Japanese Management Techniques
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Japanese management and decision-making techniques have shown a great deal of success in recent years. In contrast with the American style, Japanese management places more focus on the people within the organization than on the organization itself. Also in contrast with the American way, Japanese decision-making is considered to be a responsibility of the group rather than that of a single individual. One area in which these factors have had particularly strong success is that of long-term planning. Because of the managerial concern for people, the average Japanese employee is hired for a lifetime. In addition, because they share the communal interests of the group as a whole, Japanese managers tend to work on goals which emphasize the long-term growth of their companies (Sheldon & Kleiner, 1990, May/June, p. 17). This way of thinking is sharply contrasted with that of most managers in the United States. As noted by one commentator, American managers generally suffer from "too much short-term thinking" (Oka, 191, August 8, p. 8). This helps explain why many Japanese firms grow and prosper over the years while many of their U.S. counterparts are experiencing failure within the first few years of operation. Japanese management has been described as having a "holistic concern for people" (Sheldon & Kleiner, 1990, May/June, p. 19). All aspects of the employees' lives, both on and off the job, are taken into consideration during long-term planning by management. The W
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Japanese cultural traditions emphasizing interdependence, collaboration, and cooperation" (Sheldon & Kleiner, 1990, May/June, p. 19). Directly prior to the modernization which occurred in the twentieth century, Japan was primarily a farming society. Successfully operating a farm requires a great deal of cooperation and group loyalty. In addition, such cooperation was important for the mutual protection of the group against outside invaders. Zimmerman notes: "Certain elements of the old community structure have persisted to the present day, the most important and basic of which is the famous Japanese sense of commitment to the group" (1985, p. 5). This group loyalty has profoundly influenced the modern Japanese way of thinking and, by extension, the Japanese style of management. Most Japanese managers are baffled by the individualism of their American colleagues. The dog-eat-dog attitude which is characteristic of the American businessman sharply contrasts the Japanese idea of a group working together for its mutual benefit.
The contrasts that exists between the American and Japanese ways of thinking are strongly influenced by the differences in the languages of the two nations. In this regard, American managers often do
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Approximate Word count = 2998
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)
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