NISSAN’S APPROACH TO SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT

Instructions:-

1. Compare Nissan’s approach to performance improvement with that advocated by F. W. Taylor.
2. What are the benefits of Nissan’s ‘bottom-up’ approach to shop-floor performance improvement compared with the benefits of Taylor’s approach?
3. If Frederick Taylor’s perception of human beings is as ‘greedy robots’, what is Nissans?
4. What are the implications of the Nissan approach for both managers and the managed?

Solution

NISSAN’S APPROACH TO SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT

Introduction

More often than not, companies, organizations, or individual persons face situations or problems that prompt them to choose between various options in the hunt for a solution. However, the available alternatives have to be assessed as to whether they are correct, hence meeting ethical standards or erroneous, those that do not meet these criteria are otherwise referred to as unethical. The choices taken will, in turn, go a long way to not only determine the success rate of the problem at hand but also help in mitigating similar occurrences in future. The paper draws comparisons between F. W. Taylor’s approach and Nissan’s’ implication to ethics.

Comparison between F. W. Taylor and Nissan’s approaches to performance improvement   

Like Nissan’s approach, F. W. Taylor’s approach to performance improvement appreciates the fact that a company’s overall performance is the collective responsibility of each employee. Thus, training entails not only top officials but also the junior most serving workers (Nieto-Rodriguez, 2016).  Moreover, both F. W. Taylor and Nissan consider individual employee’s efforts towards achieving an assigned workload as a measure of assessing the growth of an entire company (Zuffo, 2013).

Secondly, following an extensive assessment of a factory, the Supplier Development Team determines the flaws and shortcomings that need improvement. The common areas of concern include but are not limited to tools and equipment, operational procedures and employees’ skills. The SDT then sets goals and targets which may entail an overhaul, reshuffle of tools and thorough training of employees. Like Nissan, F. W. Taylor in his principles, emphasizes the need to establish goals that will enable workers to meet the company’s productivity demands (Corbacioglu, 2017).

However, F. W. Taylor is of the opinion that employees are by nature, unwilling to work. Therefore, as much as possible, they would do the least likely tasks just for the sake of working, “in the majority of cases this man deliberately plans to do as little as he safely can” (Snippet, 2015). Unlike the F. W. Taylor’s point of view, Nissan only highlights how Directors find it hard to implement new changes that appear involving and cost-intensive.

Comparison of the benefits of ‘bottom-up’ criterion to shop-floor performance development of Nissan to Taylor’s approach

The Nissan’s bottom-up approach which entails the use of advanced tools does not only help in reducing the production cost initiatives but also place the suppliers in a long-term competitive position. Likewise, Taylor’s approach to rewarding workers by their day’s performance helps to motivate them to meet a predetermined workload and even go an extra mile to better their performance. “A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work” (Yen Ting, Yee Shee and Sze Choong, 2017).

Both F. W. Taylor and Nissan appreciate the importance and benefits which come along with standardizing and upgrading tools and equipment for use at the shop-floor. Nissan recommends the use of standardized tools to enable every supplier to remain relevant in the market and compete favorably with their competitors. According to an individual study (Salvatore, 2014), Taylor recommends the use of standardization of tools to enable workers to deliver efficiently and per their monetary reward.

On the contrary, while Nissan emphasizes on the use of a joint product development approach which ensures and assures teamwork and co-operation between workers, Taylor advocates for individual allocation of tasks. In Taylor’s plan, he argues that matching laborers to specific functions by their skills and abilities helps to maximize efficiency and reduces time wastage (Bluedorn and Taylor, 2015).

Frederick Taylor perceives humans as ‘greedy robots’ while Nissan perceives people as developmental tools

According to (Bamber, 2013), F. W. Taylor arrogantly refers to human beings as ‘greedy robots’: unresponsive to boredom, pain, fatigue, and loneliness. He claims that their unmatched hunt for the monetary incentive is their ultimate concern. Conversely, Taylor appreciates the fact that different people have varied capabilities. He notes that there is no ‘one best way’ for everyone since selecting individuals by their abilities enables them to work efficiently and achieve a positive outcome.

On the other hand, Nissan treats people as developmental tools which have to continually keep upgrading both to meet the needs and demands of their employer and that of the employer’s customers. For instance, Nissan sends two people to Japan for nine-weeks training to ‘upgrade’ them to the level that meets Nissan’s and Europeans’ prerequisites. Secondly, Nissan trains SDT to teach factory workers and take them through rigorous ten-days training to ‘upgrade’ and make them fit in the competitive market. Thus, making more money and keeping Nissan a force to reckon with at the marketplace.

Implications of the Nissan approach to managers and employees    

Nissan regards senior managers highly and attributes all the factory’s achievements to them while neglecting the value and roles that workers play in making the goals, missions, and visions of the company a reality:

Before undertaking the first improvement activity with a supplier, the SDT makes a presentation to the senior managers of the company concerned. That is because it regards high-level manager commitment and understanding as an essential precondition for success. Unless the SDT gains this responsibility, they cannot and does not proceed further.

Secondly, according to Nissan, managers are the epitomic symbols of power in an organization whose decisions cannot be compromised by anybody whatsoever.  “If, after the presentation, senior managers are willing to proceed, the SDT briefs other staff and undertakes a factory assessment.” Furthermore, the limited chances an employee enjoys to exercise their right only indicate how small a role they are deemed to play. “In some cases, other members of the supplier’s staff may be called in to discuss the feasibility of some of the ideas generated.”

Thirdly, judging from these examples, it is evident that Nissan bestows supreme power to managers and undermines the ‘voice’ of employees serving under them. However, even though Nissan exploits its employees, it offers them a chance to develop themselves and gain a World-class experience with which, they can work in other highly-ranked organizations. Unlike Nissan, F. W. Taylor’s approach makes complete exhaustion of employees merely in reward for money.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, different organizations breach moral codes of standards and fundamental human values to meet their set targets. Companies use people as ‘robots’ to carry out meticulous tasks otherwise designed for machines. However, humans have recurring needs, and because of lack of alternative sources of money, they opt for exploitation as their only means to survive. It is nonetheless, ethical for companies to use people as sustainable developmental resources in areas where machines cannot work. It is even more important when both the worker and the manager meet at a 50-50 balance at which, both of them enjoy equal benefits.

References 

Bamber, M. (2013). Overcoming Your Workplace Stress. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.

Bluedorn, A. and Taylor, F. (2015). Scientific Management (Comprising Shop Management, the Principles of Scientific Management, and Testimony before the Special House Committee). The Academy of Management Review, 11(2), p.443.

Corbacioglu, S. (2017). INFLUENCE OF TAYLORISM ON DEMING’S QUALITY MANAGEMENT. Inquiry, 2(2).

Nieto-Rodriguez, A. (2016). The focused organization. London: Routledge.

Salvatore, N. (2014). Book Review: Management: Frederick W. Taylor and the Rise of Scientific ManagementFrederick W. Taylor and the Rise of Scientific Management. By NelsonDaniel. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1980. xii, 259 pp. N.p. ILR Review, 35(4), pp.623-625.

Snippet, V. (2015). Volume 23 Title Page. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 24(2), pp.259-260.

Yen Ting, N., Yee Shee, T. and Sze Choong, L. (2017). Internet of Things for Real-time Waste Monitoring and Benchmarking: Waste Reduction in Manufacturing Shop Floor. Procedia CIRP, 61, pp.382-386

Zuffo, R. (2013). Lo “Spirito del tempo” del volume “Principles of Scientific Management” di Frederick Winslow Taylor. Ideologia e scienza. STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI, 16(1), pp.9-31.