Japanese Management Model Research Articles

Особливості менеджменту південнокорейських корпорацій у цифровій парадигмі розвитку

The article is devoted to investigation of the formation features and evolution of the South-Korean organizations management system. It was determined, that the South-Korean management system formation occurred in the parallel with the rapid economy industrialization, which was based on the Japanese management model and Confucian ideas. During the historical excursion, the period of economic reforms implementation was analyzed. It was proved, that the group collectivism played an important role in management in the first stage of the South-Korean economy industrialization. It was noted, that for the South-Korean transnational business-structures of the full innovation cycle, collectivism was a restrictive factor in the transition to the innovative businesses, which requires creative approaches in management. On the example of the service-oriented Naver Corporation, it was proved, that the South-Korean technological business structures of a «new type» are using only Western approaches in the Corporate Governance, which based on the flexible management, transparence of management-decisions making, creativity, personal values of the managers and ESGconcept.

Strategic Patterns in the Concept of Sustainable Development of Manufacturing Processes in the Field of Knowledge Management in Companies Operating in the Metal Industry in Poland

Sustainable development is an opportunity for modern enterprises to build unique market advantages, but it is always a kind of compromise between financial benefits and activities focused on environmental protection. It also requires companies to be able to acquire and process information, the sources of which are both internal and external, and to process it into effective knowledge. Quality management processes are an important element supporting knowledge management as a consequence of similar priorities. There are direct and indirect relationships between quality management, knowledge management and sustainable development. Related issues are an important element of modern research, but there are still some knowledge gaps that need to be filled. The authors, based on the literature analysis, concluded that there are no studies defining the relationship between quality management and knowledge management in the context of sustainable development relating to the Polish metal industry. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify patterns of company activities in the area of knowledge management relating to the improvement of manufacturing processes in companies operating in the metal industry in Poland. At the same time, it was indicated which aspects of knowledge management are at the centre of management’s concerns. The study was carried out using a survey questionnaire, with 1930 questionnaires collected from employees in 50 companies selected for the study. The study carried out discovered that in the various areas of the Japanese knowledge management model, companies distribute the emphasis differently, which manifests itself in the procedures and ways of operating. At the same time, there are significant differences between large and medium-sized enterprises, indicating that the scale of operation influences the perception of the importance of individual elements of the knowledge management system in the context of sustainable development.

Japan’s Economic Strategy in India: Issues and Prospects

The article is devoted to the characteristic features of Japan’s economic strategy in India. The transformation of the geopolitical and geoeconomic landscape has led to Japan’s increasing interest towards India which is now being the most desirable long-term destination for Japanese business. The significance of cooperation with India is determined by its potential of balancing the influence of China, the capacity of the domestic market, production conditions and geographical position, which opens up prospects for creating new value chains in the region of South and Southeast Asia, as well as accessing the markets of Africa and the Middle East. India is also an attractive in terms of human resources, primarily IT specialists. At the same time, economic advancement in India faces a number of problems, including underdeveloped transport and energy infrastructure, lack of transparency in the application of legislation, a confusing taxation system, etc. There are numerous issues that hinder economic cooperation, with trade relations being the "weak link", and some of the announced projects facing difficulties due to a number of economic and political factors. Tokyo's strategy is based on an "All Japan" approach that combines public funding and private investment. The strategic importance of India in the context of the implementation of the strategy of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) determines the high level of state involvement in the implementation of economic projects. Japan is a leading ODA donor for India and also one of the main investors in the Indian economy. It is investing to bring India up to the level of infrastructural equipment and technical development that meets the standards of Japanese business. One of the characteristic features of the Japanese strategy is the emphasis on the training of local specialists and managers, which will create the necessary conditions for the transfer of technology and the adoption of the Japanese management model.

