Chapter 1. The Convergence-Divergence Debate and Japanese Management

Abstract

This book deals solely with Japanese business and management. This does not mean, however, that it attempts to deal with Japanese business and management in isolation and to "demystify" esoteric Japanese business practices and managerial behavior. Rather, its objective is to relate Japanese experiences to mainline management theory dominated by the American experience, observed and analyzed by American researchers. The foreign experiences that do appear in typical English-language management textbooks are sporadic and anecdotal (Baird, Post, and Mahon 1990; Bartol and Martin 1994; Mosley, Pietri, and Megginson 1996). In this book, we will attempt to examine the extent to which American management theory—which is assumed, if implicitly, to be universally applicable—is indeed useful in analyzing Japanese management.