Lean Production Simplified, 3rd Edition

6 ◾ Lean Production Simplified, Third Edition

objectively, “by the numbers.” Generally accepted accounting practice

(GAAP) was developed to support this system.

Sloan’s innovations greatly advanced management science. But again,

there were unpleasant side effects:

◾ The gap between management and the shop floor was widened.

◾ Accounting practice came to encourage wasteful manufacturing prac-

tices such as building to inventory rather than customer demand.

Mass production also proved a fertile environment for a successful union

movement. The division of labor resulted in meaningless, mind-numbing

work. Workers, like machines, were considered to be interchangeable.

Moreover, workers were considered a variable cost and could be jettisoned

with an ...