Dominance and societal effects in HR practice transfer: the role of meso-level actors in diffusing and adapting the Japanese model in Indonesia

This article investigates how meso-level actors (MeLAs) contribute to HR practice transfer in diffusion and adaptation processes, drawing on the System-Society-Dominance-Corporate Effects (SSDC) framework to interpret the role of MeLAs in the transfer of the Japanese management model to the Indonesian automotive industry. We focus on two issues: i) the way Japanese MeLAs’ training regimes in Japan affect the diffusion of the model and ii) the coordinated Japanese and Indonesian MeLAs strategy in seeking procedural influence through knowledge-sharing and in facilitating transfer activities over how the Japanese model is adapted in Indonesia. Our research adds to our limited understanding of the significance of MeLAs in processes of diffusion-adaptation in emerging market economies characterized by weak regulatory regimes and asymmetric socioeconomic power relations. Drawing on interviews with 75 key informants across Japan and Indonesia, we explore the significance of MeLAs from corporate and labor spheres alongside those of non-corporate MeLAs. Theoretically, this study extends the SSDC framework by highlighting MeLAs’ influence in both diffusing conceptions of dominant management ‘best practice’ (dominance effects) and their role – and that of dominance effects – in shaping societal effects that inform how the model is adapted. We theorize the complex processes through which the effects identified in the SSDC framework are experienced by local actors, showing that they are neither monolithic nor mechanical in nature and thereby elaborating the inter-relationship in how dominance effects inform societal effects.

Dominance and Societal Effects in Human Resource Practice Transfer

This paper investigates how meso-level actors (MeLAs) contribute to human resources (HR) practice transfer in diffusion and adaptation processes, drawing on the System-Society-Dominance-Corporate Effects (SSDC) theoretical framework to interpret the role of MeLAs in the transfer of the Japanese management model to the Indonesian automotive industry. We focus on two issues: i) the way Japanese MeLAs’ training regimes in Japan contribute to the understanding and diffusion of the model and ii) the coordinated strategy of both Japanese and Indonesian MeLAs in seeking procedural influence through intelligence-sharing and lobbying activities over how the Japanese model is adapted in Indonesia. Our research adds to our limited understanding of the significance of MeLAs in processes of diffusion-adaptation in emerging market economies characterized by weak regulatory regimes and asymmetric economic power relations. Drawing on interviews with 75 key informants in Japan and Indonesia, we explore the significance of MeLAs from corporate and labor spheres alongside those of non-corporate MeLAs such as non-governmental and quasi-governmental organizations. The study elaborates the SSDC framework by highlighting MeLAs’ influence in both diffusing conceptions of dominant management ‘best practice’ (dominance effects) and their role – and that of dominance effects – in shaping societal effects that inform how the model is adapted. We theorize the complex processes through which the effects identified in the SSDC framework are experienced by local actors, showing that they are neither monolithic nor mechanical in nature and thereby elaborating the inter-relationship in how dominance effects inform societal effects.

The ‘Japanization’ debate from 1980 to 2000

The industrial success of Japan in the latter half of the twentieth century led to great interest in the Japanese management model and its associated concepts such as kaizen, JIT, and satei. When Japanese companies began expanding into the United States, the United Kingdom, and other Western countries, a debate ensued about whether the Japanese management model could be successfully transferred to Western firms. This transference was often termed the Japanization of the West. The debate was at its prime from 1980 to 2000. After outlining the key features of the Japanese model, this paper reviews relevant literature from the period to determine the prominent positions and arguments presented in the debate. The paper concludes by identifying several main themes reflected in the controversy and questioning the usefulness of the blanket term Japanization in examining the transference of the Japanese model to the West.

