Saturn, Uddevalla and the Japanese lean systems: paradoxical prototypes for the twenty-first century

Abstract

Developments in human resource management practices in the automobile industry have been a seedbed for more general movements which have emerged world-wide. Key examples have included Saturn in the USA, Uddevalla in Sweden and the Japanese lean production systems. These are examined in this paper and the conclusion is reached that new forces for change can be expected to continue to accelerate in this decade and beyond, forging a great need for creative, new, flexible organizations and management systems. As a consequence further radical initiatives are likely in the years ahead, with mass production and the traditional assembly line no longer featuring as a prominent part of the work systems of the automobile industry of the future.