日本的生产流水线在萎缩,工人被迫提前退休,公司几乎每周都发生新的纠葛,于是公司动摇了长期的信念:多数决策制、终身雇佣制以及公司之间尤其是公司与其分包商之间的长期合作关系。不过,经济滑坡也促使日本企业采纳西方的“开放性”。西方的汽车制造商越来越多地从同一厂商采购零部件。现在,日本也在展开标准化生产和降低生产成本,使日本的制造商有更强大的国际竞争能力。最好的例子是汽车工业。过去,为了使生产的汽车不同于竞争对手的产品,汽车制造商采取“封闭式生产体系”。没有一种东西是标准化生产的。大的汽车制造商宁愿自己设计精巧的小机件,也不愿去购买竞争对手的专利或零部件。同时,汽车制造商对其生产的汽车往往别出心裁,运用其独特的新构思。零部件厂商会被迫同意,把其生产的某种外表美观的新型内燃机发火装置只卖给它的主要的汽车制造商客户。这就保证了产品的多样性,但生产费用比较贵。每一家汽车制造商要保持庞大的工 Japan’s production lines have shrunk, workers have been forced to retire early, and the company has entered into new disputes almost every week. The company has shaken its long-held belief: most decision-making systems, lifetime employment systems, and especially between companies and their subcontractors. The long-term relationship between the two. However, the economic downturn has also prompted Japanese companies to adopt Western “openness.” Western car manufacturers increasingly source parts from the same manufacturer. Now, Japan is also carrying out standardized production and lowering production costs so that Japanese manufacturers have stronger international competitiveness. The best example is the automotive industry. In the past, automakers adopted a “closed production system” in order to make the production of cars different from those of competitors. Nothing is standardized. Big car makers prefer to design their own small gadgets rather than buy competitors’ patents or parts. At the same time, car manufacturers often use their unique new ideas for their cars. The parts manufacturers will be forced to agree that they will sell only some of their beautiful new-style ignition devices for internal combustion engines to its main automaker customers. This ensures product diversity, but the production costs are relatively expensive. Every car maker wants to keep a huge workforce