Modern Japanese Organization and Decision-Making (Campus, No. 336)

This book constitutes the first attempt of its kind to probe the major features of modern Japanese organization that have played such a critical role in Japan's extraordinarily rapid economic development. The contributors include prominent academic business consultants such as Peter Drucker of the United States and Kazuo Nada of Japan. Japanese government officials such as Yoshihisa Ojimi, former Administrative Vice-Minister of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, and Taishiro Shiral, a member of the Central Labor Relations Commission: as well as outstanding Western experts on modern Japanese organization. The essays deal not only with Japanese government organization and business but also with the structures of a newspaper and a university and with the role of Japanese intellectuals in modern organization.The portrait of Japanese organization that emerges is much more dynamic and volatile than has been generally supposed. One finds business and government managers creatively using so-called "traditional practices" in novel ways and undertaking bold departures to achieve new purposes. The findings contradict the view that decisions stem from below. Not only do executives have an important role in initiating actions; but lower-level officials function within a context defined by their superiors. Far greater tensions and conflict exist within organization than is commonly reported by outsiders, especially in institutions like the university like the university where conflicts often paralyze the decision-making process.Similarly, there is far greater divergence of interests among different sectors of society than one might infer from the stereotypical view of "Japan Inc." And since the high level of consensus supporting the fundamental commitment to economic growth is now weakening, increasing divergence may be anticipated in the future.