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The Potential of Management-Dominated Work Organization: The Critical Case of Japan

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  • Guy Vernon

    (Henley Management College, UK)

Abstract

A succession of studies have suggested that management-dominated work organization can deliver productivity alongside participation and reward for employees generally. Examination of the Japanese political economy before the traumas of the 1990s shows that it was a critical case of management-dominated work organization in an environment uniquely facilitative of innovation in work practice and its diffusion. However, detailed consideration of Japanese manufacturing shows that the sector was not generally characterized by comparatively participative, rewarding and productive work organization. The Japanese experience suggests that the potential for mutual gains under management-dominated work organization tends to be overstated.

Suggested Citation

  • Guy Vernon, 2006. "The Potential of Management-Dominated Work Organization: The Critical Case of Japan," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 27(3), pages 399-424, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:27:y:2006:i:3:p:399-424
    DOI: 10.1177/0143831X06065962
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    3. Purcell, John, 1991. "The Rediscovery of the Management Prerogative: The Management of Labour Relations in the 1980s," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 7(1), pages 33-43, Spring.
    4. Iversen, Torben, 1998. "Wage Bargaining, Central Bank Independence, and the Real Effects of Money," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(3), pages 469-504, July.
    5. Sako, Mari, 1996. "Suppliers' Associations in the Japanese Automobile Industry: Collective Action for Technology Diffusion," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 20(6), pages 651-671, November.
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