Such teams are known variously as product development teams, design for manufacturability
teams, and value engineering teams.
The Japanese use a fourth approach. They bypass the team issue by not subdividing organizations into research and development, engineering, production, and so forth. Consistent with
the Japanese style of group effort and teamwork, these activities are all in one organization.
Japanese culture and management style are more collegial and the organization less structured
than in most Western countries. Therefore, the Japanese find it unnecessary to have "teams"
provide the necessary communication and coordination. However, the typical Western style,
and the conventional wisdom, is to use teams.