The myth of Japanese efficiency : the world car industry in a globalizing age Introducing the myth of Japanese efficiency Wide selection : a myth encountered Production malapropisms : the BMW Rover Group controversy Lean production : the dog that did not bark Back to the future : the reorganization of work at Toyota Rivalrous asymmetries and the Japanese myth Rethinking lean thinking : substance and counterfeit The totalizing myth : Japanese efficiency as a cultural fiction Combining case studies with accessible but rigorous production models and historical background this provocative book challenges accepted views on Japanese production methods in the world car industry. The book argues that the lean and flexible production model popularly associated with Toyota MC is a myth but one which sheds light on cultural responses to the attendant stresses of globalization. To illustrate this Dan Coffey provides individual studies of process flexibility labour productivity and the re organization of work in the global car industry