New Star Software Collection/NSS_Collection.iso/3-251 oo2 english program/1.ima/RR.ZIP/PBUSINES.SEQ

Text File | 1991-06-30 | 3.8 KB | 72 lines

In such fields as electronics and car manufacture, few countries
can produce goods to compete with the high-quality, low priced
products of the Japanese. But what exactly are the reasons for
their success, a success that fills their competitors with awe?

Certainly, one important factor is the loyalty many Japanese
employees feel towards their companies. They usually put their
company's interests above their own, doing extra work for little
extra pay or attending meetings in their free time to discuss
ways of improving company efficiency. Such loyalty is most
likely the result of certain employment policies commonly
practised by Japanese companies. The first of these has to do
with job security. Employees are guaranteed a job until at least
retirement age, regardless of their performance. The second
policy concerns promotions. Responsible jobs are usually given
only to long-serving employees; outsiders or young managers
seldom hold important positions. The third of these policies
links an employee's salary to his years of service. Thus, two
employees who joined the firm together several years ago will
today have very similar salaries, regardless of present
responsibilities. Since length of service determines the salary,
employees need not fear that the introduction of new, more
efficient technology will cause them to lose any pay or benefits.

A second major factor accounting for the success of Japanese
companies is their style of decision-making. In Japan, unlike in
most other countries, decisions usually evolve at lower
management levels and rise through middle management before
reaching the top. In this way, all management levels participate
in forming company policy. They are thereby given a greater
incentive to work, which leads in turn to greater job
satisfaction.

The friendly relations between management and trade unions is a
third reason. There is little confrontation and much cooperation
between the two sides, as the low number of industrial disputes
each year shows. Indeed, relations are so good that it is quite
usual for union members to become managers themselves.

The advanced technology used in much of Japan's business and
industry has also been a factor in their success. For example,
the use of robots in the car industry has led to higher
productivity and a higher quality of products.

Finally, one must mention the Japanese expertise at
incorporating into their products the various gadgets that catch
the purchaser's eye. For example, some of the latest car models
have warning devices that tell the driver that he is exceeding
the speed limit or that his seat-belt is not fastened, or
similar devices to warn that the car is reversing.

However, some critics of the Japanese business system have
suggested other, less flattering, reasons to explain Japan's
success. For instance, they claim that Japanese workers are
obsessed with work. In addition, they criticize the system for
its militarization of the work-force, claiming that mindless
obedience is encouraged more than creativity. What is more, they
say, Japan is conducting "economic warfare" on its competitors:
as it floods foreign markets with its exports, it is at the same
time protecting its domestic markets from foreign competition.
Only in this way can Japan achieve its favourable balance of
trade every year. Finally, they claim that the Japanese would
never have achieved such success if they had not exploited the
inventiveness of other nations. The Japanese, they say, are good
at improving on the ideas of others, but are themselves poor
inventors.

Clearly, then, there are a number of reasons for the growing
success of Japanese business. In the face of such stiff
competition, one wonders what foreign businessmen can do to win
back their lost markets.