taiichi-ohno's second book, originally published in Japanese in 1982 as 『現場経営』(Genba Keiei — literally "Gemba Management") by the Japan Management Association. First English translation by Andrew P. Dillon, Productivity Press, 1988. A special 100th birthday edition was published by Gemba Press in 2012, translated by Jon Miller.
Overview
Where toyota-production-system-beyond-large-scale-production focuses on the production system, Workplace Management focuses on the management philosophy behind it. The book consists of 38 short chapters, each a concise essay on a management principle: "If you are wrong, admit it," "I learned from the supermarket," "The misconception that mass production is cheaper," "Don't fear opportunity losses."
Key Arguments
Ohno's voice comes through more clearly here than in the earlier book — wry, paradoxical, grounded in decades of gemba observation. He repeatedly challenges conventional manufacturing wisdom: that higher machine utilization is always better, that making more is always cheaper, that efficiency can be measured at the individual operation level. His insistence on going to the actual place of work (gemba) to observe reality rather than relying on reports is a constant theme.
The book is particularly valuable for its treatment of management as a practice rather than a science. Ohno describes how he taught by asking questions rather than giving answers, developing people through guided problem-solving at the gemba — a teaching method later codified by Mike Rother as the "coaching kata" in toyota-kata.
Significance
The late English translation (2012 Gemba Press edition) means this book influenced a second generation of lean thinkers who already knew TPS tools but were searching for the deeper philosophy. The 38-chapter format makes it one of the most quotable TPS texts.