Development Features and Directions of Modern Management: In the Case of Ukrainian Health Care Institutions

The organization’s management performance is essential for modern managers who strive for positive work results and achievements in public life. The authors have emphasized that healthcare reformation requires the selection of effective management staff since changes in healthcare are designed to create conditions for the operation of patient-oriented medical institutions. This paper aims to study the issues related to the development of Ukrainian management in current conditions. The authors unveiled the effective interaction between the manager and subordinates in the view of healthcare peculiarities. The methodological basis of this research involved a systematic approach to investigating the theoretical aspects of management. The method of scientific literature analysis in healthcare management was applied. Tabular modeling is used to visualize the study results. The comparison method was used to explore the international management models. The study confirmed that effective communication between the manager and team is an essential management element. The principles of democratic leadership style to build an effective management model in health care institutions of Ukraine were analyzed. To better understand the peculiarities of health care, this paper considered the basic concepts of the study area (medicine, medical activities, and health care) and identified a logical connection between them. The study described the importance and specificity of healthcare for each member of society and the state. The findings showed that the main criteria for evaluating the efficiency of managers in healthcare institutions rest on their understanding of the need to provide quality medical services and develop leadership qualities. This study analyzed the domestic and foreign approaches to developing leadership qualities. The authors provided insight into the democratic style principles in the interaction between the leader, staff, and the business environment. The differences in Japanese, American, and European management models were analyzed. Based on the obtained results, this study proposed the theoretical management model in Ukrainian healthcare institutions to promote the development of organizations.

ЯПОНСКАЯ МОДЕЛЬ МЕНЕДЖМЕНТА СЕГОДНЯ: ПРОБЛЕМЫ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ

The article examines the transformations of the Japanese management model after the collapse of the "bubble economy" in order to demonstrate the key changes in this model. The question of the expediency of its further application in Japanese business practice is raised.

GENERAL ORGANIZATIONAL ASPECTS OF KNOWLEDGE MANGEMENT IN THE AREA OF COMPANY’S LOGISTICS

Participation in the supply chain by an enterprise increases the demand not only for information and competences of employees in relation to logistics activities but also in a broader management context. The aim of the study is therefore to determine, in the opinion of the respondents, the degree of care taken by their companies for the general organizational aspects of knowledge management in the sphere of logistics. For this purpose, two research questions were formulated. The first question is about how these opinions are presented in the perspective of individual aspects of knowledge management, and the second is about the possible relationship between them and the control variables, which are the size of the enterprise and the annual value of turnover. Appropriate hypotheses were formulated to answer the second question by the use of statistical analysis tool. The above-mentioned general-organizational aspects of knowledge management are formulated in the context of the processes of internalization and combinations originating from the Japanese knowledge management model. This allows the use of a well-established conceptual framework for knowledge management in the new cognitive perspective. The survey was conducted in the PSAQ formula. Respondents were purposely acquired by the use of convenient sampling. They were the so-called logistics professionals (n = 197), each time coming from a different company. At the same time, these companies remained part of the supply chains. The obtained result show, first of all, that the size of the enterprise and the annual turnover value significantly differentiate the opinions of respondents related to the variables expressing aspects of knowledge combination process.

СХІДНА І ЗАХІДНА МОДЕЛІ СОЦІОКУЛЬТУРНОГО ТА ДЕРЖАВНОГО МЕНЕДЖМЕНТУ: ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ КОНВЕРГЕНЦІЇ

Actuality. Our century makes its own adjustments to the understanding of the processes occurring both within the studied cultural entities and in the orbit of their interaction with each other, which is especially actual during the period of transitional and crisis management tendencies at the turn of the millennia. Purpose and methods. The purpose of the article is to determine the universal significance of Eastern and Western cultural-civilizational and state-administrative traditions, as well as the possibility of their organic synthesis in the Ukrainian model of public management. The methodology of the research based on analysis, synthesis, historical, dialectical, abstract-logical and system-structural method involving comparativistics. Results. The research was implemented not in the traditional manner of retrospecting historical connotations and paradigms, but first of all in the form of studying the synergistic component of the superstructural mechanisms, notably the comprehension of the most significant metaphysical determinants that have an essential impact on all spheres of cultural, socio-political and managerial activity of the modern West and East. The Japanese and American models are involved as exemplary advanced management practices. Conclusions and discussion. Despite the conservatism of nationalist traditions and religious order, the East turned out to be more flexible and agile in the management of state and public organizations. Slavic culture at the worldview level imbibed rationalism, pragmatism and personalism of the West along with cordocentrism, existentiality and introversion of the East. The synthesis of individualistic American and collectivistic Japanese management models, as well as their further integration into Ukrainian administrative and social-psychological matrix of personnel management is proposed as a scientific novelty. The practical significance of the work lies in the possibilities of applying these developments in the activities of subjects of economic and socio-cultural sphere.

