Japanese and American Management:
CM Article by and for CMS March/April 2009 Japanese and American Management: A Contrast of Styles
Japanese management integrates work with their personal lives. Japanese management sees themselves as company representatives at all times. Thus, during introductions, a manager is introduced by the Japanese company first, followed by the manager’s surname. For example, a Japanese manager working at Honda is introduced as “Honda no Kato-san desu,” or Honda’s Mr. Kato. Contrast that with an American introduction, “this is Mr. Green of Boeing.” This conceptual difference is culturally engrained and establishes the tone for contrasting management styles. The Japanese work ethic has its roots in Confucianism, with an emphasis on respect for work, discipline, and the ability to follow orders. Loyalty to the organization or group is imbedded in Japanese promotion policies. Corporate members expect promotion based on seniority, rather than individual merit, as in the United States. On the other hand, American managers value personal accomplishment for recognition and individual identity. American managers are also high in individualism, goal attainment, and future orientation. Core Management Practices The Japanese consider three core management practices as inherent in their system. These include lifetime employment, seniority wages and promotion, and enterprise unionism. Workers are trained at company expense because of the return on investment of having a lifetime employee. The interdependency of the company and worker negates the need for aggressive labor unions to defend worker rights. Furthermore, this interdependency results in workers competing against other companies, and thus, their self-interest is to improve quality, raise productivity, and accept smaller wages, as dictated by the competition. This system came into being after World War II and primarily applied to large companies, especially manufacturing and advanced services. Japan needed to restore the
Japanese management integrates work with their personal lives. Japanese management sees themselves as company representatives at all times. Thus, during introductions, a manager is introduced by the Japanese company first, followed by the manager’s surname. For example, a Japanese manager working at Honda is introduced as “Honda no Kato-san desu,” or Honda’s Mr. Kato. Contrast that with an American introduction, “this is Mr. Green of Boeing.” This conceptual difference is culturally engrained and establishes the tone for contrasting management styles. The Japanese work ethic has its roots in Confucianism, with an emphasis on respect for work, discipline, and the ability to follow orders. Loyalty to the organization or group is imbedded in Japanese promotion policies. Corporate members expect promotion based on seniority, rather than individual merit, as in the United States. On the other hand, American managers value personal accomplishment for recognition and individual identity. American managers are also high in individualism, goal attainment, and future orientation. Core Management Practices The Japanese consider three core management practices as inherent in their system. These include lifetime employment, seniority wages and promotion, and enterprise unionism. Workers are trained at company expense because of the return on investment of having a lifetime employee. The interdependency of the company and worker negates the need for aggressive labor unions to defend worker rights. Furthermore, this interdependency results in workers competing against other companies, and thus, their self-interest is to improve quality, raise productivity, and accept smaller wages, as dictated by the competition. This system came into being after World War II and primarily applied to large companies, especially manufacturing and advanced services. Japan needed to restore the