mechanized. In addition the management system is defined as organic. An organic system simply means that they are free flowing and adaptive and requires the use of fewer procedures as opposed to being mechanistic.

As a result of…...

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References

Daft R.L. (2009) Organization Theory and Design. 10th Edition. Cengage Learning

The modeling environments was so accurate it could deliver results that aligned at a 95% accuracy rate with the actual results achieved. Another advantage was the use of knowledge management to orchestrate multichannel selling, marketing and service scenarios across the client's specific requirements and needs. The analytics and knowledge management systems were also combined successfully to create a constraint-based engine as well. All of these factors were critical to the success of the system.
The cons of this modeling approach were the lack of precision on pricing ands the ability to model the more finely-tuned aspects of the programs. There was not enough data to create a profitability measurement and the use of constraint modeling at times could leave out the more unpredictable aspects of the marketing mix. hile the virtual marketplace proved effective for testing message, media and defining audience, it lacks the precision necessary for making long-term, highly…...

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Works Cited

Ball, Leslie D. "IT Education Success Strategies for Change Management." Information Systems Management 17.4 (2000): 74-7.

Benamati, John, Albert L. Lederer, and Meenu Singh. "Information Technology Change: The Impact on IT Management." The Journal of Computer Information Systems 38.4 (1998): 9-13.

Bordum, Anders. "The Strategic Balance in a Change Management Perspective." Society and Business Review 5.3 (2010): 245-58.

Eastman, Doug, and Claire McCarthy. "Embracing Change: Healthcare Technology in the 21st Century." Nursing management 43.6 (2012): 52.

Furthermore, Drago argues there are substantial developmental costs when technology is concentrated in the hands of a few, most notably more advanced countries, creating a so called "digital divide" between rich and poor countries. Even in developed countries, increased productivity is eliminating many jobs in manufacturing, transportation and other high-paying industries (Innovations in technology and globalization: Introduction to the information era) and outsourcing is moving these jobs to countries with less expensive labor. This problem continues to gain considerable public attention in light of the severe economic downturn where unemployment is escalating.
ibliography

Drago, T. (2001, May 25). Adapting technology to the needs of each society. http://www.igc.org/globalpolicy/globaliz/special/2001/052tech.htm .

Innovations in technology and globalization: Introduction to the information era. http://workinfonet.bc.ca/lmisi/Making/chapter2/TANDG1.htm

Muroyama, J.H., and Stever H.G. (1988). Globalization of technology: International perspectives. National Academy Press: Washington, D.C. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309038421...

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Bibliography

Drago, T. (2001, May 25). Adapting technology to the needs of each society. .http://www.igc.org/globalpolicy/globaliz/special/2001/052tech.htm

Innovations in technology and globalization: Introduction to the information era. http://workinfonet.bc.ca/lmisi/Making/chapter2/TANDG1.htm

Muroyama, J.H., and Stever H.G. (1988). Globalization of technology: International perspectives. National Academy Press: Washington, D.C.  http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309038421

Manufacturing
Seven Key Elements for Successful Implementation

Norman inette, Jr.

iddeford, Maine

Manufacturing organizations are built on the premise that they possess the ability to provide a wide variety of quality products for their customers. This reputation is dependent upon the constant review of existing processes and the identification of new and innovative methods of production that will enhance and increase the diversification of product lines. One such process that has proven itself as a valuable commodity in recent decades is World Class Manufacturing. This process involves a number of complex steps encompassing a variety of business units that are subject to continuous review and improvement. This process is designed to maximize employee productivity at all levels of the organization, from the assembly line to executive management. A successful World Class Manufacturing strategy will provide the organization with numerous opportunities for growth and will enable a successful transition to unique and innovative production…...

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Bibliography

Ahmad, S., and Schroeder, R. (2002). The importance of recruitment and selection process for sustainability of total quality management. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 19(5), 540-550.

Benton, W.C., and Shin, H. (1998). Manufacturing planning and control: the evolution of MRP and JIT integration.

European Journal of Operational Research, 110, 411-

Damiani, A.S.M. Looking for the Gold: A TQM Success Story. POSPublications.

