I have to put my two bob's worth quickly on this one - for the last 6 years I have been researching supply chain management (actually supply chain economics - to be more exact) - and various structural and behavioural characteristics of construction supply chains. The idea that JIT is a very European cultural preference for organising processes very tightly in time and space is a load of twaddle and this notion is contradicted by any literature or study that is out there on JIT. The argument was continued with a discussion on global companies using such systems in underdeveloped agricultural economies - so this saves this statement somewhat as you delimited it to a specific market sector (but that is not what was said in the first instance).
Also - don't be so quick to assume that JIT systems don't work automatically in Brazil - all my Brazilian construction research colleagues and their industry practitioners who partner research projects with them would challenge you on this one.
I think it is a complex issue - and although we are conducting a study on intercultural business communication (IBC) in construction design firms we are also equally quick to countenance this - it is only one part of the mix.
On the monocultural concept...
The discussion has (quickly) moved from being so narrow and concentrating on western vs non western so I won't labour this point - we have found in our early discussions with our study participants that they approach markets across Asia, the Middle East, the UK, and South Americia very differently and then within these areas there are cultural differences and they have also said that China can not be considered monocultural either when conducting business - it varies within the country. We are yet to go deeper on çultural differences - and I suspect, as our study is quite exploratory and focussing on market sustainability and IBC we will only scratch the surface.
Kerry
Kerry London
Senior Lecturer
Postgraduate Director (Architecture and Industrial Design)
School of Architecture & Built Environment
University of Newcastle
AUSTRALIA
tel: + 61 2 49 21 5778
>>> Jenny Ure <[log in to unmask]> 01/29/04 03:52am >>>
For what it's worth - same problem can occur in design of business systems,
and business processes. For example - Just In Time (JIT) production
processes, and associated software systems reflect a very European cultural
preference for organising processes very tightly in time and space. When
global companies incorporate such systems in underdeveloped agricultural
economies where space is cheap and time is not at such a premium, they
often find that it is not compatible with local perceptions and working
practices. As a result, 'unofficial' systems are developed to get round it,
or processes are 'adapted' or ignored.
As one German manager said - "Our JIT systems work here, how come they don't
work in Brazil - it's the same technology, so what's the difference"
The point I want to make is that that many apparently 'standard' designs -
whether products, processes or systems - reflect their origins in particular
cultures in ways which can have significant impacts on their effectiveness
in other cultural contexts.
-----Original Message-----
From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and
related research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf
Of Ken Friedman
Sent: 28 January 2004 21:47
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Representation of non-western cultures in design -- a
footnote
Dear Kati,
This is exactly why I advocate searching across the several disciplines
that practice design rather than searching under the far smaller group
of disciplines that carry the word "design" in their label.
Terry Love and I have raised this point in other contexts. So far, we have
accumulated a catalogue of over 650 fields and subfields of design. Many
are taught outside schools of art and design, and many are practiced in
professions that use other designations. Most of these fields support an
extensive literature in many nations.
It is worth noting, however, that nearly all professional literatures suffer
from the problems I mentioned in my note to Lily. All guilds exist to
maximize income and power for members in exchange for developing
and guaranteeing professional expertise. As a result, professional guilds
guard information and knowledge from outsiders. This often places
professional literature at odds with scholarly and scientific literature.
One
is inherently restricted to the profession and to specific practices and
firms.
The other is inherently open and free. This means that many professionals
deliberately create a literature that is both rich and inaccessible to
others
than those they consider members of their guild or group. This
exacerbates the effects of the other barriers I mentioned.
Best regards,
Ken
>Dear prof. Yammiyavar,
>
>thank you for your post! It is good to know that there is more to Design
>than what we find in our libraries under the keyword Design.
>
>kati
>
>Kati Reijonen
>MSc (political science), MRes (art&design), PhD candidate
>Gray's School of Art
>Robert Gordon University
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