Japanese Management

Japanese Management
Within a short period of time,Japan has achieved spectacular economic growth and prosperity and is ranked as super industrial power in the world today.Both the developed and the developing countries have,therefore,shown special interest in the Japanese miracle. One of the main reasons quoted for the success of Japan is its unique management system.It is a synergetic whole of cultural and behavioural patterns that has produced the Japanese challenge to western world.

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
1) Nenko or Lifetime Employment:Under the Japanese management system freshers are hired every year from elite educational institutions.Once a person joins a company he continues to work it.

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
The Nenko system has several advantages. First,it avoids warfare among competing firms in the job market. Secondly,labour turnover and the costs of hiring are minimised Thirdly,a high sense of commitment and loyalty to the firm is developed.

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
2) Ringi or Consensus Decision-making:In Japanese system decisions are taken through consensus among the managers at different levels in the organisation.Generally,a younger manager is assigned the task of reducing a proposal to writing after consultations with his peers. This proposal is then circulated from the bottom to the top through a circuitous route wherein each manager puts his seal of approval before the decision is actually implemented. RIN means submitting a proposal to ones superior and GI implies deliberations and decisions

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
Ringi system has several advantages: First,it results in dispersion of actual decision making to lower levels of management. Secondly,it facilitates corporate harmony and prevent conflicts. Thirdly,it improves commitment to implementing decisions.

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
Ringi system suffers from some drawbacks also. The decision-making process is very cumbersome and slow. Responsibility for decisions is diffused Optimum allocation of resources becomes difficult

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
3)Job Rotation or non-specialised career paths:In Japanese firms a typical employee rotates between different jobs throughout his career to gain exposure to various types of work.By the time he reaches his career peak he acquires adequate knowledge of all major areas of work. This system suffers from lack of narrow specialisation but this is overcome ffrom gains through better coordination among different departments,wider interpersonal relationship and versatile employees.

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
4)Slow Evaluation and Seniority-based promotion System:Performance appraisals of employees are made on the basis of contributions over a long period of time.Usually the first appraisal of an employee is made after ten years of service. These promote a harmonious relationship wherein the elder employee acts as opinion leader.

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
5) Omikoshi or Collective Group Responsibility:workers think,work and behave as group not as individuals.Individual tasks and responsibilities are not well defined and there are hardly any measures to evaluate individual performance.they carry the company like a group of people carrying the portable shrine(Omi Koshi) that is aa traditional of Shinto festivals.Although they follow a predetermined route,they move along it in their own chosen way.

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
6)Paternalistic Human Concern:the company exihibits a fathrly concern for its employees and their welfare both on and off the job.There is a family-like intimcy and trust among workers and management through integration of economic and social relations. Economic and Social life are integrated into a single whole.The company operates like one big family and as a cohesive workforce.

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
7)Profit-based compensation System:Employee remuneration is linked to corporate performance.A large part of pay is paid in the form of bonus every six months.Each employee gets the same fraction of his annual compensation in the form of bonus which may be five or six times the salary.

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
8)Quality control circles(QCC):under the Japanese work culture quality is given maximum possible attention.A national work group is formed to identify and solve problems of quality and productivity.it is this religious concern for quality which enables Japanese firms to compete successfully in American and European markets,especially in the areas of automobiles and electronics.

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
9)Egalitarianism:In Japanese industry the work culture is egalitarian and status differentials are played down.This egalitarianism is manifest in several ways.evrybody is made to eat together in the same canteen sweeping aside the Indian notions of hierarchy and caste.evrybody from the managing director down to the sweeper wears the same grey uniform.

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
10)Strong Emphasis on Training:A Japanese organisation chooses people for their character,upbringing and family background rather than for experience and skills.it fosters conformity by hiring people at entry level and giving them training.Training is given both in functional areas and in the companys philosophy through in-house in doctrination programmes.

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
11)Focus on Self-discipline and Harmony:Japanese management system is averse to internal competition in contrast with the western model which inculcates competitiveness and one-upmanship at all levels of the organisation.obedience,endurance and patience flow from the self-discipline which Japanese learn to impose upon themselves from the childhood.

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
12)Company Unions:Japanese unions are generally organised on a company basis in contrast to the craft or industry wide unions in the west.the company union gives both management and workers an identity of purpose and provides an environment for labour management co-operation.

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
13)Ethical condut:Japanese companies dedicate themselves to higher values beyond those o mere profit and recognise their resonsibilities to the society.the social responsibility of modern executives is to bring about a harmony of interests among the various participating groups.fair competition,fair profit,improvement in management practices etc reflect the organisational concern for ethical conduct.

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
14)Symbolic Inter-organisational networks:A large Japans company often controls a network of subsidiary or affiliated enterprises.these affiliated firms depend on the parent company for usiness,technical,financial and managerial assistance.their operations are usually integrated with those of the parent conern

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
15)in-proess inventory Management:inentories fall under three categories-raw materials,inprocess and finished goods.Japanese firms have little control over the first and the last categories because raw materials is importd from distant lands and finished goods are exported to distant places.but considerable control is exercise over in-process inventory.

The salient features of the Japanese management system are given below:
16)Long-term Corporate Strategy:The Japanese managers take a long-term view of corporate strategy.Short-term performance such as quaterly profits and share values are looked down upon.the focus is on long-term growth,product development and market share.

Limitations of the Japanese Management system

1)Lifetime employment system results in discrimination against employees.employees not feeling job satisfaction have to work with wrong job.another disadvantage of lifelong employment is that a company finds it difficult to assimilate and develop new ideas and technology through outside experts. 2)The RINGI system of decision making leads to delays in decisions. 3)Seniority based promotions and compensation stifles individual initiative and creativity.

Limitations of the Japanese Management system

4)Individual freedom and values are sacrificed for the benefit of the group. 5)The compulsory retirement age of 55 is generally enforced.Retiredmemployees face financial hardship due to meagre retirement benefits and loosening ties of family responsibility. 6)Employee morale and identification with the company has been eroded to some extent due to automation and authoritarian structure of japanese management.

How to develop theory Z type organisation

Developing an organisation is like building a marriage rather than a house.It will degenerate without constant attention.the objective is to achieve commitment of employees through understanding and cooperation.The process of developing a Z type organisation has to be gradual as it is neither possible nor desirable to change the whole organisation all at once.

How to develop theory Z type organisation

Ouchi has suggested the following steps for this purpose: 1)Understand the organisation 2)Audit the company philosophy 3)Define the desired philosophy 4)Develop interperspnal skills 5)Test the system

How to develop theory Z type organisation

6)stabilise Employment 7)prepare for implementation 8)seek out areas to implement participation 9)Permit Wholistic concern