How far from Japan? A case study of Japanese press shop practice and management calculation

Abstract

This article reports the results of a case study of Japanese press shop practice and calculation. In Japanese shops, the balance between physical and financial calculation is biased very strongly towards the physical; orthodox Western cost accounting is completely absent. The bias in the forms of calculation is associated with an inter-process perspective on production and with a commitment to continuous improvement. On this basis, the article then takes up the issue of Japanization by examining the conditions which would have to be replicated if Western press shops were to become like Japanese press shops. Effective Japanization would require changes in the form of calculation, a new management cadre and a level of workforce commitment which is probably neither possible nor desirable in the West.