DEVELOPING INSIGHT

Until the Second World War, the United States was the world’s largest producer and seller of motor cars. The prestige of the Rolls-Royce dominated people’s minds. After the war, the era of Germany’s Volkswagen began. By 1970, more than sixteen million Volkswagen cars had been sold in 140 countries. But as of 1992, when this was written, it is the age of Japanese cars. Today, Toyota—not General Motors—leads the global automobile industry. On American roads, about thirty-five percent of all cars are made in Japan.

Today, 80 percent of the electronic goods used worldwide come from Japan. When America’s Apollo 2 went to the moon, it needed a very small tape recorder (cassette recorder) to be placed inside. Only Japan could provide such a tiny and reliable recorder. And so, Apollo 2 carried a Japanese-made recorder to the moon.

Before the Second World War, the label “Made in Japan” meant that the product was cheap and unreliable. Japanese goods had such a poor image that Western merchants considered it beneath their dignity to stock them. Yet within only 40 years, Japan achieved revolutionary progress. According to American scholar William Ouchi, the secret lies in motivating their employees.

The Japanese set up an exceptionally high standard of primary education. They gave elementary teachers high salaries and the same respect as university professors, bringing the most capable people into the education and training of their young generation. They also instilled in their people a deep awareness that the essence of industry is quality. In modern Japan, quality control circles are found everywhere. By 1980, one hundred thousand registered circles were in operation. It is also said that about one million unregistered quality circles exist in Japan.