ANALYSIS OF "JAPAN AT THE CROSSROADS"
The economic crisis described in this case is one of many that the Japanese have endured in their long history. The two authors, Saito and Yatsunami go to great pains and gather much data to describe the microeconomics of the nation, while, curiously avoiding the macroecomomic look.
They easily adopt the traditional Western media theory that Japan's companies are facing hard times and are being forced to throw away old concepts of organization and their traditional ideas of capitalism in favor of newer, more open business theories.
The press is quick to point out that this is the responsibility, somewhat, of the keiretsu, a strong cultural aspect of Japan that is for the most part completely ignored in this analysis. It is the contention of this paper that, as opposed to the author's contentions, that the "crossroads" presented by the authors is the result of a misinformed view of Japanese capitalism, which is different in nature and texture than the Western version of capitalism.
In fact, much of the case study is actually discussing keiretsu capitalism (and the results of this system) without accurately portraying the dynamics. Keiretsu, it is generally agreed, refers to a system of linked companies that have made Japan a great economic nation. But writing off these keiretsu as outdated or outmoded is the wrong approach, since there is a great deal of global competitive advantage to be gained by doing business within this structure.
The truth of the matter is that only a handful of western manufacturing firms can truly claim to match the best Japanese firms in manufacturing. Meanwhile, Japanese firms have proved uniquely successful at transferring their own expertise and know-how across international borders from northeast England to the American South. One of the main reasons that the keiretsu way of doing business has maintained such great staying power is that Japa...