Management Practices in Japanese Workplaces: Myth and Reality

In the past, the management styles and organization of Japanese companies were frequently and earnestly compared to those of their US counterparts by people from the two countries and beyond for one reason or another. First, in the late 1970s and the 1980s, when the competitiveness of American companies decreased compared to that of Japanese companies, American corporate leaders and business scholars started taking a special interest in Japanese management and, subsequently, in comparing both countries’ management styles. Second, differences in management styles and business practices between America and Japan became so pronounced as a result of business conflicts between the two countries that academics, policymakers, and bureaucrats from both countries made comparative studies of American and Japanese management. Third, as Japanese management and organization—some of which seem to be in sharp contrast to those of the United States—are unique and indigenous to Japanese society, it was intellectually interesting, especially for management scholars not just from the two countries involved but also from other parts of the world, to compare and study both countries’ management and organizational styles. Fourth, in order to catch up with and then surpass American companies, both Japanese bureaucrats and corporate leaders, who deemed these companies to be world business forerunners, needed to learn a lot from these US firms by comparing different management styles in the two countries.