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

The Concept of Corporate Strategy. Por Kenneth R. Andrews. Homewood, III.: R. D. Irwin, 1980 Revised Ed. xi, 180 p.; 24 cm. Incluye referencias e indice. ISBN 0-256-02371-9.

The Concept of Corporate Strategy

Reengineering the Corporation

Part One Overview of Strategic Management Chapter 1 Strategic Management Part Two Strategy Formulation Chapter 2 Company Mission Chapter 3 Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics Chapter 4 The External Environment Chapter 5 The Global Environment Chapter 6 Internal Analysis Chapter 7 Long-Term Objectives and Strategies Chapter 8 Business Strategy Chapter 9 Multibusiness Strategy Part Three Strategy Implementation, Control, and Innovation Chapter 10 Implementation Chapter 11 Organizational Structure Chapter 12 Leadership and Culture Chapter 13 Strategic Control Chapter 14 Innovation, and Entrepreneurship

Strategic Management Frmulation, Implementation and Control

Resource based theory in operations management research

Purpose – It is argued that whilst operational and support processes deliver performance presently, it is the managerial processes that sustain performance over time. The purpose of this research paper is to better understand what these managerial processes are and how they influence organisational performance.Design/methodology/approach – The theoretical background is reviewed covering literature on the subject of business process management, resourced‐based view (RBV), dynamic capabilities and managerial processes. A research framework leads to qualitative case study‐based research design. Data are collected from 37 organisations across Europe, classified according to their performance.Findings – Findings suggest that the five managerial processes and their constituent managerial activities, identified through the empirical research, influence performance of organisations as an interconnected managerial system rather than as individual processes and activities. Also, the execution and maturity of this m...

Managerial processes: business process that sustain performance

Motivated by the view that the managerial processes underpin the dynamic capabilities of the firm, this article seeks to review the current state of knowledge on managerial processes and propose a research agenda towards a better understanding of managerial processes. A systematic approach to the literature review covering business process and strategic management fields concludes that managerial processes are critical for sustaining and developing competitive advantage, but our understanding as to what they are, their contents and how they function is limited. A definition for managerial processes is proposed and the context within which managerial processes function is identified. An empirically based research agenda, comprising research questions, is outlined that would serve to enhance our understanding of the managerial processes that underpin dynamic capabilitie

Managerial processes: an operations management perspective towards dynamic capabilities

Purpose – This paper aims to demonstrate the performance benefits of adopting a business process perspective to managing a business and, through grounded research, propose a revised business process architecture which builds upon recent advances in business process thinking.Design/methodology/approach – A brief review of business process terminology and architecture is presented. A set of perspectives is developed which is used to structure summary field notes from grounded research conducted in a UK manufacturing plant of a Fortune 500 corporation. A management system model of the case study company is proposed, which in turn is used to modify the existing business process architecture.Findings – Business management processes are modelled and analysed as observed in the field and compared to recent models of “Manage Processes”. It is discovered that Manage Processes have an architecture which is core to their ability to sustain competitive advantage. It is also shown that adopting a business process arch...

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Delivering sustained performance through a structured business process approach to management

In a continuously and rapidly changing global landscape manufacturing organisations have to undertake transformational changes in order to stay in business. The aim of this paper is to present an analysis of Highland Spring's transformation story through a high value manufacturing lens. In order to achieve this, literature on high value manufacturing and organisational transformation is reviewed; Highland Spring Limited transformation story is described, including the research methods used; and finally, Highland Spring's transformation story is analysed and discussed. Findings suggest that whilst the literature on high value manufacturing provides adequate direction as to what high value manufacturing is and various models that could be pursued, it is the organisational transformation literature that provides guidance on how transformation to a high value manufacturing model maybe achieved. Further, the paper concludes that high value transformation is an emergent process comprising of a series of radical waves of change that is shaped by a guiding vision and the contextual factors.

High value manufacturing: a case study in transformation

Motivated by earlier works on business process management in general and manage processes in particular, this paper seeks to understand the current state of knowledge on manage-processes and propose a research agenda that would lead to a better understanding of manage-processes. Our curiosity is motivated by the belief that the capabilities and competencies of manage processes are critical to sustaining competitive advantage. A point further elaborated in our discussions and conclusions.

Catherine Maguire

Papers

Managerial processes: business process that sustain performance

Managerial processes: an operations management perspective towards dynamic capabilities

Delivering sustained performance through a structured business process approach to management

High value manufacturing: a case study in transformation

Manage processes: what are they?