Engineering Design at a Toyota Company

2009 ◽  
pp. 363-374
Author(s):  
Darius Mehri
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Psychology ◽  
Sociology Of Culture ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
Collective Work ◽  
Innovative Process ◽  
Research And Design

The author worked in the research and design department at a large Toyota company in the late 1990s and experienced an innovative process where engineers worked in tightly knit groups where monitoring, the informal hierarchy and dependence resulted from an emphasis on collective work. In the approach to innovation during the design process, the Toyota engineers were found to engage in an inductive process that placed an emphasis on the concrete and an orientation toward the field as a result of an approach that relied on experience based knowledge. The use of tacit and explicit knowledge is discussed within the context of the design process and the author finds that explicit knowledge dominates the improvement of productivity and organizational learning. The latest research in the sociology of culture and cultural psychology is used to highlight the cognitive approach to problem solving during the innovative process.

Engineering Design at a Toyota Company

2011 ◽  
pp. 1157-1169
Author(s):  
Darius Mehri
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Psychology ◽  
Sociology Of Culture ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
Collective Work ◽  
Innovative Process ◽  
Research And Design

The author worked in the research and design department at a large Toyota company in the late 1990s and experienced an innovative process where engineers worked in tightly knit groups where monitoring, the informal hierarchy and dependence resulted from an emphasis on collective work. In the approach to innovation during the design process, the Toyota engineers were found to engage in an inductive process that placed an emphasis on the concrete and an orientation toward the field as a result of an approach that relied on experience based knowledge. The use of tacit and explicit knowledge is discussed within the context of the design process and the author finds that explicit knowledge dominates the improvement of productivity and organizational learning. The latest research in the sociology of culture and cultural psychology is used to highlight the cognitive approach to problem solving during the innovative process.

Use of Knowledge Management Systems and the Impact on the Acquisition of Explicit Knowledge

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holli McCall ◽  
Vicky Arnold ◽  
Steve G. Sutton
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Knowledge Acquisition ◽  
Reference Materials ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Experimental Methodology ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Knowledge Management Systems ◽  
Use Of Knowledge ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT: In an era where knowledge is increasingly seen as an organization's most valuable asset, many firms have implemented knowledge-management systems (KMS) in an effort to capture, store, and disseminate knowledge across the firm. Concerns have been raised, however, about the potential dependency of users on KMS and the related potential for decreases in knowledge acquisition and expertise development (Cole 1998; Alavi and Leidner 2001b; O'Leary 2002a). The purpose of this study, which is exploratory in nature, is to investigate whether using KMS embedded with explicit knowledge impacts novice decision makers' judgment performance and knowledge acquisition differently than using traditional reference materials (e.g., manuals, textbooks) to research and solve a problem. An experimental methodology is used to study the relative performance and explicit knowledge acquisition of 188 participants partitioned into two groups using either a KMS or traditional reference materials in problem solving. The study finds that KMS users outperform users of traditional reference materials when they have access to their respective systems/materials, but the users of traditional reference materials outperform KMS users when respective systems/materials are removed. While all users improve interpretive problem solving and encoding of definitions and rules, there are significant differences in knowledge acquisition between the two groups.

A model of the mechanical design process based on empirical data

1988 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Ullman ◽  
Thomas G. Dietterich ◽  
Larry A. Stauffer
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Mechanical Design ◽  
Level Of Detail ◽  
Cad Tools ◽  
Design Alternatives ◽  
Key Features

This paper describes the task/episode accumulation model (TEA model) of non-routine mechanical design, which was developed after detailed analysis of the audio and video protocols of five mechanical designers. The model is able to explain the behavior of designers at a much finer level of detail than previous models. The key features of the model are (a) the design is constructed by incrementally refining and patching an initial conceptual design, (b) design alternatives are not considered outside the boundaries of design episodes (which are short stretches of problem solving aimed at specific goals), (c) the design process is controlled locally, primarily at the level of individual episodes. Among the implications of the model are the following: (a) CAD tools should be extended to represent the state of the design at more abstract levels, (b) CAD tools should help the designer manage constraints, and (c) CAD tools should be designed to give cognitive support to the designer.

