The Japanese Car Industry is aiming to expand its market share across the world. The major manufacturers operate on all continents with production facilities spread all over the world. They have expanded throughout the past 20 years with a combination of Greenfield Investments, Joint Ventures and Acquisitions. Although technology and design are still major factors in competitive advantage, there is a much greater level of cooperation from the top Japanese manufacturers with European and US firms. Most Japanese automotive firms lean towards a multinational structure, with manufacturing, sales and administration occurring in geographic areas, but usually with Japanese top management brought in from the head office. The Japanese have famously brought new work practices into the car industry such as quality circles and Just In Time, which have influenced other commercial organizations as well. Culture has been a key success factor for many Japanese firms, with a trend towards team work. This has proved extremely successful in the manufacturing sectors. However, not all Japanese firms have been successful; Nissan has been ?taken over' by Renault structurally. In this document, we will look into the various aspects as to how this will affect the strategy and have an impact on production and design. With the blend of two different organizations, the resulting hybrid will surely have a distinct character.
[...] Again, there are two types that this can take, contractual and equity Contractual ventures as the name implies are based on contracts, however, these may be unwise in developing economies since such countries seldom have the legal foundations to deal with such issues, and therefore are less than reliable Equity joint ventures are carried out with the investing company purchasing shares in foreign companies Horizontal: Here, the car producer would invest in a firm within the same industry as domestic production, but in a different country. [...]
[...] Highly competitive within the domestic market ~ efficiency is imperative Factor Endowments Highly skilled work-force Collective culture Demand Conditions Japanese are relatively wealthy so large expenditure on products such as automobiles Large interest in technological developments Relating and Import most of base materials reliant Supporting on other countries Industries Figure 3.3 Porter's theory in relation to the Japanese automobile industry Potential Strategies for Servicing Foreign Markets Japanese car production has declined in its home country over the past ten years; this is due to the deliberate decision by Japanese manufacturers to invest in facilities closer to their main markets. [...]
[...] Automotive industry already globalised in terms of markets Nature of exporting cars necessitates some form of FDI Changes in global economies make FDI more attractive High cost of capital and resources and instability of Yen The car market formed by Japan, the United States and Europe has matured and competition has become increasingly intense Socio-cultural Concerns about the environment may be a threat as people may be more aware about fuel-efficiency and more environmentally friendly cars (lower emissions) Split on Iraq may harm US-Europe trade (thus implications for Japanese industries located there possibly) A new World Bank publication, the Little Green Data Book 2003 highlights countries emitting the most CO2 which has the US as number one, so if this is well publicised there may be new legislation to control emissions more, impacting manufacturing processes and the products they produce Oil's hour of reckoning may be approaching in connection with ethics due to emerging alleged bribery Cultural problems associated with Japanese working practices Cultural differences in management styles Japanese team working Technological Better public transport systems may be a threat to private transport as a whole Automotive industry is technology driven Need to safeguard some technologies and intellectual property The increase in the toughening of environmental standards have forced Honda to increase expenditure on R & D and environmental capacity, this has therefore affected their bottom line. [...]
[...] In truth the Japanese car industry is slowly becoming a global industry of organisations that were once Japanese with headquarters in Japan, but with other functions being carries out around the world Introduction The purpose of this report is to examine the Japanese automobile industry, and the manufacturers' success at entering the global marketplace. An environmental study, including the use of a PLEST and SWOT analysis will be undertaken to analyse the situation that is faced by the manufacturers as they attempt to gain a greater proportion of the world market. [...]
[...] Both concepts have benefits and drawbacks so Honda developed a small batch production system to combine the advantages of large lot (which are simpler logistics and quality control systems, less error, simpler production schedules) and lot-of-one (enabling wide range of products, greater worker involvement and satisfaction) production. Conclusions It has been shown that Japanese car manufacturers are now more akin to assemblers, with part components being produced across the world. The assembly is also global now and many firms have a mix of multinational and transnational structures. The global market is maturing and competition is intense, so all players have to offer additional value. The Japanese manufacturers are known for quality and reliability coupled with innovation. [...]
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