Work Group Orientation of Industrial Workers

Abstract

This study examines the empirical validity of theuniqueness of Japanese employees' group orientation on the basis of the Japan-U. S. gender comparisons of individual work attitudes. The study investigates the persistence of cultural and gender discrepancies in group attitudes when considering structural factors of work. Analyses of the data from Japanese and American manufacturing employees suggest that job structures, in particular the degree to which team work is required and the level of intrinsic job rewards, are important determinants of work group attitudes for employees in Japan and the United States. The findings, however, indicate that gender and nationality differences in work group orientations do not necessarily stem from the fact that jobs are differently structured for men and women in organizations in the two countries.The possibility of cultural embeddedness of individual affective work orientations is discussed.