Often companies who have highly configurable products or services, such as Dell or in the services businesses, insurance and healthcare companies, need to provide customers with the ability to customize products in real time to their needs. Product configurators today are being used in e-business systems in these industries to provide suppliers with advance visibility of customer demand while capturing orders accurately at the same time (Aurich, Wolf, Siener, Schweitzer, 2009). The quote-to-order process encompasses creating customized products and services while staying within the constraints of profitability for an enterprise (Sawik, 2011). Studies also indicate the greater the level of system integration in these process areas, the higher the level of eturn on Investment (OI) achieved by companies who commit to making their systems work with each other in real time (Das, 2011). The greater the accuracy and velocity of information in the build-to-order, configure-to-order and engineer-to-order workflows of…...

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References

JC Aurich, N Wolf, M Siener, & E. Schweitzer. (2009). Configuration of product-service systems. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 20(5), 591-605.

Barrett, J. (2007, November). Demand-Driven is an Operational Strategy. Industrial Management, 49(6), 14-19,5.

Das, K. (2011). A quality integrated strategic level global supply chain model. International Journal of Production Research, 49(1), 5.

Hernandez, J., Poler, R., Mula, J., & Lario, F. (2011). The Reverse Logistic Process of an Automobile Supply Chain Network Supported by a Collaborative Decision-Making Model. Group Decision and Negotiation, 20(1), 79-114.

Technological and Organizational Change
Advances in Computer-Based Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Technology have created a business environment driven by a need to deliver quality products and services, faster. And, in its wake pushed up fresh challenges to exploit new services and technologies faster and prospect of new markets. The seamless access to technological change is constrained by international and host government laws, political environment, and intellectual property right, which are significant issue.

Clearly, in a scenario that is characterized by such a heightened sense of urgency, organizations must understand, adopt, adapt, innovate, and drive the change. The technological changes lead to organizational change but conversely; organizational changes do not automatically imply inclusion of technological change.

Contextual Critique of Adoption and Change

There is a growing sense of discomfort with the traditional theory of adoption and diffusion. Primarily because, these theories in practice do not provide sufficient insight into complex adoption process and tend to…...

Technology, Society & Politics
The role of technology in society, politics and economics: Analysis of the works of Kuhn, Rhodes, Christensen, Levy and Toulmin

The development of technology with the onset of the Industrial Revolution, capitalism, and modernism created significant changes in the culture and institutions of human societies. Where technology used to be associated with machinery and manufacturing, technology in the 20th century gradually became associated with computer technology. Scientific developments shifted from macro to micro; human power centered from physical labor to intellectual improvement/development. As civilization progressed towards modernism in the 20th century, technology has become more invasive to people's lives. Inevitably, technology has penetrated not only the science sector, but other institutions as well, particularly human society's culture, politics, and economy.

Indeed, the significant role that technology played in the culture, politics, and economy of modern society has been debated and expressed through discourses by famous philosophers and scholars on…...

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Bibliography

Christensen, C. (1997). The Innovator's Dilemma: When new technologies cause great firms to fail. Harvard Business School Press.

Kuhn, T. (1962). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Available at:  http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/us/kuhn.htm .

Levy, S. (2001). Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution. Penguin.

Rhodes, R. (1995). The Making of the Atomic Bomb. Simon & Schuster.

The first was instant photography, where both photographer (and human subject) could sample their image immediately. The second was digital photography, with a different -- and less expensive -- type of instant image.
Garn observes that Polaroid's instant film led the way to an even more immediate film processing technique: the digital image. "Ironically, this alternative hastened the demise of Polaroid" (Garn).

Current Status of the Technology

The current status of Polaroid technology is questionable. ith the rise of digital filmmaking and photography -- Polaroid, once at the height of the photography industry, has plummeted. In the 70s, Polaroid had the SX-70, "the first integrated camera and film system [that allowed] the pictures to develop outside the camera by themselves" ("Polaroid Corporation"). Kodak followed with its EK-4 and EK-6 after severing ties with Polaroid. Law suits followed. Polaroid eventually won $925 million in damages as a result of infringement by Kodak.

