Research Paper: Historical Paper on Kiichiro Toyoda
Evaluating management approaches in various organizations and applying them to LIS environments
Course Details
LIS 4040: Management of Information Organizations (core)
About
This assignment was a chance to explore a particular approach to management and then discuss the history & applicability of the approach to an LIS information organization. I chose Toyota Motor Company's "Just-in-Time" management approach, established by Kiichiro Toyoda in Japan.
Key Takeaways
At first glance, a public library may not seem like the most applicable setting for a motor company's production philosophy, Toyoda's vision of lean but high-quality manufacturing has value for any organization. Kaizen, which is most often understood to mean “continuous improvement,” can inspire librarians to seek growth in little but consistent ways over time. Toyota's manufacturing process also included the use of a kanban-style task system – an information organization technique used by tech startups and corporations the world over. This paper impressed upon me the value of looking outside of the LIS field sometimes because inspiration can be found in the most unlikely places.