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Books : Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul of the Toyota WayIn association with Amazon.comRating:  - Could be named The Toyota People System - a must readThis is the book that discloses the incredible amount of effort and time that Toyota invest in developing its people. The whole process is shown and commented with a lot of cases. I just started reading the first few chapters and can't stop. If you are asking how Toyota can afford to spend so much in developing its people the plain Toyota answer will be How can you not to? A new must read in the Jeffrey Liker work. Rating: - A Great BookJeff Liker has produced another superb book in the Toyota Way series, this time with the help of Michael Hoseus. This volume is an even more Herculean effort at assembling detail than the last were. Every step of the process of recruiting, hiring, training, developing, integrating, and supporting the people who add the value to Toyota products is spelled out. It is amazingly content-rich. And, once again Liker captures the essential message that what the management of Toyota does is not just a series of techniques, but rather a complex, interacting, systemic way of thinking. The attention to detail, the relentless, never-ending improvement and the ability to adhere to a basic set of values in the face of challenge after challenge is nothing short of extraordinary. Toyota deservedly sits on top of the competitive pile. No one does it better and, as this wonderful volume shows so clearly, it's damn hard work. I have stopped wondering if America manufacturers will 'get it'. They won't. As much as The Toyota Way was a result of a particular time and a particular culture, our time (now) and our culture (just win, baby) preclude wide acceptance of these methods. Just read the book and imagine almost any of these management methods being adopted by American managers and you will see how wide the gulf truly is. And the unvarnished truth is that that gulf hasn't narrowed appreciably in the past 40 years. But as a guide the book is extraordinarily useful. I would think it would be excellent reading for Human Resources professionals and Organizational Change and Organizational Development people. It is a highly commendable effort and a very good book. Rating:  - Great content, but hire a proof-reader!I've read quite a number of books about Japanese management history in general and about Toyota in particular. I've enjoyed most of them, including Dr. Liker's earlier book "The Toyota Way". I enjoyed the content of "Toyota Culture": it's very informative about the ways that the Toyota culture is established and maintained within the company. However, the book is not well written -- or, more accurately, it is not well proofread. The number of subject and verb is frequently not kept consistent, so that we are constantly told that "The worker must keep their area clean," and so on. Commas appear in some appropriate places but fail to appear in others. Apostrophes are not consistently used. See page 114 for examples of all three problems, but they are rampant throughout the text. It is annoying to constantly overlook poor writing to get to the content. I teach college business courses, and constantly stress to students that improper written usage of the English language is likely to be an impediment to their success. Apparently it's not an impediment to getting business books published! Rating: - Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul fo the Toyota WayWe are all very fortunate that one of our colleagues, Mike Hoseus, has filled an important void in the documentation of Toyota's total business system by recently co-authoring with Jeff Liker, "Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way". Mike has done a brilliant job of creating crystal-clear descriptions of the Toyota values and the culture that derives from those values, along with detailed explanations of how Toyota creates, sustains and continuously improves its culture and business processes through its people. Numerous quotes from the people who lived in this culture working side-by-side with Mike really bring life and meaning to this incredibly useful and valuable work. I truly think that this is the most important work ever on the real "secret" of Toyota's success, and recommend it highly. Every CEO and executive team should make this their bible to achieve global competitive advantage and build a lasting enterprise. ---Bob Bennett, Group Vice President (retired), Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. and President, Lean Consulting Associates, LLC.Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way Rating: - This book is a must read for anyone with a management career in manufacturing!Michael Hoseus did an exceptional job bringing his many years of experience into this book along with Jeffrey Liker. I am currently trying to adapt my own business to follow many of the methods that are discussed in this book, and I can see definite potential for not only improving efficiency but profit as well for my own firm. Thank You Steven Karcher www.cnlexington.com |
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