Toward a Reasoning Framework of Design As Synthesis

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaharu Yoshioka ◽  
Tetsuo Tomiyama
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Process Modeling ◽  
Implementation Strategy ◽  
Multiple Model ◽  
Hypothetical Reasoning ◽  
Design Processes ◽  
Design Process Modeling ◽  
Do So

Abstract Most of the previous research efforts for design process modeling had such assumptions as “design as problem solving,” “design as decision making,” and “design by analysis,” and did not explicitly address “design as synthesis.” These views lack notion and understanding about synthesis. Compared with analysis, synthesis is less understood and clarified. This paper discusses our fundamental view on synthesis and approach toward a reasoning framework of design as synthesis. To do so, we observe the designer’s activity and formalize knowledge operations in design processes. From the observation, we propose a hypothetical reasoning framework of design based on multiple model-based reasoning. We discuss the implementation strategy for the framework.

scholarly journals Participatory Design of an Activities-Based Collective Mentoring Program in After-School Care Settings: Connect, Promote, and Protect Program (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyssa C Milton ◽  
Elizabeth Stewart ◽  
Laura Ospina-Pinillos ◽  
Tracey Davenport ◽  
Ian B Hickie
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Participatory Design ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
After School ◽  
Acceptance Testing ◽  
Mentoring Program ◽  
Community Needs ◽  
Research And Design

BACKGROUND Out of school hours care (OSHC) services provide a unique opportunity to deliver early intervention programs to enhance primary school–aged children’s social, emotional, physical, and cognitive well-being; however, such programs are currently lacking. OBJECTIVE This study aims to address the lack of well-being programs for children accessing OSHC services in the research literature by using participatory design (PD) to collaboratively develop and test an OSHC well-being program—the connect, promote, and protect program (CP3). METHODS The study employed methods of PD, user (acceptance) testing, and iterative knowledge translation to develop a novel well-being program framework—CP3—with key stakeholders (eg, children, OSHC staff, volunteers, families, clinicians, educators, and researchers). Thematic techniques were used to interpret and translate the qualitative information obtained during the research and design cycles. RESULTS The co-design process generated the CP3 model, which comprises a group-based mentoring approach to facilitate enhanced activities in OSHC settings. Activities are underpinned by 4 key principles of program delivery: build well-being and resilience, broaden horizons, inspire and engage, and connect communities. CONCLUSIONS To our knowledge, the CP3 program is the first co-designed well-being program developed specifically for OSHC services. This co-design process is key to ensuring local community needs—particularly those of young people accessing OSHC—are met and that these individuals are meaningfully and actively involved in all stages of the research and design process, from conception to implementation, evaluation, and continuous improvement. CLINICALTRIAL

The Role of Incubation in Creative Problem Solving: Within a Collectivistic Cultural Context

2021 ◽  
pp. 108-118
Author(s):  
Rabia Anjum ◽  
Ivan Suneel
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Cultural Psychology ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Creative Problem Solving ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Creative Problem

Creative thinking is essential for the progress in education, industry and life in general. Incubation is a widely studied phenomenon in creativity research, referring to leaving a problem aside for a period, to accrue performance on a creative problem. This study investigated the effect of incubation on creative problem-solving by means of a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design, and remote associates tasks (RATs) were used as a measure of creative problem-solving. For this purpose, a sample of 60 students (22 males, 38 females) was recruited from the population of a private university. They were assigned to a control condition and two different experimental conditions based on the time of onset of incubation. The data collected was analyzed for a significant effect across all conditions by means of a chi-squared test and covariates were inferred by means of Spearman's Rho, with a significance level set at ?<.05. The results did not find an incubation effect in creative problem-solving, and several possible explanations may account for this trend, especially the limited cross-cultural application of measurement tools and theoretical paradigms. The disparity is especially prominent with regards to Pakistan, which is predominantly collectivistic, and the educational system stymies creative thinking. Future research must take into account the relevance of culture in creative problem-solving, and propose solutions to circumvent the dearth of creative potential in developing nations such as Pakistan. Keywords: Incubation, Creative Problem-Solving, Creativity, Remote Associate Tasks, Cross-Cultural Psychology

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