The Japanese just-in-time/total quality control production system: potential for developing countries

SUMMARY Japanese management techniques have captured the attention of industry throughout the world. Attempts have been made to implement some of these techniques in plants outside Japan. This paper focuses on Japanese manufacturing management techniques, specifically just-in-time (JIT) production with total quality control (TQC). Brief explanations of JIT and TQC, with discussion on the transferability of the technology, are given, followed by a description of the problems encountered by manufacturing firms in developing countries. An attempt is made to show the potential of JIT and TQC to ease some of these problems.