This paper examines the autonomy of manufacturing teams at final assembly in the car industry in European and Japanese final assembly plants. The central question of the paper is: `What degree of autonomy is given to teams to influence decisions in their work area'. In order to evaluate the level of autonomy nine key `task-areas' of decision-making have been identified using Gulowsen's (1979) measurement. The following study is based on empirical research in 19 automobile plants.
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