. Previous Research
Hwang and Kogan (2003) described that human resource planning has always been a key issue to
professional companies, explicitly considering its structure, cost of recruitment and hiring, workload, etc.
Moreover Purwadi et al (1999) explained that the Japanese management style has given a good condition
for planning the human resource itself. Lifetime employment system gives a good relationship between
employers and employees. Rough behavior of cutting excess employees is unacceptable in Japan.
Companies and their employees work together, and employees work for the same company throughout
their entire life. They give all their effort for the company. Companies hire the inexperienced younger
people, then educate and train them. Companies should avoid dismissing employees as much as possible
by resorting to various employment adjustment mechanisms. Geelhaar et al (2003) explained that many
new topics, interdisciplinary team work and the call for fast success in learning are challenges for
advanced training. Nagaraj and Kamalanabhan (2005) concluded that there is a link between the business
strategy pursued by the firm and its human resource policies and practices.
1.3. Purpose
The purposes of this paper are (1) elaborate the characteristics of Japanese style of management,
especially for dealing with human resource planning; (2) provide a deep discussion on the practices of
Japanese human resource planning; (3) evaluate the role of human resource planning practices for
increasing industrial competitiveness.