JAPANESE MANAGEMENT METHODS AND WESTERN INVESTMENT IN EASTERN-EUROPE - THE CASE OF THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

In Eastern Europe, Western companies are beating the Japanese at their own automotive game. Since the mid '80s, Japanese ''lean production'' and ''just in time inventory'' have dominated the auto industry in the rest of the world, helping to keep costs down and quality up. But as American and German companies, most notably GM and Volkswagen, move operations and investment into Eastern Europe to capture their growing markets, it is Japanese techniques that are helping them get ahead.