government was established as a part of the Meiji Restoration, the existing village and agrar ian structure was incorporated into the new governmental structure. This action, at once, (1) preserved much of the traditional structure and authority of the country, while (2) establishing a firm central control (Smith 195). Power in the new governmental structure was extended to all segments of Japanese society, as opposed to simply a redistribution of power among members of the former privileged (warrior) class.
One of the traditional Japanese values preserved under the Meiji Restoration was loyalty. Loyalty was not (and is not) uni directional in Japan. Loyalty flows downward in Japan, as strongly as it flows upward (Reischauer 7; Cole 113). Loyalty enhances the Japanese concern with collective goals, the 3attainment of which were (and continue to be) of major signifi cance in the economic development of Japan (Bellah 5).
APPLICATION OF JAPANESE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUESBY AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS
American interest in Japanese management techniques devel oped as a consequence of the success of Japanese firms in the domestic markets of the United States, and in other markets around the world (Robinson 4 5), an interest which was height ened by the fact that Japanese successes often occurred primar ily at the expense of American industrial firms (Ouchi 3 10). As a consequence of such developments, many American firms have experimented with Japanese management techniques (Maher 32).
Not all management and organizational theorists and anal ysts in the United States are convinced that American manage ment techniques are inferior to those of the Japanese (Cox 21). Even when the merit of Japanese management techniques is recog nized in the United States, there is often opposition to an emulation by American firms of Japanese management techniques.In some instances, opposition is based on a contention that t...