In the…...

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Works Cited

"About Impossible." The Impossible Project. Web. 13 July 2011.

Bray, Hiawitha. "Polaroid shutting 2 Mass. Facilities, laying off 150." Boston Globe. 8

Feb 2008. Web. 13 July 2011.

Garn, Andrew. "Polaroid: Instant Joy." A.M. Richard Fine Art. 2010. Web. 13 July

Vertically integrated information systems then are key to many company's competitive advantage in being able to respond quickly to the needs of their distribution channel partners and customers. Supply chains are the most complex type of vertically integrated information system in manufacturing firms.
3. What is a client/server system? What is a client? What is a server? Why would an organization choose to implement a client/server system?

A client/server system is also referred to as a client/server network as it relies on a series of integrated systems in which the processing power is distributed between a central server and a number of client computers (Brown, DeHayes, Hoffer, Martin, Perkins, 2009). A client can be either an application, as is the case with Salesforce.com accessing customer data for example on a remote server through a Web browser, or a complete computer system accessing a server. Increasingly clients are Web browser-based and rely…...

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References

Alnoor Bhimani, & Mthuli Ncube. (2006). Virtual integration costs and the limits of supply chain scalability. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 25(4), 390-408.

Brown, C.V., DeHayes, D.W, Hoffer, J.A., Martin, W.E., Perkins, W.C. (2009). Managing information technology: (6th ed.).Prentice Hall. ISBN: 9780131789548

Scott M. Lewandowski. (1998). Frameworks for Component-Based Client/Server Computing. ACM Computing Surveys, 30(1), 3-27.

N GPC Mahalik, & SK Lee. (2002). Client server-based distributed architecture for concurrent design of DCS networks: A case study. Integrated Manufacturing Systems, 13(1), 47.

" (Fitzgerald, 2006) Groupware technologies are those of either: (1) 'synchronous' groupware; or (2) 'asynchronous' groupware. Synchronous groupware is used when real-time communication is needed and Asynchronous groupware is used where users access group information at different times. Another groupware technology feature is whether the users are working in the same location or in different locations. For the company that has several various workgroups that, while separate units, are required to work in collaboration with one another, enabling business communications within the organization is key to efficiency and productivity for the company.
IV. CUSTOMER SUPPORT PLAN

In the initiative to implement information technology across the organization it is critically important that a customer support plan be in place to assist customers with any complications or confusion that might arise due to the new processes and methods related to the use of the Information Technology. A customer support plan requires support on various…...

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Bibliography

Arunthari, Santipat (2005) Information Technology Adoption by Companies in Thailand: A Study of Enterprise Resource Planning System Usage. Information Systems - University of Wollongong. Online available at  http://www.library.uow.edu.au/adt-NWU/uploads/approved/adt-NWU20060303.100631/public/02Whole.pdf 

Bjork, B.C. (2005) Factors Enabling Information and Communication Technology Diffusion and Actual Implementation in Construction Organizations. Online available at   chapter 2http://www.itcon.org/data/works/att/2005_14.content.02646.pdf 

CRM Implementation - Implementing a Customer relationship Management System 25 July 2005 Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Online available at http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/crm/using/12/implementationprovenprocess.mspx

Fitzgerald, Patrick W. (2006) Groupware and Continuous Improvement in Knowledge-Based Organizations. Online available at http://www.saumag.edu/abis/ABIS_Proceedings_March06.pdf

Development of technology has also improved the management of global logistics by encouraging firms to implement the EP systems. The global logistics planning as well as execution processes are still behind mostly when it comes to logistic management and supply chain. Therefore, creating a web-based system (EP) will create interactions with people around the world when purchasing goods and services online. The system created will also help the firms in managing the global transportation carriers, rates and execution in an environment.

Technology has improved the management of global logistics by impacting on the supply chain processes. The customers are now digitally connected by allowing the firms to have their personal portals updated again and again with the tracking numbers put in place.

Technology has also contributed to transparency in a supply chain, improving the links in the firms' chain, a trend that should be replicated among al big logistics companies or companies…...

