ABSTRACT

Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. (SIA) utilizes an iterative design strategy called Kaizen— continuous improvement— as an example of an emergent strategy that changes the relationship between workers and management and among workers, their working environment, and their expertise. Also described as a Japanese manufacturing innovation, the underlying management philosophy was proposed by an American automobile executive, Edwards Deming, and rejected in post-war Detroit. Kaizen found a home in the war-ravaged reconstruction of Japanese heavy industry. Iterative design, in the form of Kaizen at SIA, transfers application from resource management and time, labour, and materials saving to a company-wide commitment to recycling, environmental stewardship, energy efficiency, and communication among various workplace stakeholders. Before describing Subaru's innovation and the way iterative design has established a new status quo, it is important to understand Fordism and American automobile manufacturing at the end of the 20th century.