
94 Inverting the Paradox of Excellence
organizing work solves the perennial problem of how to produce variety and high quality at low cost
for large markets. TPS does this by shifting from the batch-oriented mass-production way of organiz-
ing work in accordance with the general principles of scale and speed toward the natural way of orga-
nizing work, where each minute particular reects the patterns that shape the whole. Toyota achieves
low cost by integrating exibility and problem solving into the ow of direct work itself; Toyota
organizes work so that variety-producing and quality-producing activities become integral part of the
direct w ...