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References

Albright Brian, (2002). New technology reads 'hidden' bar codes. Frontline Solutions,3(12):47-49.

McCarthy, Jack, 2002, the wireless road taken. InfoWorld, 24(47): 38-40.

Compare Business Products, (2009). Technology impact on supply chain. Retrieved September 26, 2012, from  http://www.comparebusinessproducts.com/briefs/technology-impact-supply-chain

The loss of letter writing as a feature of regular human interaction is a subtle incremental change.
When sufficient changes accumulate, increasing cultural distortion leads the society toward dysfunctionality or a new state of equilibrium via cultural revitalization. One example of a revitalization movement (still underway) is feminism. Feminism arose in the West because females were given a taste of economic freedom during WWII when they successfully filled the heavy manufacturing jobs formerly occupied almost exclusively by males. What made their success possible in the assembly line? Machine tools intended to amplify a man's strength amplified a woman's strength to the same level. Now that females have thoroughly diffused through the workforce, the re-definition of "feminine" is influencing the direction that the commercial exploitation of science is taking. Technology influenced society, and society has responded by influencing technology.

The fact is, people have needs and technology tries to fill them. Once…...

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Bibliography

Bass, Frank (1969). "A New Product Growth Model for Consumer Durables." Management Science 15:5, 215-227.

Wacjman, Judy. (2002) "Addressing Technological Change: The Challenge to Social Theory." Current Sociology. 50:3, 347-363.

Wallace, Anthony F.C. (1956). "Revitalization Movements" American Anthropologist, New Series 58:2, 264-281

It must the compare it with the returns the company is earning without going for the proposal. The new vessels required for the project will increase the transportation time. Great lakes Carriers must consider the increasing international oil prices and its potential implications on the company's costs.
Supply Chain Considerations

There are a few supply chain issues that are important to be taken into consideration. It is important that Great Lakes Carriers consider the fact that the new proposal will increase the transportation time in many cases as compared to other alternatives such as rail and road. The company will have to see that how many clients will agree to trade off lower transportation time and costs with increased benefits of FID. This is important because in many cases, businesses want their goods to be transported in minimum possible time and increased transportation time will make them reschedule their stocking timelines.

ecommendations

FID…...

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References

Visich, J., Li, S. & Khumawala, B. (2007). Enhancing product recovery value in closed-loop supply chains with RFID. Journal of Managerial Issues. 19(3), 436-445.

Management was forced into ad hoc solutions because of its inability to model different demand and supply conditions in advance and develop appropriate contingency plans. The pace of gathering and processing data was simply too slow for such an intense period.
4.

The S&OP software represented a marked improvement in supply chain management for Sunsweet. The company was able to even out its production over the course of the year (it is not explained how this works with a perishable product). Sales forecasts were improved. Production was developed over the long run, allowing it to reduce the number of seasonal workers it hired. The system delivered a return on investment of 15-20%. Moreover, management was able to handle its planning, scheduling and analysis tasks in a much shorter time frame -- hours instead of days -- with the new software, freeing up managerial time to perform other tasks, and improve the…...

Offer management and order processing are critical functions within the logistics context of manufacturing industries. Efficient management of offers and orders can greatly impact customer satisfaction, productivity, and overall profitability. However, these processes often face various challenges such as bottlenecks, delays, and inefficiencies that can hinder the smooth flow of operations.
One of the key challenges in offer management and order processing is the lack of integration and coordination between different departments and systems within an organization. According to a study by Van Hoek et al. (2001), this lack of coordination can result in delays in processing orders and can lead....

The manufacturing industry is a complex and dynamic sector that requires effective offer management and order processing to ensure customer satisfaction, productivity, and profitability. A thorough literature review reveals the challenges and best practices in these critical processes, as well as the impact of bottlenecks, delays, and inefficiencies on organizational performance.
Several studies have highlighted the challenges faced by manufacturers in offer management and order processing, including the need for accurate and timely information, complex pricing structures, and the coordination of multiple departments. For example, a study by Smith and Jones (2015) found that delays in order processing can result in....