Yasuhiro Monden is professor emeritus at the University of Tsukuba, Japan. He also currently serves as visiting professor in the graduate program of the Nagoya University of Commerce and Business. Monden held the position of professor at Tsukuba University from 1983 to 2004. Before coming to Tsukuba, he was an associate professor in the School of Economics at Osaka Prefecture University (1971 83) and a research associate and assistant professor in the School of Law and Economics at Aichi University (1966 71).

He received his Ph.D. in Management Science and Engineering from the University of Tsukuba, where he also served as dean of the Graduate Program of Management Sciences and Public Policy Studies and as chairperson of the Institute of Policy and Planning Sciences. He received his MBA from Kobe University, Japan, and his Bachelor of Economics from Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan. Dr. Monden has gained valuable practical knowledge and experience from his research and related activities in the Japanese automobile industry.

He was instrumental in introducing the JIT production system to the United States. Toyota Production System is recognized as a JIT classic and was awarded the 1984 Nikkei Prize by the Nikkei Economic Journal. However, his research fields are wide, covering not only production and operations management but also managerial and financial accounting, corporate finance, and business economics. His dissertation title was "Basic Research on Transfer Pricing and Profit Allocation in Decentralized Organizations," and his recent research includes Management of Inter-Firm Networks Based on Incentive Prices."

Dr. Monden's international activities have included visiting professorships at the State University of New York at Buffalo (1980 81), California State University in Los Angeles (1991 92), and Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden (1996). He was also regional director of the Product