Reversing the Translation Flow: Moving Organizational Practices from Japan to the U.S.

AbstractBuilding on the neo‐institutional organizational translation approach and on interlingual translation studies, we undertake an historical case study of the movement of Japanese organizational practices to the USA from the 1970s through the mid‐1990s. Both American and Japanese translators struggled to bring Japanese management models into the USA, reversing the dominant translation flow and bridging wide differences between the sending and receiving contexts. We use the translation ecology approach to look at the interactions over time between translators, translations, and translation processes studied separately in much translation research. Our paper makes two contributions to research on organizational translation. First, it develops more precise and theoretically‐based categorizations of the elements of translation ecology – translators, translations, and translation processes. Second, it challenges the generalizability of the decontextualization/disembedding and recontextualization/re‐embedding processes that are widely accepted as a necessary process in moving management models and practices across contexts.

Case Study Concerning Effects of Japanese Management Model Application in Romania

In an increasingly competitive environment, each state has developed its own model of management according to its vision and culture. The management models of the great world economic powers represent for the developing countries important systems to follow and implement. The Japanese management instruments are currently between the most commonly studied and adapted.One of the most important concepts in Japanese Management is Kaizen, which means continuous improvement. Kaizen is used in all business functions and aims to eliminate waste.In this study we present the implementation of a concrete improvement in a Romanian company, which operates in automotive industry, describing in detail the taken steps to elaborate the analysis and the effects of the implementation.

Knowledge sharing in Chinese service organizations: a multi case cultural perspective

PurposeThe majority of knowledge management theory and practice literature is based on, and relates to, western and Japanese business environments and related assumptions. A number of generic knowledge management cross sectional studies based on Chinese organizations have taken place; however there is a lack of in‐depth critical studies which are culturally grounded and which focus on a particular aspect or domain of knowledge management in Chinese organizations, as opposed to applying western or Japanese knowledge management models and concepts. Hence the paper seeks to make a contribution by carrying out a critical study in knowledge sharing within Chinese organizations that explores the role of culture in relation to the knowledge‐sharing process, where the people‐based aspects of knowledge sharing are likely to be influenced by the prevailing culture. The aim of the paper is to explore the role of knowledge sharing at multiple organizational levels within Chinese service‐based organizations.Design/methodology/approachFive consulting firms are analyzed within the multi case study, to explore knowledge sharing at multiple levels, where existing literature and preliminary research has shown that consulting organizations in the service sector are more likely to have advanced their understanding of knowledge sharing as a source of innovation and competitiveness. The research methods included interviews (n=40), focus groups (n=10) and observations made during four visits, each of several weeks, to the companies. The five organizations were Chinese owned and at a similar growth stage and hence the effects of external cultures or organizational specific cultures were secondary to that of the prevailing Chinese culture.FindingsThe findings show that cultural interpretations of knowledge sharing practices can help in explaining Chinese conceptions and applications of knowledge sharing at multiple organizational levels. Moreover these cultural influences suggest that non‐Chinese conceptions of knowledge sharing can in some circumstances result in misleading approaches being used in attempting to promote knowledge sharing in a Chinese context and that the strong group culture is a key vehicle for knowledge sharing as opposed to individual idea generation.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings show the need for further research in comparing Chinese and western organizations in relation to collaboration knowledge sharing where the case organizations have had different levels of exposure to western culture. Much more in‐depth case‐based research is needed to explore these contextual issues and to develop theoretical propositions.Practical implicationsThe extrapolation of western and Japanese‐based knowledge sharing concepts and practices to Chinese contexts without an examination of Chinese culture and its impact on organizational culture may produce sub‐optimal results. A more culturally grounded approach, where knowledge sharing practices are indigenously grounded, is suggested.Originality/valueThere is a paucity of multi‐level knowledge sharing studies which seek to both address cultural considerations and systematically inquire into the development of knowledge sharing in Chinese organizations from a cultural perspective. The findings from this study can help inform western‐Chinese business collaboration through improved understanding of the cultural effects on knowledge sharing.

