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A New Engine for Prosperity: The Revolution in Business Brought on by 'Lean Production'
| Article
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20003 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
Date : |
8 / 1992 |
4,300 Words |
| Author
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Judith N. Shapiro
Judith N. Shapiro is president of Strategic Enterprises, a
consulting firm to businesses and governments in Easton,
Connecticut. |
At the start of the debate over corporate social responsibility, Milton Freedman published a now famous article declaring that "the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits, to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of society."
Freedman's dictum was shocking at the time, but also refreshingly candid. Most Americans would probably agree with him, for when profits are growing, jobs tend to be more secure, consumers spend more of their income, and the economy as a whole prospers.
Still, popular fascination with business does not end with the profit motive. The means of production have also been of intense interest, not only for "crypto-Marxists" (driven underground by the collapse of communism), but for the large part of the population that spends forty hours or more a week helping to produce the goods and services that constitute America's gross national product.
Thus, people are beginning to notice the emergence of a new industrial system that is revolutionizing the way products are made and the nature of work itself. The new system, dubbed "lean production," is the means by which American manufacturers are re-establishing their leadership in the global economy, in the process setting a powerful example for other sectors of the economy made vulnerable by high costs, poor quality, and low productivity.
Lean production can be the new engine for prosperity. But first, people need to believe that change is in their interest. Such belief requires powerful new prescriptions for commercial behavior, in other words, new business values and ethics to instill a sense of personal effectiveness in shaping the future. The absence of these prescriptions will continue to undermine confidence in the benefits of change, further postponing the actions needed to ensure a better life for ourselves and our children.
The Rise of the 'Lean Production' System
During the 1980s, public interest in business was heightened by the concern that American industry was no longer competitive, that more vigorous foreign rivals were relentlessly displacing U.S. companies in world markets. Now a second, perhaps even more critical, concern is emerging, one that, ironically enough, is driven by the very success companies have achieved in regaining competitive position. The concern is that the corporate restructurings of the
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