By Sally Pobojewski
News and Information Services
University researchers have received $1.3 million in federal funding to expand the work of the U-M Japan Technology Management Program (JTMP).
Established in 1991, the program helps American industrial managers learn how the Japanese manage technology, and educates students in Japanese language and culture so they are prepared to do business with the Japanese. The program’s long-range goal is helping America compete in a global economy, according to Jeffrey Liker, program director and associate professor of industrial and operations engineering.
“Japanese management techniques can and do work in the United States,” Liker says. “Japanese culture places a high value on relationships and teamwork—factors that are particularly crucial in today’s technology-based industries.”
Twenty-five faculty members and researchers and 12 graduate students affiliated with JTMP will conduct research on technology management in Japan and share research results with private industrial firms and government agencies. Many other graduate and undergraduate students, mostly in the College of Engineering, will receive scholarships to study Japanese language and culture. About 10 students will work as interns in Japan each year.
The cross-disciplinary program will offer new language courses in technical Japanese and a graduate-level course in Japanese technology management. A program being developed will enable
U-M students majoring in Japanese studies to be certified in manufacturing management through the industrial engineering department. A companion program, also in development, will allow engineering students to be certified in Japanese studies.
“During the first two years of the program, we learned a lot about how large Japanese companies manage the technology development process,” Liker says. “Now our primary goal is to disseminate what we’ve learned and expand our student programs.”
According to Liker, JTMP will sponsor short courses at U-M for technology managers, as well as on-site instruction and consultation in private companies and government laboratories. Ann Arbor’s Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) will develop courses and consulting packages for industry based on research results generated by JTMP faculty. A compilation of results from 15 research projects supported by the
U-M program will be published as a book in summer 1994.
The U-M Japan Technology Management Program was one of five selected for renewal or initial funding out of 25 proposals received by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
Co-directors of JTMP, in addition to Liker, are John Campbell, professor of political science, and Brian Talbot, professor of operations management.
JTMP is a leader in a growing trend toward cooperative programs between U-M professional schools and area studies programs in LS&A.
