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Just What is Japanese Management Style?

Since the 1970’s, when the Japanese auto manufacturers started competing
successfully with U.S. carmakers (now, there’s an understatement), you could
fill a library with books and journals which contain articles on Japanese
management. The search term "Japanese style management" in the Questia
Online Library returns 15,068 book titles alone.
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There is no question, especially in the areas of manufacturing and high-tech o
electronics that Japanese management practices have been successful in j
producing some of the world’s highest quality and most innovative products. u
Despite recent recession and economic problems, Japanese manufacturing and s
high-tech businesses remain vital. t
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So just what is this phenomenon called Japanese style management? Specifics h
are open to debate. Valuing cooperation over competition, long-term or life- a
time employment, consensus decision-making, and teamwork have been t
presented as the trademarks of Japanese management. i
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In his book, The Sun Also Rises Over Toledo, WIN President Sada Honda distills t
the characteristics of Japanese management into three essential features: h
people orientation; long-term view; and process culture. i
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Sada on People Orientation: p
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One of the most striking things I observed at the beginning of my job with the e
Japanese firm in Detroit was to see the visiting Japanese executives insist on n
meeting American employees. They went through all the names and the o
backgrounds of the employees before the visit and greeted each one of them. m
There was a dinner at night to which all the employees were invited. . . . I e
could see [the Americans’] increasing sense of belonging. The act was certainly n
a motivating factor for every American and a confidence builder in their o
working for a Japanese company. The important observation here is that this n
kind of action comes naturally to even the upper echelons of a Japanese c
company. a
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In Trends in Japanese Management: Continuing Strengths, Current Problems,
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and Changing Priorities, author Toyohiro Kono calls this characteristic Respect
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for People, reporting it "is evident in various personnel management practices,
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such as job rotation, the status ladder system and job security. The high
p
morale created by this system contributes significantly to the quality of
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products."
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 e
Long Term View s
e
Successful Japanese corporations tend to focus on long-term goals while U.S. s
corporations emphasize short-term profit. These long term goals manifest in t
the expenditure of large sums for research and development and the esteem y
Japanese corporations hold for their workers. The practice of life-time l
employment, at one time prevalent in some Japanese industries, has given e
way to long-term employment. However, the initiative Japanese companies m
have taken to develop people and professional career paths is evidence of a
remaining long-term human resources commitments. n
a
g
Process Culture
e
m
The term process culture comes from a focus on how the work gets done, e
rather than the end result. Though this concept has been criticized, it has been n
extremely successful in the manufacturing and high-tech fields; areas where it t
is clear that a focus on how the pieces fit together or how a product is built ?
from the ground up results in a higher-quality product. A by-product of this S
process culture is that Japanese managers expect and reward effort, even p
though it may not immediately result in short-term gain. (More evidence of e
long-term view.) That’s not to say that the goal is not important. However, c
recognition is given for effort and value placed on what is learned from i
mistakes. f
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