The Japanese system of kanban (just-in-time inventory control), credit

The Japanese system of kanban (just-in-time
inventory control), credited for much of the
Japanese automobile industry's success in the
1980s, may be falling out of favor. The large-scale
(5) demands of international trade reward more
planned schedules of production and have led to
a reintroduction of an old friend: the specialized
worker.

The conflict between most marketing and production
(10) departments is well documented. Marketing
departments need to respond quickly to changing
customer wants and needs; production departments
need to plan their production on a two- week schedule
with each department informing
(15) other departments of its backlogs, inventories
and outputs. To make the kanban system work
however, the manufacturers had to train production
employees to shift on a moment's notice to any
job in the factory, as needed, thus diminishing
(20) the role of the specialized worker.

But kanban may have caused its own demise. By
being so efficient and responsive, Japanese auto-
mobile manufacturers find themselves confronted
with a large and predictable global demand.
(25) Requests for automobiles are increasing at such
a steady rate that managers can now determine
production schedules up to ten months in advance
and, as a result, workers no longer need to jump
from position to position. Since long-term
(30) scheduling has become possible,
productivity has risen 27 percent.

1. It can be inferred from the passage that the conflict between marketing departments and production departments

A. resulted from both departments’ failure to communicate concerning backlogs, inventories, and outputs.
B. led to the training of marketing employees in the kanban system, enabling them to shift rapidly to any job in the factory.
C. stemmed from the production department’s need to schedule and the marketing department’s need to respond quickly.
D. rested on the shortened two-week timeframe of the kanban system.
E. was the primary reason for the lack of success of the Japanese automobile industry in the 1980s.

2. The author cites the productivity increase of 27 percent in order to

A. prove the argument that kanban workers are more efficient than specialized workers.
B. provide an example of how rapid response to global demands can improve productivity.
C. argue against the reintroduction of the specialized worker.
D. support the thesis that predictable demand may encourage an otherwise less efficient practice.
E. challenge the theory that kanban workers are less efficient in a global market.

3. It can be inferred from the passage that specialized workers

A. require more training than employees under the kanban system.
B. play a more limited role in the kanban system.
C. are useful only when long-term planning becomes possible.
D. respond to changes in demand quickly and efficiently.
E. handle backlog and inventory problems more efficiently than do kanban-trained workers.

4. The passage is primarily concerned with

A. pointing out the variety of management styles at work in the automobile industry.
B. establishing kanban as a viable option in the automobile industry.
C. illustrating the effects of kanban on employee training.
D. showing that kanban can work only in the Japanese automobile industry.
E. describing how a business practice can render itself obsolete.

5. According to the passage, the reintroduction of the specialized worker is seen as a

A. benefit of coordination between production managers and production workers
B. problem created by the over-efficiencies of the Kanban system
C. result of modernized training techniques developed in Japan
D. return to an earlier system of worker organization
E. failure of the Kanban system to respond to increasing global demand

6. It can be inferred from the passage that workers who are trained for multiple jobs within an automobile factory

A. are unnecessary when long-term scheduling becomes possible
B. are useful in their ability to inform other departments of inventory, backlog or output problems
C. find their jobs threatened by the reintroduction of the specialized worker
D. enable manufacturers to respond rapidly to changes in consumer demand
E. play a more significant role since global demand has become large and predictable

7. Which of the following, if true, would most undermine the author's argument?

A. Technological developments made during the same period that long-term planning became possible made automobile plants worldwide an average of thirty-percent more efficient.
B. The Kanban system of inventory control was originally designed in American supermarkets and was only later adapted for the automobile industry.
C. Strikes, a common United States automobile industry phenomenon, are nearly unheard of in the Japanese automobile industry.
D. While gaining a larger market share in the United States during the 1980s, Japanese automobile manufacturers faced declining global demand for their product.
E. Workers who move from position to position express a higher degree of job satisfaction than do workers who are trained in one specialized task.