The Management Challenge: Japanese Views - Tapa dura

What works for the Japanese? As Thurow points out in his introduction, seniority promotions, lifetime employment, a wage structure heavily conditioned by bonuses, a culture that emphasizes the group rather than the individual, attention to good people management, and an efficient labor market--these are some of the ingredients in the Japanese system of payoffs and constraints that have contributed to that country's economic success. Conversely, he notes that high turnover, the lack of willingness to maintain employees on the payroll in exchange for "give-backs" during hard times, the emphasis on blue-collar layoffs, and treatment of human losers hardly contribute to mutual respect and cooperation in American firms. Our focus on improving capital rather than labor markets, on short-term financial objectives, and large bonuses based on current profits have not resulted in an optimal corporate environment. And what about the necessity for industrial policies? As one contributor asks, "Who is watching out for the steel industry and worrying about how to make it viable?" No one? The market?

The Japanese experience presented in these essays coversmotivation and productivity, the impact of Japanese culture on management, perceptions and reality of Japanese industrial relations, the firm and the market in Japan, the Japanese financial system, product diversification, strategy for overseas markets, competition and cooperation among Japanese corporations, Japan's industrial policy, economic planning in Japan, and the Japanese economy.