作ってなんぼ

English translation: Result-oriented

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

Japanese term or phrase:	作ってなんぼ
English translation:	Result-oriented
Entered by:	Mari Hodges

20:39 Nov 17, 2005

Japanese to English translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

Japanese term or phrase: 作ってなんぼ

The phrase is used in this way talking about Toyota's production system:
ざっくりとした言い方をすれば「作ってなんぼ」という組織風土だ。
Any help would be appreciated!

Mari Hodges KudoZ activity Questions: 235 (2 open) (4 without valid answers) (2 closed without grading) Answers: 1
Local time: 17:59

Result-oriented

Explanation:
Europe, Africa

We achieved a five percent share of the Italian market by selling 122,025 vehicles in 2002, Toyota's best performance in Europe. But this is only a beachhead for our next target of 200,000. I see three keys to our success: First, a strong organization with extensive IT deployment and _a results-oriented system_ that rewards performance while keeping the company lean. This corporate culture motivates team members and lets them turn failures into stepping-stones to success. Second

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Note added at 2 days 15 hrs 47 mins (2005-11-20 12:26:59 GMT)
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Mari-san, this is one of the metaphors.

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Note added at 2 days 15 hrs 49 mins (2005-11-20 12:29:30 GMT)
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Correction: results-oriented

Selected response from:

snowbees
Local time: 05:59

Grading comment

Thank you everyone for all the helpful explanations. I went with 'results-oriented,' which seems to be the best English expression.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +4

the more you make (produce), the more/better ....

Mariko Kobayashi

4 +2

output oriented

yumi Ito

How much one is paid for how much one has produced.

Nobuo Kawamura

This much merely results in this much (profit)

humbird

Result-oriented

snowbees

manufacturing

V N Ganesh

Answers

47 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

作ってなんぼ the more you make (produce), the more/better ....

Explanation:
This is a very colloquial expression you hear often in Kansai area.
Depending on the context, it may mean, "the more you make, the more you earn" or "the more you produce, the better recognised you are in the company," etc.

Mariko Kobayashi
Australia
Local time: 06:59
Native speaker of: Japanese
PRO pts in category: 4

1 hr confidence:

作ってなんぼ This much merely results in this much (profit)

Explanation:
Mari, to be honest, your quote is quite fuzzy. I need a bit more context (previous or following sentences), but this much I can say at this point.
Because context is Toyota, it is safe to assume 作って means "car manufacturing".
As for なんぼ part, my guestimation is "how much", and this is in monetary sense, not the volume of car produced.

Reason I said your quote is fuzzy is that what they are talking about is not clear (volume or profit or else). It is normal and natural to guess they are talking about profit, but there is a nuiance there that the speaker is criticizing the organizational makeup.
Speaker does not seem to be very happy about the situation. なんぼ seems to indicate that.

humbird
Native speaker of:

Japanese,

English
PRO pts in category: 40

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you Humbird san. Actually, this is confusing to me too because the writer is giving Toyota as a positive example of treating downstream processes as your customer as a way of improving consciousness about customer satisfaction. What comes before that sentence is: �J��o��V�X�e��\�Ȃ̂ł͂Ȃ��A�v�z�≿�l�ς�L��Ă��邩�炤�܂��A��ǂ��̂��B�g��^�ɂ��͂��邪�A��Y��̐݌v�̂ق��Ɨ��ꂪ��BBut the strange thing is that it seems that Kobayashi san's translation doesn't fit, even though it seems correct, because it's talking about Toyota, whose philosophy is to produce 'just enough.' I welcome any comments about this! Thank you!

1 hr confidence:

How much one is paid for how much one has produced.

Explanation:
(Alternative) How much one is paid for how much one has made.

Nobuo Kawamura
Japan
Local time: 05:59
Native speaker of:

Japanese
PRO pts in category: 4

4 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

作ってなんぼ output oriented

Explanation:
This phrase used quite often in manufacturing business.
Toyota as well as sound manufacturing businesses believe that they can make $ when they produce quality goods and this special phrase explains the belief.

yumi Ito
Local time: 13:59
Native speaker of:

Japanese

10 hrs confidence:

ì‚Á‚Ä‚È‚ñ‚Ú manufacturing

Explanation:
いろんな仕事でも

いいモノを作ってなんぼ、
商品の説明してなんぼ、
営業に出てなんぼ、

いろいろあります。

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Note added at 10 hrs 10 mins (2005-11-18 06:50:06 GMT)
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afiliate.livedoor.biz/archives/17508713.html

V N Ganesh
Local time: 02:29
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 12

2 days 15 hrs confidence:

作ってなんぼ

Result-oriented

snowbees
Local time: 05:59
Native speaker of:

Japanese
PRO pts in category: 4

Grading comment

Thank you everyone for all the helpful explanations. I went with 'results-oriented,' which seems to be the best English expression.

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作ってなんぼ

English translation: Result-oriented

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