Although cost control is emphasized, this book is not specifically about cost management. Instead, it is about a philosophy of competition. The way in which Japanese firms manage costs is described in depth because it represents the missing piece of the puzzle of how lean enterprises compete. The findings in the book are based upon a five-year, in-depth study of twenty Japanese Manufacturing firms. The firms were drawn from a number of different industries and varied in size from very large to quite small. Most were publicly traded, a few were privately owned, and all were lean.
Part 1 Competing Under Confrontation
Chapter 1 Confrontation Strategy
Chapter 2 Why Japanese Firms Adopted Confrontation Straregy
Chapter 3 Product Planning and Strategy under Confrontation
Chapter 4 Confrontation Competition
Part 2 Setting The Stage
Chapter 5 The Role of Cost Management
Chapter 6 Creating the Right Organizational Context
Part 3 Managing The Costs Of Future Products
Chapter 7 Target Costing
Chapter 8 Value Engineering
Chapter 9 Interorganizational Cost Management Systems
Part 4 Managing The Costs Of Existing Products
Chapter 10 Product Costing
Chapter 11 Kaizen Costing
Chapter 12 Operational Control
Part 5 Harnessing The Entrepreneurial Spirit Through Microprofit Centers
Chapter 13 Pseudomicroprofit Centers
Chapter 14 Real Microprofit Centers
Chapter 15 Implication for Western Managers