The End of Japanese-Style Management?

Many Western observers perceive the Japanese management model as outdated and uncompetitive. This article explores the future viability of Japanese-style management. After a review of the key characteristics of the Japanese management model, a framework is developed that links four forces of continuity and four opposite forces of change with four different scenarios for the future development of the Japanese management model. Subsequently, the current competitive state and future trends of the Japanese management model, as viewed by 359 high-ranking Japanese managers of major Japanese companies at headquarters and at subsidiaries in the US and in Germany, are described. The data reveal that Japanese managers consider their own management system to be in crisis and in need of substantial changes. Inspirations for this change process appear to come in particular from the US management model. The key challenge for the Japanese management model seems to be to integrate the new, frequently US-inspired management practices with traditional Japanese management methods, so that it can attain a new state of stable equilibrium in which its various components are mutually reinforcing themselves. Concrete practical implications of the findings for Japanese companies, for Western multinationals and for their subsidiaries operating in Japan are highlighted and future research directions outlined.

Tools for Enhancing Innovativeness in Enterprises

If the enterprises of the Third World are to survive intense competition and thrive in a globalized economy, they will have to go beyond importing Western and Japanese technologies and management models to innovation. Rapid and widespread induction of structured management tools imported from the West and Japan may raise the operating standards of these enterprises but may not translate into superior financial performance because they would not confer competitive advantage vis-a-vis domestic competitors that also have inducted the same tools. Besides, there may be cultural and other impediments to their effective institutionalization. Innovation is a superior option because it is homegrown and confers the first mover advantage. If the enterprise learns to be innovative so that it can generate a continuing string of successful technical and managerial innovations, it can garner sustainable competitive advantage and grow and thrive even in a hyper-competitive environment. Innovation is applied creativity and, therefore, the principles of creativity need to be kept in mind in seeking to be innovative. Innovation can come in a great variety. Most innovations have three characteristics: they are executed in the face of much uncertainty; they have economic implications; and they have a political dimension. These aspects make the management of innovation quite challenging. The major blocks to enterprise innovativeness are internal: conservative and bureaucratic cultures and structures, communications problems, and administrative inflexibility. In enterprises that have grown up in conservative cultures and protected economies, the required mindset change in the stakeholders can be daunting. As a first step to stepped up innovativeness, an organizational design needs to be adopted that is innovation friendly. Such a design is briefly outlined. A number of management tools can enable the enterprise to leapfrog to a much higher plateau of innovativeness. Sixteen tools are briefly discussed with real life applications. They are: creativity training; innovation training; creativity thinking network; creative scenario building; creative surveys; creative experiments; creative benchmarking; reverse brainstorming; exnovation; multiplication of change agents; kaizen; creative overload; data mining; stakeholders' councils; intrapreneurship; and parallel groups. These tools deliver a number of value propositions and facilitate: an innovationist mindset in the organization a ‘stretch’ vision of the future that can spur innovations vital intelligence that stimulates innovations dumping of obsolete activities that creates space for changes and innovations widespread change and innovation throughout the organization continuous improvements and innovations high potential new innovation leads ‘breakthrough’ innovations. In conclusion, the author suggests that becoming much more innovative is a high priority for the Third World enterprises. It is also suggested that the organization design that facilitates innovations and management tools that help an enterprise generate a continuing stream of successful innovations need to be incorporated into the core of management curriculum.

