Japanese Management in Evolution


Book Description

Japanese Management in Evolution illustrates the significant changes that have been taking place in Japanese business by focusing on "emerging industries" in the relatively neglected service and "creative" sectors as well as other key industries, and to put those changes in historical perspective by providing an overview of business development since World War II. By employing state-of-the-art research techniques and unconventional innovative approaches in analysing Japanese management – including network and discourse analysis, ethnographic explorations, and more – the book reveals historical developments and in-depth analyses of established and emerging composition of sectors and industries where cultural capital matters. Throughout the book, the common theme conveyed to readers is a consistently strong message that the change is ongoing and the evolution of management style is real in the Japanese context. The book would be of great interest to researchers, academics and practitioners in fields of global management, international management, and Asian capitalism.




Japanese Project Management: Kpm — Innovation, Development And Improvement


Book Description

In the 1990s, Japanese companies experienced a deflationary recession called the “lost ten years”. To survive the recession, they looked for solutions in the kaikaku (innovative reforms) of business management, organizations and technology, whilst struggling to regain their global competitiveness. Successful companies all had one thing in common — they applied a new project management paradigm which this book refers to as Kaikaku Project Management (KPM).This book provides a comprehensive look at the features of KPM, including its emphasis on creativity and teamwork, its broader “open value system” as opposed to a “closed technical system”, its close links with corporate strategy and human resource development, and the support infrastructure needed for advancing KPM. Chapters cover both the theory and practice of KPM, citing cases of information and communications technology (ICT) and pharmaceutical companies, among others. KPM holds special relevance today as global competition is increasingly reducing the lifecycle of organizations. Managers will find in KPM not only a way to survive the shake-up, but also a framework of value creation for the next generation.




Japanese Management


Book Description

First published in 1991, Japanese Management succeeds in filling a major gap by providing a thorough account of the evolution and day-to-day practices of management within the Japanese firm. The 14 chapters not only build the historical framework and modern cultural, economic, and social setting, but also effectively deal with the process of management. The final two chapters address some future challenges facing Japanese firms as they operate in the global business environment. This comprehensive book is a must read for students of business management.




Japanese Management in the Low Growth Era


Book Description

Japanese firms are in the midst of the most protracted economic crisis in their post-war history. The end of the "bubble economy" has led to a long era of low growth. This change in the general business environment has profound consequences for the management and the organization of corporate Japan, as well as for the theory of the Japanese firm. The contributions to this book cover a broad range of subjects, from the strategies and organizational structures to the management of human resources and innovation processes in the 1990s. These changes are systematically commented on by field specialists from abroad, especially Europe, relating the situation in Japan to comparable developments in other countries.




The Evolution of Labor Relations in Japan


Book Description

The century-long process by which a distinct pattern of Japanese labor relations evolved is traced through the often turbulent interactions of workers, managers, and, at times, government bureaucrats and politicians. Gordon argues that it was not until the 1940s and 1950s that something closely akin to the contemporary pattern emerged.




Kimono in the Boardroom


Book Description

This book describes the little known world of Japanese women managers. Though largely unrecognized, women in Japan are moving into management positions in increasing numbers, and their importance to Japan's future competitiveness is becoming more understood.




Public Relations in Japan


Book Description

Despite its rapid economic development, Japan lacks a large public relations industry and its role is viewed very differently from its Western counterparts. PR functions are handled predominantly in-house and a degree in a PR field is not a hiring requirement for those agencies which do operate. Mainstream PR history focusses entirely on its organizational aspects, and there are no Japanese PR "gurus" defining the field.




The Evolution of Japan's Party System


Book Description

In August 2009, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won a crushing victory over the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), thus bringing to an end over fifty years of one-party dominance. Around the world, the victory of the DPJ was seen as a radical break with Japan's past. However, this dramatic political shift was not as sudden as it appeared, but rather the culmination of a series of changes first set in motion in the early 1990s. The Evolution of Japan's Party System analyses the transition by examining both party politics and public policy. Arguing that these political changes were evolutionary rather than revolutionary, the essays in this volume discuss how older parties such as the LDP and the Japan Socialist Party failed to adapt to the new policy environment of the 1990s. Taken as a whole, The Evolution of Japan's Party System provides a unique look at party politics in Japan, bringing them into a comparative conversation that usually focuses on Europe and North America.




People Centric Innovation Ecosystem


Book Description

How can knowledge management function well in a highly dynamic VUCA context? This Element focuses on the context of Japanese management and practices to present the concept of people-centric innovation ecosystem. An overview of Japanese management is provided, from publications in English to the insiders' view of Japanese scholars, combining these sources with interviews and dynamic groups with local managers and case studies to illustrate the state and evolution of Japanese management and practices. Highlighting the people-centricity in Japanese management, its networked innovative capability sustains enterprise development in a highly dynamic VUCA context. The interconnectedness and mutual influence of Japanese and Western management have the potential to generate more general management advancements. This Element aims to contribute to the debate on generalization and contextualization, culture and metaculture, and the coexistence of convergence and divergence. Japanese womenomics and its implications for Asian emerging economic powers are also discussed.




Management of Service Businesses in Japan


Book Description

With the service industry taking up the largest portion of its GDP, Japan has much to share in the area of managing service industry. This book explores and elucidates the unique management styles in non-manufacturing industries or service industries in contemporary Japan, both practically and theoretically through case studies. These specially selected cases are the management of the world No.1 convenience store chain of Seven-Eleven, the sales finance business and auto sales business of Toyota, application of TPS (Toyota Production System) to life insurance company, performance evaluation of local government, BSC (balance scorecard) in local government hospitals, cost and pricing policy of telecommunication company, Japanese-style OC hospitalityOCO in the retail industry, service level agreement (SLA) in IT and shared service companies, and ICT (Information & Communication Technology) applied to BPN (Business Process Network) of service industry.The analyses presented in this book were carefully laid out in regard to the business in general. It will be useful for business practitioners in service industry and beneficial to the scholars, students or general readers interested in this area.