Description
Japanese style of management
Japanese style of management One of the main characteristics of the Japanese style of management is offering lifetime employment to company employees. Lifetime employment is highly regarded in the Japanese community and is very positive in the fact that it allows workers to better identify with the long-term goals and future of the company. In Japan, young adults are willing to start at the bottom with a low salary because they know that over time they will move up to higher positions like those above them. This is how they are raised The main ideas of the Japanese management system is Kaizen, teamwork, ‘Just in Time’ production, and lifetime employment Another major factor of the Japanese management system is their emphasis on teamwork, rather than individual job tasks. Teamwork helps to make jobs wider in scope and eliminate multiple job descriptions, while emphasizing flexibility, rather than specialization. Japan also feels that teamwork increases productivity because whenever problems arise workers are allowed to stop the line and work together to solve problems, without evoking any disciplinary action. Team peer pressure, instead of management supervision, now enforces high productivity and quality. If someone on a team messes up, they must now deal with fellow coworkers, whom they work with everyday. They now must answer to each other, which increases the stress level of each employee. Also, with teams, individual benefits are never fully recognized; therefore, there is never a feeling to really do anything spectacular by employees. While adding stress to an already hectic day for employees, teamwork also reduces individual autonomy because employees aren’t able to make singular decisions. Also, the Japanese idea of ‘Just in Time" production coupled with their computerized assembly lines increasing stress and reduces autonomy. Although the idea of ‘Just in Time’ production does help eliminate space and cut down on costs, it adds tremendous stress to employees. It can easily lead to overtime work being demanded on short notice. The factories are not run by set shifts, instead, they are run by production schedules that make sure certain amounts of cars are produced daily. If the company does not have a certain part needed for a car in storage and the car has to get finished, then someone must work overtime. Japanese firms expect total commitment from their employees, and it works in Japan because the culture embraces the idea that the man works while the women takes sole responsibility of the family. Japanese management system is placed on the idea of Kaizen, or the philosophy that constant changes are the easiest and fastest road to maximizing productivity and quality. Kaizen is the management philosophy that Management’s role in continuously encouraging and implementing small improvements involving everyone. Kaizen is the one thing that many Japanese managers think American companies lack. As soon as they learn how to do something, they are being taught to do it differently. Kaizen’s goal is to reduce slack, but in the process it also takes away the relaxed environment of work.
Japanese Organizations Life time employment Slow evaluation and promotion Non-specialized career paths Implicit control mechanisms Collective decision making (Ringi) Collective responsibility Holistic concern American Organizations Short-term employment Rapid evaluation and promotion Specialized career paths Explicit control mechanisms Individual decision making Individual responsibility Segmented concern
doc_646298939.doc
Japanese style of management
Japanese style of management One of the main characteristics of the Japanese style of management is offering lifetime employment to company employees. Lifetime employment is highly regarded in the Japanese community and is very positive in the fact that it allows workers to better identify with the long-term goals and future of the company. In Japan, young adults are willing to start at the bottom with a low salary because they know that over time they will move up to higher positions like those above them. This is how they are raised The main ideas of the Japanese management system is Kaizen, teamwork, ‘Just in Time’ production, and lifetime employment Another major factor of the Japanese management system is their emphasis on teamwork, rather than individual job tasks. Teamwork helps to make jobs wider in scope and eliminate multiple job descriptions, while emphasizing flexibility, rather than specialization. Japan also feels that teamwork increases productivity because whenever problems arise workers are allowed to stop the line and work together to solve problems, without evoking any disciplinary action. Team peer pressure, instead of management supervision, now enforces high productivity and quality. If someone on a team messes up, they must now deal with fellow coworkers, whom they work with everyday. They now must answer to each other, which increases the stress level of each employee. Also, with teams, individual benefits are never fully recognized; therefore, there is never a feeling to really do anything spectacular by employees. While adding stress to an already hectic day for employees, teamwork also reduces individual autonomy because employees aren’t able to make singular decisions. Also, the Japanese idea of ‘Just in Time" production coupled with their computerized assembly lines increasing stress and reduces autonomy. Although the idea of ‘Just in Time’ production does help eliminate space and cut down on costs, it adds tremendous stress to employees. It can easily lead to overtime work being demanded on short notice. The factories are not run by set shifts, instead, they are run by production schedules that make sure certain amounts of cars are produced daily. If the company does not have a certain part needed for a car in storage and the car has to get finished, then someone must work overtime. Japanese firms expect total commitment from their employees, and it works in Japan because the culture embraces the idea that the man works while the women takes sole responsibility of the family. Japanese management system is placed on the idea of Kaizen, or the philosophy that constant changes are the easiest and fastest road to maximizing productivity and quality. Kaizen is the management philosophy that Management’s role in continuously encouraging and implementing small improvements involving everyone. Kaizen is the one thing that many Japanese managers think American companies lack. As soon as they learn how to do something, they are being taught to do it differently. Kaizen’s goal is to reduce slack, but in the process it also takes away the relaxed environment of work.
Japanese Organizations Life time employment Slow evaluation and promotion Non-specialized career paths Implicit control mechanisms Collective decision making (Ringi) Collective responsibility Holistic concern American Organizations Short-term employment Rapid evaluation and promotion Specialized career paths Explicit control mechanisms Individual decision making Individual responsibility Segmented concern
doc_646298939.doc