Hybrid Car Creates Hybrid Organization: Development of Toyota's First Prius Model and Limits that Traditional Development Organization at Toyota confronted

The manager of each function-based department holds private information about his or her respective department's fields of expertise and technological advances. Given this understanding, it may be advisable for the company's headquarters to delegate decision-making authority to the managers of these individual departments. However, if decision-making authority is delegated to individual departments or to the managers representing the interests of each of those departments, those departments may pursue their own interests even at the expense of the company's interests as a whole. By contract, the product manager does not have private information but is thinking about the new product under development as a whole and thus does not have a biased preference. The question then, is, what kind of governance structure will serve as the optimal solution? When each manager possesses a biased preference for his or her own department, it is important to consider the impact that the allocation of formal authority and the information flow within the organizational hierarchy has on the organizational capacity for innovation. This theme is developed and illustrated, using the case of development of Toyota's "Prius". In the case of Toyota Motor, too, this point has been an important issue for a long time when planning its development organization structure. The development of the world's first mass-produced hybrid vehicle, the Prius by Toyota is one of the most successful examples of innovative product development in recent years. However, it has been hardly studied as to how such architectural innovation was possible within the largest organization in Japan. This paper argues at length the development process of the Prius and transfiguration of Toyota's development organization structure from the viewpoint of organizational economics framework. Development of the first Prius model by Toyota set the stage for adoption of a new development organization structure : the term-limited implementation of the new "Big Room" approach, which did bring about lasting changes to Toyota's organizational framework for vehicle development. It will be noted that concept design, or in other words interdepartmental coordination, was more important in the initial phase of development (the first six months), and thus, the "Big Room" structure was the development organization structure of choice for implementation. By contrast, after the initial six months, work on the concept design of the product development had been almost completed and interdepartmental coordination had become less important to the company compared with advances in the technologies for the engine and other component systems. For that reason, the development organization was transitioned to a more decentralized structure of governance, the conventional “chief engineer” structure. The new development organization is a kind of hybrid organization, which lies between "centralization" and "decentralization". Furthermore, we touched upon the point that delay is costly in decision problems because it increases the lag upon which decisions are based, and evaluated the new development organization structure from that viewpoint, too. The arguments made in this paper will presumably be of value as generalized recommendations for the shape of the development organization within large established corporations.

Le ripetute migrazioni giapponesi in America Latina

Gli autori, un italiano e un giapponese, presentano una sintesi delle considerazioni di partenza e delle ipotesi da cui prendono le mosse alcune ricerche sulle ripetute migra-zioni dei nipponici e dei loro discendenti tra Giappone e America Latina. Si evidenzia l’esistenza di una triangolazione di risorse ed esperienze che comprende pure l’Europa e, in particolare, l’Italia.Los autores, un italiano y un japonés, presentan un resumen de las primeras consideraciones y de las hipótesis que los llevaron a investigar sobre las migraciones repetidas de nipones y de sus descendientes entre Japón y América Latina. Se destaca la existencia de una triangulación de recursos y experiencias que también incluye a Europa y, en particular, a Italia.This paper, authored by an Italian and a Japanese, sums up the introductory remarks and the claims that form the background of some research in the repeated migrations of Japanese people and their descendants between Japan and Latin America. The paper points out the existence of a three-fold exchange of resources and experiences, which involves also Europe and in particular Italy

Single crystal field-effect transistors based on an organic selenium-containing semiconductor

We report on the fabrication and characterization of single crystal field-effect transistors (FETs) based on diphenylbenzo diselenophene (DPh-BDSe). These organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) function as p-channel accumulation-mode devices. At room temperature, for the best devices, the threshold voltage is less than -7V and charge carrier mobility is nearly gate bias independent, ranging from 1cm2/Vs to 1.5 cm2/Vs depending on the source-drain bias. Mobility is increased slightly by cooling below room temperature and decreases below 280 K

The Crystal Data of Ternary Rare Earth Borides, RCo_2B_2

Compounds with the composition of RCo_2B_2 (R=La, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, and Y) were prepared by arc-melting methods. Their crystal structure was investigated by means of X-ray diffraction. These ternary rare earth borides crystallize in the tetragonal lattice. The lattice parameters are a=3.616±0.003 A and c=10.215±0.005 A for LaCo_2B_2 and a=3.561±0.002 A and c=9.358±0.005 A for YCo_2B_2. The good agreement between the X-ray diffraction intensities observed and those calculated shows that the ternary borides, LaCo_2B_2 and YCo_2-B_2, crystallize in the ThCr_2Si_2-type structure. The crystallographic data obtained for LaCo_2B_2 and YCo_2B_2 are as follows : space group 14/mmm (D^_); R in 2(a), 4Co in 4(d), and 4B in 4(e) with z～3/8. The boron atoms in this structure are situated at the center of a trigonal prism formed by four rare earth atoms and two cobalt atoms. We also found the RCo_2B_2 compounds to be isostructural with LaCo_2B_2 and YCo_2B_2, where R=Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, and Dy. However, efforts to prepare CeCo_2B_2 and ErCo_2B_2 by arc-melting were unsuccessful

Evaluation of the shock-resetting conditions of U-Pb isotopic systematics for baddeleyite in the Martian shergottites

