Worker leadership : America's secret weapon in the battle for industrial competitiveness / Fred Stahl.

Includes bibliographies and index.

How can American manufacturing recapture its former dominance in the globalized industrial economy? In this book, the author proposes a strategy to boost enterprise productivity and restore America's industrial power. The book outlines a revolutionary transformation of industrial culture that offers workers real control of production operations and manufacturing processes (as well as a monetary share of the savings from productivity gains). The author develops this Theory of Worker Productivity into a strategy of Worker Leadership, with concrete, real-world examples. Combining some of the methods of lean manufacturing made famous by Toyota with genuine worker empowerment unlike anything at Toyota, Worker Leadership creates highly productive jobs loaded with responsibility and authority. Workers, the author writes, love these jobs precisely because of the opportunities to be creative and productive. Worker Leadership also offers important benefits for organized labor. It promotes the vitality and growth of labor unions through a shared responsibility with management for growth and profitability. This approach was inspired by changes implemented at John Deere factories by a general manager named Dick Kleine. The author uses the story of Kleine's transformation of the Deere factories to construct a checklist of essential conditions for Worker Leadership . He also discusses competition with China and South Korea and tells the story of production that GE recently "reshored" from China to the United States. He considers the potential for applying Worker Leadership beyond manufacturing, provides a brief history of manufacturing, and even reveals the dark side of Toyota's system that opens another competitive opportunity for America. This book offers a blueprint for global competitive advantage that should be read by anyone concerned about America's productivity paralysis.

Foreword / Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld -- America's Productivity Paralysis -- How Did We Get Into This Mess? -- The Quest for the Holy Grail of Production Management -- A Revolution at John Deere -- First Change the Culture, Then Change Production -- Redesigning the Planter Factory for Worker Leadership -- Reaping the Fruits of Worker Leadership at the Harvester Works -- A Bigger Picture of Change at Deere -- Worker Leadership -- Appendix A : A Brief History of Production and Production Management -- Appendix B : Toyota's Secret Precept.

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