| Abstract: | The German automotive industry continues to struggle against increasingly adverse conditions—pampered workers, inefficient production techniques, and a strong currency that threatens to price cars out of the market. Enter an unlikely competitor-General Motor's Opel subsidiary in Eisenach, in the former German Democratic Republic. Designed as a unique experiment, the recreated plant combines a lean production system, cellular assembly, flexible working arrangements, learning opportunities, and teamwork to create a high-productivity workplace. Interviews with workers at Opel Eisenach show that this approach has a profound impact on worker motivation. The plant produced 160,000 cars in 1995, a remarkable accomplishment that has caught the attention of the entire European auto industry. |