第6回極域科学シンポジウム[OA] 南極隕石11月17日（火）　国立国語研究所 2階 講

Chemical Vapor-Deposited Amorphous Silicon Nitride

Chemical vapor-deposited amorphous Si_3N_4 (CVD-amorphous Si_3N_4) up to 4.2mm in thickness has been prepared from a gaseous mixture of NH_3 and H_2-carried SiCl_4 under various deposition conditions. The formation of the CVD-amorphous Si_3N_4 depended strongly on the deposition temperature, total gas pressure and gas flow rate. The CVD-amorphous Si_3N_4 prepared at 1100-1300℃ does not crystallize by heating at each deposition temperature. Their density and deposition rate are markedly dependent on deposition conditions and have maximum values of 3.00g/cm^3 (94% of the theoretical density of α-Si_3N_4) and 0.36mm/hr, respectively. The Vickers microhardness of the CVD-amorphous Si_3N_4 at room temperature varies between 2200 and 3200kg/mm^2 according to its deposition conditions. The hardness at 1300℃ is 1200～1300 kg/mm^2. The thermal conductivity was 0.010cal/cm/sec/℃ at 20℃ and 0.012cal/cm/sec/℃ at 1300℃. The thermal expansion coefficient at 20～1200℃ is 2.99±0.05/℃. The formation mechanism and the effect of gas flow patterns on the deposition rate of the CVD-amorphous Si_3N_4 are also discussed

Microstructural design for mechanical and electrical properties of Spark Plasma Sintered Al2O3-SiC nanocomposites

[EN] Al2O3-17 vol.% SiC nanocomposites were prepared by powder mixture of submicrosized alpha-Al2O3, nanosized gamma-Al2O3 and different nanosized beta-SiC. Materials were sintered by spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique at two temperatures (1400-1550 degrees C) and their electrical conductivity and mechanical properties were investigated. High-density composites have been achieved even at the lowest sintering temperatures and the microstructure characterization shows SiC particles located both within the Al2O3 matrix grains and/or at the Al2O3 grain boundaries. It has been demonstrated that microstructure tailoring is possible by suitable selection of starting materials and fast sintering by SPS. Accurate design of nanocomposites microstructures allows obtaining moderately conductive (<100 Omega cm) or insulating (10(8) Omega cm) materials while the chemical composition is similar. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Financial support of this work by the European Commission is gratefully acknowledged (IP Nanoker P3-CT-2005-515784). A. Borrell acknowledges the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for Ph.D. grant (MAT2006-01783).Borrell Tomás, MA.; Alvarez, I.; Torrecillas, R.; Rocha, VG.; Fernandez, A. (2012). Microstructural design for mechanical and electrical properties of Spark Plasma Sintered Al2O3-SiC nanocomposites. Materials Science and Engineering: A. 534:693-698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2011.12.032S69369853

Chemical Vapour-Deposited Silicon Nitride : Part 1. Preparation and Some Properties

Pyrolytic Si_3N_4 has been deposited on a graphite substrate, using a mixture of SiCl_4, NH_3 and H_2. The pyrolysis is performed with deposition temperatures of 1100 to 1500℃, total gas pressures of 5 to 300 Torr, and flow rates of H_2=700, NH_3=60 and SiCl_4 (1iq.)=0.8 cm^3 min^. Massive amorphous and crystalline pyrolytic forms of Si_3N_4 are prepared at a maximum thickness of 4.6 mm. The effects of deposition conditions on some properties of the deposited products and the dependence of formation of amorphous or crystalline deposits on deposition temperature and total pressure were investigated. The surface and cross-sectional structures show growth cones and oriented crystals which are strongly dependent on the deposition conditions. The thin deposits are translucent ; the thick deposits vary in colour from white to black. The silicon content is close to the theoretical composition and independent of the deposition conditions, while the oxygen content increases with decreasing deposition temperature and total pressure. No segregation of silicon and nitrogen at cone boundaries was found

The Preparation and Crystal Structure of Ternary Rare Earth Borides, RCo_3B_2

In the ternary system of rare earth-cobalt-boron, RCo_3B_2 compounds (R=rare earth elements) were prepared by arc-melting methods. Their crystal structure was investigated by X-ray diffraction methods. These ternary borides, RCo_3B_2, crystallize in a hexagonal lattice. The lattice parameters are a=5.020±0.002A and c=3.027±0.002 A for YCo_3B_2 and a=5.066±0.003 A and c=3.022±0.002 A for GdCo_3B_2. The good agreement between the X-ray diffraction intensities observed and calculated shows that the ternary borides, YCo_3B_2 and GdCo_3B_2, crystallize in the CaZn_5-type structure. The space group and atomic positions are as follows : P6/mmm (D^1_), 1R in 1(a), 3Co in 3(g), and 2B in 2(c). It can be seen from these results that the ternary borides, RCo_3B_2, have a superstructure in which two Co atoms in the 2(c) site of intermetallic compounds, RCo_5, with the CaZn_5-type structure are replaced by two B atoms. The B atoms in this structure are situated at the center of a trigonal prism formed by six Co atoms. The interatomic distances between B and the six Co atoms are 2.11-2.10 A and are fairly constant, although the radii of the rare earth atoms are changed according to the lanthanide contraction. We have also found RCo_3B_2 compounds to be isostructural with YCo_3B_2 and GdCo_3B_2, where R=Ce, Sm, Tb, Dy, Ho, and Er. Efforts to prepare LaCo_3B_2, PrCo_3B_2, and NdCo_3B_2 by arc-melting were unsuccessful