New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) was an American automobile manufacturer based in Fremont, California. Jointly owned by General Motors and Toyota, the plant opened in 1984 and closed in April 2010. Before NUMMI, the site was the former Fremont Assembly that General Motors operated between 1962 and 1982.
Before its transformation, the relationship between workers and supervisors was adversarial. Management prioritized production quantity over quality and disregarded employee input. Like other American car plants at the time, production lines rarely stopped, and defective cars were allowed to proceed, with the expectation they would be fixed later. By the early 1980s, this environment led to widespread issues, including absenteeism, substance use during work hours, and an inability to reliably start production due to missing workers. Attempts to discipline workers were often met with grievances or even strikes, putting the plant into near-continuous chaos.
General Motors viewed the joint venture as a way to access high-quality small cars and learn from Toyota’s renowned Production System, a lean manufacturing philosophy. For Toyota, NUMMI provided a foothold in North America, helping it avoid import tariffs while gaining insights into the American labor environment, particularly in dealing with the United Auto Workers union.
Prior to reopening, Toyota sent many NUMMI workers to its Takaoka plant in Japan, where they worked on the assembly line and learned the Toyota Production System. Workers noted that Toyota's focus on quality and teamwork inspired a shift in their work ethic. Cultural changes included equal uniforms, parking, and cafeteria access for all employees, promoting a team environment. Toyota also introduced a no-layoff policy, built-in quality control processes, and employee suggestion programs for continuous improvement. Decision-making became consensus-based, a stark contrast to the previous top-down management approach.
The passage describes how Toyota’s focus on teamwork led previously disengaged workers to actively contribute ideas. Which of the following is most analogous to this change in behavior?
A. A retail company implements team-based performance reviews, leading employees who had previously worked independently to collaborate and suggest improvements in customer service.
B. A tech startup increases salaries for all employees, leading to improved retention and higher individual productivity.
C. A hospital introduces collaborative decision-making, and nurses who were once resistant now suggest ways to improve patient care.
D. A financial services firm provides specialized training programs, leading to increased innovation and new ideas from employees in different departments.
E. A manufacturing company switches to flexible work hours, resulting in workers taking more personal responsibility for completing tasks on time.