Thursday, July 03, 2008

Defenestrate this corporation immediately


in toyota, if you feel like it you can say no to your boss or act directly against orders and not have to deal with the consequences. korenshadmi via No Caption Needed via dirty beloved

7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

If you feel like it, you can act against the orders of your boss

My gaijin-ly minuscule understanding of Nihonjinron suspects that -- other than a few neo-Nichirens -- most Toyota employees don't regularly have *feelings* of dissension.

I noticed that "The article is available FOR A FEE in the Harvard Business Review site", so as a poor ignoramus (unable to scale the Ivy League barricades to knowledge) I'm left wallowing in abhorrence for the little cute Harvard piffle.

7/03/2008 3:38 PM  
Blogger Tom Matrullo said...

me too kent. there's a survey you an participate in that will enable you to receive "a free article download" - I'll take a "the" please?

7/03/2008 4:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Craps. Took survey/wrong article. Thank you for post and pointer to neat artwork. Perhaps other bloggers will read the article and comment on it. I can read their thoughts to get a better understanding of the research.

7/03/2008 5:03 PM  
Blogger jonhusband said...

Interesting polarities, and interesting sketches.

Small wonder Toyota is in the position it is.

7/03/2008 5:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The isolated Harvard example doesn't seem to gel with what's been written about "The Toyota Way". There are many examples. Let's look at one; "Principle 13":

Make decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options; implement decisions rapidly (nemawashi).

The following are decision parameters:

1. Find what is really going on (go-and-see) to test
2. Determine the underlying cause
3. Consider a broad range of alternatives
4. Build consensus on the resolution
5. Use efficient communication tools


Source: Wikipedia.

Ok, ... let's add a number 6 to the above

6. If you "feel" like it, ignore parameters 1 through 5 and do whatever-the-hell-you-want.

It doesn't make sense to me. The article doesn't appear to exhibit a tactical congruence with "The Toyota Way". More importantly, the article's tenor doesn't *feel* as if it comfortably fits into the contextual aesthetic concepts of Japanese life, art and culture. I'm not sure why I find this so bothersome.

7/03/2008 6:44 PM  
Blogger Tom Matrullo said...

You might have a better sense of Toy than the artist (or HBR for that matter), Kent. Maybe #1 up there:

1. Find what is really going on (go-and-see) to test

is compatible with the idea of thinking/speaking from your own sense, as opposed to that of the prevailing corporate/dept. mindtrust?

7/03/2008 7:39 PM  
Blogger jonhusband said...

As with #3 ... Consider a broad range of alternatives.

It can be imagined that there might be some lively conversations therein.

7/04/2008 12:19 AM  

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