An Investigation Of Japanese Corporate Culture, Its Trends And Changes

An Investigation of Japanese Corporate Culture, Its Trends And Changes Japanese Business & Culture bus 258.1 Table of Contents1.0 Introduction 2.0 Procedure 3.0 Findings 3.1 Changing social culture. 3.2 Business Culture in Japan 3.3 Why change is needed 3.4 What is Japan and her corporations doing to develop and change 4.0 Conclusion 5.0 Bibliography Japanese Business & CultureAn investigation Japanese corporate culture, its trends and changes.1.0 IntroductionThis report is based around the following quote: "Japan's corporate culture is the product of uniquely Japanese social and historical influences, so deeply rooted as to easily repel outside influences. Bur Japanese corporations need to change their basic goals...." This report will discuss nature of corporate culture in Japan, and why change is needed. The maximum length is 2,000 words 2.0 Procedure The report was produced using library based research because of the time scale and cost. The sources used include text books, journals and newspapers.. The references have been made 'Harvard Style' and can be found in the Bibliography. 3.0 Findings The Japanese business culture has been described by Beedham as a culture that acts like a clan, in that there is a large amount of authority given to the man at the top, and in the commitment that is shown by the people around him, Beedham points out that this can be evident in the way that their car factories, investment banks and government ministries are ran. This clan-like-behaviour has the effect of making decision making painfully slow, with compromises having to be met in all directions, but this is starting to change, as the people of Japan are starting to change and have different priorities. These changes can be put down to several factors that are changing in Japanese society as a whole. 3.1 Changing social culture. The increasing and speeding up of urbanisation is one way in which corporate culture is being changed. Because of this urbanisation there is less commitment to groups as people become more individual and have their own priority in life. Marriage and family ties are also starting to loosen. Links between children, parents and grandparents are not the same as they were ten years ago. The greatest impact on peoples commitment to their work is money. As the Japanese become richer, they are starting to see that there is... ...g the corporate culture slightly Japanese corporations are not seen as been there for just profit. Profit is important, but it is not the only reason for the company's existence, but involves people and their future. This is however changing with corporations starting to set financial targets for themselves and cut costs. Ways in which the Japanese corporate culture is starting to change can be found in the way that promotions are decided. In the past seniority meant everything and no some positions are given on merit. Also, management positions are starting to be taken up by foreigners, as well as R&D relocation outside Japan. Japanese politics are also helping in the change of culture. Deregulation and liberalisation promote a more dynamic organisation culture and structure but these developments need backing up with further proposals to deregulate and promote entrepreneurship 5.0 Bibliography Brian Beedham, Tomorrow's Japan, The Economist, July 13th 1996 Various Internet article with no title or author. FT 96 Dec 05 page 6/ Survey - Japanese Industry: Routes to the top FT 96 Dec 02 page 20/ Lex Column: Japan FT 96 Nov 18 page 14/ Management: Time to pull back the screen