The Japan Productivity Center, the largest in the world of
its kind, has three guiding principles, based on the
conviction that productivity improvement could not be
achieved without positive labour participation as well as
sound and constructive labour management relations.
These are:
(1) Increase of employment: improvement in
productivity will increase rather than reduce
employment in the long run.
(2) Labour-management co-operation: in order to
increase productivity, labour and management
must work together.
(3) Fair distribution of productivity gains: the fruits of
improved productivity should be distributed fairly
among management, labour and consumers.
Within these guiding principles, there is no reference
whatsoever made to rationalization or efficiency. The
Japanese consider that productivity is not merely an
output/input ratio but that it involves, in a substantial
way, the human element. It is widely acknowledged that
human resources are the sole natural wealth of Japan.
The Japanese believe that productivity is not a conscious
issue. In other words, it is part of the in-built corporate
philosophy