Knowledge Management at Shop Floor Level in Japanese Multinationals— A Case Study of Honda and Sanyo and Their Joint Ventures in India

Abstract

Various techniques and tools built by the Japanese in their management system are outlined. This system is centred on ‘elimination of waste’ which could be in the form of large amounts of inventory, defective products and operational time. The techniques pursued for eliminating wastes are: ‘Just in time’, ‘Total quality control’ and ‘Continuous improvement’. Knowledge harvessing in Japanese multinationals has been presented through the suggestion system and quality circle in operation at Honda Japan and Sanyo Japan and their venture operations in India. Two case studies have been presented— one of Honda Japan and the Hero Honda and the other of Sanyo Japan and BPL-Sanyo. It has been concluded from these case studies that in Japan knowledgement management in the form of knowledge harnessing is taken care of by virtue of implementation of Japanese techniques. In Honda Japan, the practice of sharing of acquired knowledge through annual conferences has helped the company not only is spiraling knowledge from bottom but also in disseminating it to other regions. In India, on the other hand, managers are yet to realize the importance of knowledge management. The knowledge management exists in a very limited manner in the form of explicit knowledge management.