INTERCULTURAL RELATIONS IN MANUFACTURING ENVIRONMENTS: JAPANESE OWNERS IN
An electronics manufacturing plant located in Litchfield, Illinois has been closed by its owners. A Japanese electronics manufacturer, however, has expressed an exploratory interest in the plant. One issue that must be addressed if Japanese managers are to successfully operate the electronic manufacturing plant is the necessary intercultural relationship between management and staff manufacturing and administrative.
This research develops informational tools that may be used to facilitate the development of a positive intercultural environment at the manufacturing plant should the Japanese company acquire the facility. These informational tools are (1) a cultural guide to Illinois workers for Japanese managers, and (2) a cultural guide to Japanese managers for Illinois workers.
Litchfield is a community of less than 10,000 people located in downstate Illinois. The community is approximately 40 miles southwest of Springfield, Illinois, and is approximately 50 miles northeast of St. Louis. Ethnically, the population of Litchfield is predominantly white (81 percent). Perspectives on political and social issues in Litchfield tend to be conservative in character and small town rural in outlook.
The electronics manufacturing plant was originally sited in Litchfield to permit the owners to take advantage of a low cost environment. Relatively low costs applied to labor, facilities construction and maintenance, and taxation.
A Cultural Guide to Illinois Workers For Japanese Managers
The development of effective intercultural relations in the American organization owned and operated by Japanese assumes great significance because the work force will be more diverse in racial and ethnic contexts than that to which Japanese managers are accustomed (Watson, 1993, pp. 590 602). The management of intercultural relations is, to a great extent, the dev...