Lean manufacturing techniques have also been defined as the post-Fordist work system that is democratic, humane and more efficient. A central principle of lean manufacturing is the concept of “Kaizen”, or the continuous improvement of the production process. The lean manufacturing philosophy seeks to integrate efficiency with quality of working life. The concept of “Kaizen” aims to eliminate all activities that do not add value, called waste or “muda” in Japanese. This looked at oversized inventory, excessive setup times, and work in progress. The “Kaizen” process also removes flaws or defects in the production process and identifies the cause of the problem. This involves the participation of employees who can monitor and detect any differences in products and processes. Employees also contribute to the improvement of production and organization. Productivity improvement is achieved through incremental innovation. The participatory nature of lean manufacturing is different from Fordist and Taylorist production methods. “Kaizen” emphasizes quality assurance and involves collective responsibility and teamwork for quality improvement in the company. Toyota management systems included the concept of zero defects which included quality circles to highlight on all quality related issues. The theory of “Kaizen” ensures that all workers are quality conscious and focus on quickly solving problems. The association's team leaders encourage their members to frequently focus on quality improvements in the manufacturing process. All staff are trained to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for quality production. TPS is an action-oriented method that supports a problem-solving approach... middle of the road... Toyota must also be responsive to local market demands. As a result, Toyota faces significant pressures for local responsiveness and cost reduction. To reduce costs by standardizing, Toyota has accelerated the practice of moving to fewer automotive platforms, with the goal of building a broad range of models on a limited range of platforms that share numerous regular components, modules, or parts. The company is apparently racing toward the goal of having only 10 platforms, down from more than 20 in 2000. To near-finished products with several common components, Toyota includes local product features, modifying the finished product based on local demands . Thus, Toyota is able to recognize countless advantages of global manufacturing and at the same time respond to the pressure for local responsiveness by differentiating its automobiles in domestic markets..