Japanese management

Question 1

What is the core concept of the Japanese management approach?

Answer 1

Effectiveness comes from the ability to combine both soft and hard practices

Question 2

What are the soft practices of the Japanese management approach?

Answer 2

Personnel policies:
- lifetime employment
- internal labor market
- seniority-based promotions and rewards
- teamwork and bonding
- enterprise unions
- training and education
- company welfarism

Question 3

What are the hard practices of the Japanese management approach?

Answer 3

Business practices and work systems:
- long-term planning (market growth, low dividends, low profits)
- Timeliness (fast product development, JIT - just-in-time; right fist time)
- Quality (total quality approach, continuous improvement)

Question 4

What are the criticisms of the Japanese management approach?

Answer 4

Two-tier labor markets; low flexibility; cannot accommodate globalization and workforce diversity; lifetime employment = slavery; teamwork = coercive pressure; enterprise unions = exploitation