Heft36 1 - SFB 580 - Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

ALEKSANDRA JANOVSKAIA
inspired version of the lean production system
introduced in Škoda in 1994 with a new model
Felicia. Apart from following the philosophy of
continuous improvement, the idea behind the
fractal – modular – organisation of production
was to make the production process more
transparent by improving information flows
and more flexible by dividing production in
modular groups (Pavlínek 2008: 95). In other
VW subsidiaries, no ‘extra’ names were given,
but new practices of work organisation have
been introduced in all plants since the mid-
1990s. The idea of continuous improvement
is known and referred to. KVP Kaskaden
– ‘continued improvement workshops’ in
product and process exist where team leaders
from assembly lines come together with
engineers and specialists from industrial
engineering to propose things ‘to make their
work better’. Similarly, a production manager
in VW Slovakia argued that ‘there are always
still reserves that can be optimised: material,
reduction of work errors, maintenance, non
ergonomic movements’ (Interview March
2007). Just-in-time working practices are
omnipresent: in many cases ‘system suppliers’
deliver their products directly to the assembly
line. The manager at VW Slovakia referred to
them as ’Just-in-sequence’, an expression that
implies an even faster turn-around, as delivery
times are very low, usually two hours (Interview
March 2007). Similarly, in Škoda, delivery times
are two to three hours. The visible consequences
of this clear shift to a lean production-oriented
work organisation have been an increased level
of work effort required and an increased work
pace. The director of the sport utility vehicle
(SUV) production at VW Slovakia confirmed
that ‘turnover is high, qualified people are going
away: work at the assembly line is hard, people
prefer to work in the repair shop rather than
on the assembly line’ (Interview March 2007).
Yet the development of tougher productivity
and cost efficiency benchmarks is subject to
certain limits set by the productionist focus
and by the commitment to local industrial
capabilities that has been preserved in the
Central European VW subsidiaries. Next to
embracing the logic of ever higher productivity
and cost efficiency, from the beginning of this
joint venture, the non-economic organising
logic has also been an important rationale for
local management. At the core of managerial
thinking are ‘productionist’ variables related to
employment, industrial upgrading, and product
quality as well as engineering and technical
proficiency. They matter to stakeholders
regardless of their cost-efficiency. Two phases
can be distinguished in the evolution of the
VW subsidiaries: the early 1990s to mid-1990s
and the late 1990s to mid-2000s. During the
second phase - from the late 1990s to early
2000s - the technological and organisational
upgrading took place. The following paragraphs
elaborate how during both phases the role of
‘productionist’ variables remained important
for local stakeholders.
During the first phase in the early 1990s, the
process of adaptation was most intense. It is
especially during the early period of special
‘hardship’ and restructuring where
the objectives related to employment
levels can be identified easily. During
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this early phase, the policies of
employment pursued directly during
and after the privatisation are telling. During
the early 1990s when production numbers
were low, employees were to a large extent