So manufacturing is generally quite efficient. Toyota would be one of the powerhouse I had in mind, as would be most car companies. Note that Toyota is very much a global company and under the pressure of competition worldwide. But many large Japanese companies aren't.

>For example is Toyota also thriving on wasted meeting time, fax machines, and hand-written letters? Doesn't seem likely.

I don't want to go too much in specifics, but the examples I gave are actually coming from a company whose sole client is a large car company.