Tehnica de management originara din industria japoneza, dezvoltata pentru a creste productivitatea; grupuri de angajati autonomi, responsabili de munca lor, se intalnesc voluntar pentru a-si planifica munca astfel incat sa rezulte o calitate mai buna a produsului finit si pentru a preveni intarzierile altor grupuri autonome din lantul de productie.
A management technique with its origin in Japanese industry, developed as a means of increasing productivity; groups of autonomous workers, responsible for their own output, meet together voluntarily to plan their work so that a better quality product results and so that the work of other autonomous groups further down the production line is not delayed.