Japan S Managed Globalization

As Japan moves from a "catch-up" strategy to a post-developmental stage, it is changing its actions and reactions both in terms of international political economy and domestic policy issues. The current changes in Japan can best be understood as following a path toward "permeable insulation." Japan's government and economic system continue to insulate domestic businesses from full competition and the rigor of market forces, but this insulation is also permeable because a decline in state power vis-a-vis the private sector since the 1990s has combined with a decline in the solidarity of private institutions (such as keiretsu or trade associations) to make strategies of insulation much less rigid and uniform. As a result of the "permeable insulation," Japan's response to the global and domestic challenges of the 1990s is neither one of full acceptance nor rejection of global standards and practices. Instead, the basic scheme is one of pragmatic utilization of new rules and circumstances to continue industrial policies of promotion or protection in a new post-developmental era. By bringing together in-depth case studies of eight critical issue areas, this book looks at Japan's responses to globalization and move toward "permeable insulation." Part 1 introduces the reader to the concept of "permeable insulation" and provides a detailed review of past practices and changes in policy. Part 2 deals with international trade issues, Japan's compliance with and resistance to global trade rules, and the domestic interests visible in Japan's compliance. Part 3 focuses on domestic measures and policies that Japanese firms have used to adapt to the changes, within Japan and abroad, triggered by globalization and liberalization.

In this study the views of Japan's leading experts on the globalization of Japanese business, management and industrial relations explain how traditional Japanese-style management is responding to the changes following the collapse of the bubble economy. The areas covered include the changes made in management itself inside Japan and also how it is adapting itself when transferred overseas. The book demonstrates how management is moving towards a hybrid type in overseas operations and towards a western-style in Japan, where contractual principles are beginning to be given greater weight.

Following the burst of the “economic bubble” in the 1990s, many Japanese companies were required to reform their management systems. Changes in corporate governance were widely discussed during that decade in studies on “Japanese management.” These discussions have resulted in little progress, however, since Americanization became the dominant discourse concerning governance and the management system. There have been few studies conducted from an academic point of view on the internal aspects of organizations that practice traditional Japanese management theory. This book examines how, and the degree to which, the development of market principles accompanying the advances of globalization has affected the traditional Japanese system. It focuses on four aspects of corporate management: management institutions, strategy, organization, and human resource management. The aggregation of the new management system in Japanese companies is regarded as a distinctive Japanese-style system of management. With emphasis on these four aspects, research was conducted on the basic structure of that system, following changes in the market, technology, and society. Further, specific functions of the basic structure of the Japanese-style management system were studied. Those findings are included here, along with a discussion and analysis of the direction of future changes.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the changes that have taken place in the systems and practices of Japanese management over the last quarter century, identifies the positive and useful attributes that ought to be maintained, and clarifies the behavioral principles that form the groundwork of their strengths. Observing the changes in the business environment brought about by the forces of intensifying globalization, the book presents a highly effective management model that builds on the superior aspects of Japanese-style management while overcoming its weaknesses. It is a multi-layered human-resources management model that combines the mutually complementary aspects of the Japanese and Anglo-Saxon systems, incorporating the strengths of both systems. This hybrid model is aimed at increasing workplace motivation, promoting the creation of new value, and enhancing performance and can be used successfully in many countries around the world. It will be of interest to business strategists and consultants, scholars, and entrepreneurs.

As Japan moves from a "catch-up" strategy to a post-developmental stage, it is changing its actions and reactions both in terms of international political economy and domestic policy issues. The current changes in Japan can best be understood as following a path toward "permeable insulation." Japan's government and economic system continue to insulate domestic businesses from full competition and the rigor of market forces, but this insulation is also permeable because a decline in state power vis-a-vis the private sector since the 1990s has combined with a decline in the solidarity of private institutions (such as keiretsu or trade associations) to make strategies of insulation much less rigid and uniform. As a result of the "permeable insulation," Japan's response to the global and domestic challenges of the 1990s is neither one of full acceptance nor rejection of global standards and practices. Instead, the basic scheme is one of pragmatic utilization of new rules and circumstances to continue industrial policies of promotion or protection in a new post-developmental era. By bringing together in-depth case studies of eight critical issue areas, this book looks at Japan's responses to globalization and move toward "permeable insulation." Part 1 introduces the reader to the concept of "permeable insulation" and provides a detailed review of past practices and changes in policy. Part 2 deals with international trade issues, Japan's compliance with and resistance to global trade rules, and the domestic interests visible in Japan's compliance. Part 3 focuses on domestic measures and policies that Japanese firms have used to adapt to the changes, within Japan and abroad, triggered by globalization and liberalization.

Reflecting a strong managerial orientation, a corporate emphasis, and a true global-local focus, International Business: Managing Globalization explains the 'whats' and 'whys' of global differences as it covers industries, competitors, regions, and markets from the perspectives of practicing managers. Author John S. Hill reviews the geographic and historic backgrounds of regions and markets in a way that no other text has done, with special focus on global supply chains, global branding, and world religions as they affect management at the local level. It integrates business topics and environmental analysis into a strategic, global-local framework. It places current events in focus by covering history and geography as they affect international business. It includes a unique chapter on global industry and competitor analysis, a common business tool, but a topic not covered in other texts. It covers religion as a key determiner of behaviors worldwide to help readers understand why behaviors differ depending on the local context. It focuses on corporate analysis, planning, and internationalization, vital corporate practices rarely covered in other textbooks. It includes short cases for undergraduates and longer cases for graduate students. International Business: Managing Globalization is ideal for the introduction to business course or for courses focusing on international or global business strategy

Japanese management is currently considered to be in crisis. This book analyzes the degree to which the Japanese management model is changing, in order to regain its competitiveness. It brings together up-to-date research on this important topic by a number of the best known American, Asian and European scholars of Japanese management. A broad variety of management areas such as strategy, corporate governance, globalization, organization, finance, HRM, production, innovation, organizational learning and retailing is covered.

This book tells the story of the performance of Japan's economic and political institutions starting in the late 1970s through late 2007. The authors explain how Japan's flawed response to new economic, political, and technological forces requiring more open markets and more democratic political institutions ushered in a "lost decade and a half" of economic development from 1990 to 2005. Japan's impressive economic performance in the 1980s in fact masked an "accident waiting to happen," the accident being the burst of the bubble in equity and real estate prices in 1990 and 1991. Japan's iron triangle of politicians, bureaucrats, and client industries, combined with a flawed financial liberalization process and policy errors by the Bank of Japan and the Ministry of Finance, brought Japan to an abyss of deflation, recession, and insolvency by the late 1990s. The turning point was the election of Koizumi as prime minister in 2001. Koizumi took advantage of important institutional changes in Japan's electoral system and policy making and implemented many changes in economic policy. The book explores Koizumi's economic reform, new developments in Japanese people's socioeconomic conditions, the politics and economy after Koizumi, and the economic and political challenges facing Japan in the new century.