rose to that position by using lean production methods. Its Toyota

Production System, which pivots on continuous improvement and respect

for people, became a best-practice management phenomenon, copied by many

in a wide range of sectors. But questions have arisen over such

silver-bullet theories of business excellence. And what happens when a

proven and spectacularly successful method is moved to a different

business environment outside Japan? Researchers from the Australian

School of Business have been exploring the upshot of Toyota's

manufacturing shift to Thailand, a lower-wage economy with less

consideration for its labour force.