Japanese-style management
Also known as ‘nihonteki keiei’ it has become a popular phrase in the West. This refers to basially the difference between Japanese management techniques and those widely practiced in the West. The basic differences that are often highlighted are-participative management, shared decision –making, lifetime employment,job rotation, promotion-based seniority , group consensus, Just-In-Time, quality circles, Kaizen, TQM, and the suggestion system. These are the aspects of management around which Japanese management philosophy revoleves. Japanese management culture emphasizes cohesion and long-term continuity , as visible in the traditional expectation of lifetime employment. A family bond amongst employees within the organization is the hallmark of organizational culture. This has resulted in building trust between managers and their subordinates in Japanese organization
Participative style of management assumes that irrespective of position in the organization, every individual has a potential to contribute and this needs to be channelized in an organized way through partcipative approach to management. Toyota Motor’s Chairman, Eiji Toyota had said that ‘One of the features of the Japanese workers is that use their brains as well as their hands. Our workers provide 1.5 million suggestions a year , and 95 per cent of them are put to practical use. There is an almost tangible concern for improvement in the air at Toyota’(Masaaki 1986).
The Japanese success during the post-war economic growth is basically the result of participation of all members within the organization to focus on development and continuous improvement of efficiency and quality organization systems to improve operational productivity and product quality. It is participative approach to management that brings in involvement and commitment of employees of the organization to contribute their best to organizational goals.