Simply a question of cultural barriers? The search for new perspectives in the transfer of Japanese management practices

Article Abstract:

This paper discusses the transfer of management practices from parent companies in Japan into the operations of overseas subsidiaries of Japanese enterprises. The literature reviewed as well as the findings of case studies on human resource management practices in Japanese manufacturing firms in Australia suggest that key but rather high-cost practices associated with Japanese management including tenured employment, seniority-based remuneration and the provision of extensive welfare benefits are absent in overseas Japanese firms. On the other hand, relatively low-cost practices such as internal training, internal promotion and job rotation have been generally introduced into the firms researched. It appears, therefore, that the transfer of Japanese management practices is primarily affected by economic considerations rather than socio-cultural constraints as it has frequently been argued in the literature. Thus, the development of new theoretical frameworks explaining the transfer (or its absence) of Japanese management practices is essential. The paper takes a small step in this direction by suggesting that the overseas expansion of Japanese subcontracting networks including large-scale corporations as well as smaller size firms, produces conditions leading to the marginalization of segments of the local labor force and the emergence of the core-peripheral workforce dichotomy at the international level. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

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The transfer of Japanese management styles in two US transplant industries: autos and electronics

Article Abstract:

Japanese industry is characterized by a unique set of industrial relations and management styles. The ability to transfer these relations overseas has been the object of much scholarly and popular debate. This paper examines this transfer to the United States in the automobile and electronics industries. It was found that Japanese automobile manufacturers had been able to transfer most of the central features of the system with some adaptation. The most successful firms were using teams, quality control activities, rotation and quite egalitarian management styles. On the other hand, most of the electronics transplants examined had not transferred Japanese style industrial relations. The electronics firms seemed to be content to accept many of the prevailing US practices. It is concluded that the transfer of Japanese style relations is possible, but that this occurs only where Japanese managers make a considered and sustained effort to implant their system. In many electronics operations it appears as though Japanese managers never seriously attempted to implement the Japanese system. Thus, the record of transfer is mixed at the moment. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Motor vehicles and car bodies, Automobiles, Automobile Manufacturing, Automobile industry

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Japanese managerial practices in the Malaysian electronics industry: two case studies

Article Abstract:

The transferability of the Japanese management syndrome is examined through an analysis of the employment policies and practices of two major Japanese multinational electronics companies operating in Malaysia. The evidence suggests that the question of transferability must be considered in the specific historical context. While such companies operate from within a preferred managerial style, the case study evidence suggests that employment policy and practice is likely to be significantly constrained by business objectives and heavily conditioned by the local economic, political and legal conditions and socio-cultural values. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Malaysia, Corporations, Malaysian

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