"Management Rationalization and 'Job Organization's Reform': A Case Study of the Showadenko Company in Japan, 1949-62"(in Japanese)

We need to focus on the first half of 1950s of the period of 'job organization's reform' as a preparatory period for high speed growth in Japan. Previous studies focused on technological innovation during the second half of 1950s as a main factor of high speed growth. The 'job organization's reform' is crucial factor for realizing a management rationalization. After WWII in Japan, the most important 'job organization's reform' happened in the first half of 1950s. Through a case of the Showadenko Company, which is representative chemical fertilizer company in Japan, the job organization's reform made a starting point to establish Japanese personnel system called 'Shokunoshikaku system.' This argument is different from previous studies' argument as like Ishida Mitsuo. He argued that the job organization's reform in 1950s limited work's range, so the new job organization did not fit the Japanese personnel system, which is making one's best, even though they sought to try their best. The 'job organization's reform' in the first half of 1950s at Showadenko limited work's range, but the ratio of wage part(Shokumukyu) made by reform was 20% of total wage. Furthermore, the manager made a complementary system, which distributes workers from surplus workforce part to shortage workforce part, called Oen. This flexible job distribution system Oen, which operated before WWII as like representative iron and steel manufacturing company the Yahata Iron and Steel Manufacturing Company, complemented the rigid new job organization. Therefore, we need to recognize the job organization's reform in the first half of 1950s related to another complementary system and it did not change all of Japanese traditional job organization.