PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES - A SURVEY OF AUTO PARTS COMPANIES

ABSTRACT Purpose: This paper presents an overview of the adoption of methods of production management methods for auto parts companies in Brazil and verifies if there is involvement of shop floor workers in their use, taking into consideration the relevance of involvement to organizational performance and obtaining the results expected from the adoption of these methods, as indicated by in line with research on participatory management and the manuals in the area of operations management. Originality/gap/relevance/implications: Involvement is a significant construct in product management and has been widely researched, but little research has been dedicated to investigating whether there is any involvement of employees in the use of multiple methods. Most of the existing research concentrates analysis on the adoption of a single method in isolation and in the literature it has been observed that companies do not always follow the recommendation to involve workers in their use, thus what motivated this study. Key methodological aspects: We conducted a survey in 95 auto parts companies to gain access to information about a wide range of auto parts companies, plotting an overview of the adopted production management methods adopted and examining the extent of the involvement of employees. Summary of key results: Most of methods investigated were widely adopted by the companies surveyed. Generally, the surveyed companies stated that there is employee involvement, although this varies from one method to another. The study identified cases in which methods have been adopted and after some time have ceased to be used by some companies. The abandonment of Six Sigma occurred mainly in companies in which there was no involvement of employees in the application of this method. The method most commonly abandoned, however, was the suggestion program, despite exhibiting greater employee involvement, indicating that some companies continue to experience difficulty applying this type of method over time. Limited time for training may also have hampered the use of some methods. Key considerations/conclusions: The researched methods have been implemented by the examined companies. The research confirms that quality still plays a major role concerning employee involvement; representing one of the most noticeable aspects regarding lean production. Most of the investigated training is focused on this area, but the fact that time dedicated to training is short helps elucidate the difficulty related to involvement in methods which require a higher level of formal training. Cases in which companies implemented certain methods and soon discontinued them have been observed, highlighting the suggestion program, in which the employee involvement is central; what indicates that difficulties related to this involvement remain in some companies.

摘要

1. 研究目的
本研究旨在概述巴西汽车零部件企业生产管理方法的应用现状，并验证一线车间员工是否参与了这些方法的落地实践——这一考量基于参与式管理（participatory management）相关研究与运营管理（operations management）领域手册所指出的：员工参与对组织绩效及达成生产管理方法的预期应用成果具有重要意义。

2. 原创性/研究缺口/研究价值/实践启示
员工参与是生产管理领域的重要构念，相关研究已较为丰富，但针对员工是否参与多种生产管理方法应用的专门探讨仍较为匮乏。现有多数研究仅聚焦于单一管理方法的单独应用分析，且学界观察到企业并非总会遵循“让员工参与方法落地”的建议，这也是本研究的出发点。

3. 核心研究方法
本研究对95家巴西汽车零部件企业开展了问卷调查，以全面获取行业数据，梳理当前主流生产管理方法的应用概况，并考察员工参与各方法实践的程度。

4. 核心研究结果概述
调研覆盖的多数生产管理方法均被受访企业广泛采用。整体而言，受访企业均表示有员工参与方法实践，但不同方法的员工参与程度存在差异。研究还发现，部分企业在采用某些方法一段时间后便停止了应用。其中，六西格玛（Six Sigma）方法的停用主要发生在无员工参与落地的企业中。而最常被停用的方法为员工建议计划（suggestion program），尽管该方法的员工参与度相对更高，这表明部分企业在长期推行此类方法时仍存在应用困难。此外，有限的培训时长也可能制约了部分方法的落地效果。

5. 核心思考与结论
本次调研的生产管理方法均已被受访企业落地实施。研究证实，在员工参与层面，质量管理仍占据核心地位，这也是精益生产（Lean Production）领域最为突出的特征之一。当前多数培训资源均聚焦于该领域，但培训时长不足的现状，也解释了部分需要高阶正式培训的方法难以有效推进员工参与的原因。研究还观察到部分企业在引入方法后很快便停止应用，其中尤以员工参与为核心的建议计划最为典型，这表明部分企业在推进此类方法的员工参与方面仍面临持续挑战。