Japanese Business

This collection of readings is intended to serve as a foundation for those expecting to have commercial interaction with the Japanese. The selections--from sources not limited to mainstream business journals--address various aspects of the cultural environment of Japanese business and discuss communication and interpersonal relationships, the institutional and legal environment, management and marketing, and the Japanese approach to manufacturing. Some specific topics: the influence of Confucianism and Zen on the Japanese organization, gift-giving, the ethnography of dinner entertainment, spiritual education in a Japanese bank, women managers.

After two decades of reinvention, Japanese companies are re-emerging as major players in the new digital economy. They have responded to the rise of China and new global competition by moving upstream into critical deep-tech inputs and advanced materials and components. This new "aggregate niche strategy" has made Japan the technology anchor for many global supply chains. Although the end products do not carry a "Japan Inside" label, Japan plays a pivotal role in our everyday lives across many critical industries. This book is an in-depth exploration of current Japanese business strategies that make Japan the world's third-largest economy and an economic leader in Asia. To accomplish their reinvention, Japan's largest companies are building new processes of breakthrough innovation. Central to this book is how they are addressing the necessary changes in organizational design, internal management processes, employment, and corporate governance. Because Japan values social stability and economic equality, this reinvention is happening slowly and methodically, and has gone largely unnoticed by Western observers. Yet, Japan's more balanced model of "caring capitalism" is both competitive and transformative, and more socially responsible than the unbridled growth approach of the United States.

Japanese Business Culture and Practices presents detailed insights and descriptions on the proper ways to conduct business with contemporary Japanese. It focuses on the traditional and nontraditional business-related practices, including the internal mechanisms of promotion and decision-making in Japanese corporations. From advice on how to avoid cultural misunderstandings and how to develop trust with Japanese colleagues, readers will gain insights on how to communicate, negotiate, entertain, and socialize with Japanese as well as the minutiae of correct behavior. Using linguistic examples to facilitate how Japanese themselves view their work environment, authors Isao Takei and Jon P. Alston describe the social etiquette and protocols Japanese expect all foreigners to adopt in order to successfully conduct business. With a glossary of terms and practical real-life experiences, this is an essential guide for anyone who wants to forge deeper business relationships with Japanese.

The Routledge Handbook of Japanese Business and Management provides a comprehensive overview of management and business processes and practices in Japanese companies. The contributors combine theoretical findings and research results with a practical and contemporary view on how corporations and firms are managed in Japan. The handbook is divided into eight sections covering: historical perspectives on Japanese management; structure and theory of the Japanese firm; the corporate environment in Japan; the Japanese work environment; the Japanese market; manufacturing and logistics; interaction and communication; the future of Japanese management. This book is an essential reference resource for students and scholars working on Japanese companies, the Japanese market-place, Japanese consumers, or management processes in the Japanese firm. The book also provides an interesting and informative read for managers who need to deepen their knowledge on Japanese business processes.

This book explores how the business transformation taking place in Japan is influenced by the digital revolution. Its chapters present approaches and examples from sectors commonly understood to be visible arenas of digital transformation—3D printing and mobility, for instance—as well as some from not-so-obvious sectors, such as retail, services, and fintech. Business today is facing unprecedented change especially due to the adoption of new, digital technologies, with a noticeable transformation of manufacturing and services. The changes have been brought by advanced robotics, the emergence of artificial intelligence, and digital networks that are growing in size and capability as the number of connected devices explodes. In addition, there are advanced manufacturing and collaborative connected platforms, including machine-to-machine communications. Adoption of digital technology has caused process disruptions in both the manufacturing and services sectors and led to new business models and new products. While examining the preparedness of the Japanese economy to embrace these changes, the book explores the impact of digitally influenced changes on some selected sectors from a Japanese perspective. It paints a big picture in explaining how a previously manufacturing-centric, successful economy adopts change to retain and rebuild success in the global environment. Japan as a whole is embracing, yet also avoiding—innovating but also restricting—various forms of digitalization of life and work. The book, with its 17 chapters, is a collaborative effort of individuals contributing diverse points of view as technologists, academics, and managers.

Covers the basic language of commerce in Japan

This book sheds new light on Japanese management and its social consequences. Since the collapse of the Japanese bubble economy, the once acclaimed Japanese-style management has been under serious criticism both inside and outside Japan, but this is not a new phenomenon: over the last 50 years, evaluation of Japan and Japanese management has fluctuated widely between extreme affirmation and extreme negation. This study is unique because it is a longitudinal analysis that covers 35 years it uses firsthand information from managers in major Japanese corporations; and by involving several of these managers in the research process the views of actual practitioners are made available.