To what extent are American and Japanese managerial concepts and techniques converging?

This paper explains the effects of the Japanese recession and the accelerated pace of globalisation and technological diffusion on the rationalisation of what were previously held up as the mainstays of Japanese management. These are the key questions: What caused the failure of the superior Japanese industrial agenda that was guided by the much–lauded Japanese management models of the 1980s? What are the managerial values, concepts, and norms that enabled the U.S. economy to move expeditiously toward reforms and inhibited the Japanese from doing the same? Finally, which managerial values, concepts and norms are culturally determined, which are financially determined, or both, or are they a mix, and if so, how has this mix changed over time? The paper concludes with a reexamination of notions of Japanese and/or American cultural dominance as they express themselves in theories of management, drawing conclusions about the erosion of nationally distinct management practices in the face of a globalisation.

Quality of quality: a workers' health perspective

In Brazil, new forms of labor organization based on the so-called Japanese management model are characterized by the implementation of Total Quality Programs, heavily altering relations in the labor force. Pressures brought to bear by modernity, such as demand for quality, affect workers and result in physical and mental disturbances. A case study focusing on a textile industry in Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro State, aimed at elucidating how such programs are formulated in such a way as to increase product quality without changing quality of life for workers. We detected precarious work conditions alongside sophisticated requirements, including abstraction, internalized control, dissemination of the supplier/client concept, etc., running up against a labor force with limited schooling, thus creating a tense atmosphere with a steady speed-up in the work pace, albeit with no real gains for workers.

Comparative Solid Waste Management

While Tokyo may have the best solid waste management system in the world, Lagos's system has been largely unsuccessful. To explain the difference between the Japanese success in this regard and the corresponding Nigerian failure requires an analysis of factors which tend to be ignored in the technical cooperation literature. Using elasticity theory, a distinction is made between political hardware and political software. The Japanese management model rests upon a high quality of software that is lacking in Nigeria, including: the development of mutual respect, soft forms of power combined with hard forms, the integration of centralization and decentralization, private sector/public sector cooperation, and improvement and correctional potential. A comparison of Indonesia and Nigeria is included to suggest that, it is the lack of interest in development, more than anything else, that is undermining technical assistance efforts in Nigeria. Until Nigerian leaders become more motivated, these efforts will fail.

The Japanization of Fordism

Japan, or more specifically its management methods, has increasingly entered debates about work organization in the 1980s. In so doing it also began to play an important role in the wider Post-Fordist debates about transformations in production regimes and even societies in general. At one extreme Post-Fordists see the Japanese management model as prototypical of the new flexible era they are heralding. At the other extreme Williams et al. have begun to see the Japanese experience as providing significant fuel to their more general questioning of the whole Fordist conceptual edifice which underlies Post-Fordist theses. The argument of this paper suggests that the Japanese model does expose problems of certain concepts of Fordism, particularly the blanket association of Fordist mass production with inflexibility. However, at the labour process level, the Japanese model rests on the fundamental bedrock of Fordism work study, assembly lines, and mass production and marketing. It nevertheless reverses certain features of Fordism particularly by involving workers more in conception than did conventional Taylorism. As such it represents an evolution within Fordism rather than transformation of it, i.e. neo- Fordism not Post-Fordism. Though it is common to incorrectly identify Fordism with rigidity, this alone is not necessary justification for either abandoning it as a useful concept or dismissing its relevance in the context of Japanese management. The author concludes we should settle for a fairly exclusive definition of Fordism, see the issue as one of developing new concepts of it, and above all else not expect Fordism to carry a bigger theoretical burden than it can.

Japanese Way os Quality Management and ISO Model for Quality Assurance

Japanese Way os Quality Management and ISO Model for Quality Assurance