The Complex Cultural Foundation of Japanese Management
Before analyzing Japanese management, we should first study its cultural foundation. Different from China's view that the foundation of Japanese management is Confucian culture, we think that the cultural foundation of Japanese management is quite complicated. This is because Japanese culture itself is a hybrid culture.
Japanese culture tends to emphasize learning, imitation and comprehensive re-creation, so unlike China, it has a deep-rooted and relatively stable subject culture. Japanese studies are China in the Tang Dynasty, Holland in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Britain and France after modern times, and the United States after World War II. Japanese culture is a mixture of local Shintoism, Indian Buddhism, China culture and western culture. As early as the mid-1950s, Japanese thinker Kato put forward the "Japanese Cultural Hybridization Theory" on Monday, and made a profound analysis of Japanese culture.
A famous thinker in modern Japan said, "We have no philosophy in Japan since ancient times." Therefore, Japanese culture is a kind of pragmatic culture, which makes Japan's absorption of China culture and western culture aim at practicality, but lacks real thinking. For example, in the process of accepting western civilization, Japan has a soft spot for western material civilization, but it is not interested in Christian belief that can really change the spirit of a nation. This has always prevented Christianity from taking root in Japan.
Japan's acceptance of western scientific and technological civilization and China culture at the same time does not mean that Japanese management is the grafting of China culture and western science and technology. The so-called Japanese rise is the success of Confucian culture, but it is a subjective speculation of China's management.
Japan's collectivism spirit is not so much the result of Confucian cultural enlightenment as the contribution of Japan's isolated island culture-local Shintoism. There are Confucian factors in Japanese culture, but there are many differences with Confucian culture. For example, the Japanese attach great importance to loyalty and filial piety, but their loyalty and filial piety are not consistent with those in Confucian culture. The Japanese believe that every man and woman are born with "debt", and they have to pay back the debt. The main form of gratitude is "loyalty". Japanese collectivism is largely based on the values of loyalty. This kind of values comes more from local Shintoism than from Confucian culture in China.
Kato pointed out on Monday that in traditional Japanese society, each village believes in different gods, and there is no power beyond the village group, that is, there is no value beyond it. The Japanese Constitution stipulates that the emperor is the symbol of Japan, the same body, and the symbol of the group to which all the people belong. There is no god above this group. This further shows that Japanese collectivism is a local culture, not a Confucian culture.
In fact, Japan's success since the Meiji Restoration is not so much the promotion of Confucian culture as the result of abandoning Confucian culture. Fukuzawa Yukichi was an important thinker during the Meiji Restoration, and he was well versed in Confucian culture. However, after witnessing the capitalist civilization in Europe and America, Qiang Bing, a rich country, and the prosperity of industry and commerce, Fukuzawa Yukichi deeply reflected on the oriental culture including China, and finally formed the idea of "leaving Asia and entering Europe". Fukuzawa Yukichi said in "An Introduction to Civilization": "If we want to make Japanese civilization progress, we must take European civilization as the goal, determine it as the standard for all discussions, and use this standard to measure the gains and losses of things". In the article "On Asia", Fukuzawa Yukichi thinks that the Japanese "pursue the doctrine only in the word" Asia ". Although Japan's land lives in the east of Asia, its national spirit has escaped from the ugliness of Asia and turned to western civilization. "
Fukuzawa Yukichi's road to revival for Japan is to get rid of the Confucian cultural system centered on China, and then make Japan a European nation-state. Although Japan's absorption of western civilization is not complete, it is by no means limited to science and technology. Today's Japanese values are a mixture of western values and local values, as well as Confucian values and other different cultures, and are by no means dominated by Confucian culture.
The hybridity of Japanese culture determines the hybridity of its management, which makes the statement of "Japanese-style management" unreasonable.
Japanese management after World War II and its homogeneity with American management
Japanese management was formed on the basis of studying American management after World War II. The so-called "Japanese management" is not only technically, but also philosophically and spiritually multiplied by American management. Although Japanese management has its own characteristics, as the "fractal" phenomenon in chaos reveals, the characteristics of Japanese management cannot explain the essential difference between Japanese management and modern management such as the United States.
In fact, all the foundations of Japanese management originated in the United States. The formation of Japanese management can not be separated from at least four American names. These four men are MacArthur, Deming, Zhu Lan and Drucker.
After World War II, the United States exercised military control over Japan. MacArthur, as the highest military officer of the United States in Japan, promoted a series of management rules based on Christian beliefs in Japan, which profoundly influenced the post-war industrialization process in Japan. Although he didn't really accept the Christian faith, the management rules promoted by MacArthur still had a considerable impact on Japanese values. And this effect is obviously not scientific and technological.
Famous American management scientists Deming and Zhu Lan came to Japan almost at the same time as MacArthur. Deming gave a series of lectures on "quality control" in Japan. Him and Joseph? Zhu Lan spread the gospel of quality in Japan, transferred the quality problem from the workshop of the factory to the desktop of every manager, and formed the lean production theory. Toyota is the best practitioner of lean production theory.
It is generally believed that lean production is the greatest contribution of "Japanese management". However, the source of this management thought is the United States, which ultimately has a great impact on American management, forming a more rigorous "six-horse management" than lean production. Therefore, it is unscientific to put forward "Japanese management" because of lean production. Lean production is not a Japanese patent, but a patent of the United States and Japan. It is a kind of modern quality management, which is being implemented all over the world. Lean production is not Japan's "Tao" plus America's "technology", because lean production is not only a technical means, but also a management concept, which is the unity of "Tao" and "technology". There is no essential difference between lean production and six sigma management.
Drucker also had a profound influence on Japan. Drucker's classic book "The Concept of Enterprise" was translated into Japanese almost immediately after its publication, although it did not arouse enthusiastic response in the United States. Japanese business people are scrambling to study it and can't wait to apply it to management practice. During the 30 years from 1950 to 1980, Drucker went to Japan every two or three years and was treated by the Japanese emperor. His theory of management by objectives has been widely accepted by Japanese enterprises, which has injected a strong impetus for Japanese enterprises to rush into the world market.
Therefore, in the main management ideas, Japanese management and American management have internal similarities. Japan's absorption of Deming and Drucker's management thoughts is a combination of "Dao" and "Shu". Because, in fact, there is a corresponding philosophical support behind any management technology. Management philosophy and management tools are inseparable parts of management science. The hypothesis that China's management science is called "China philosophy plus western management science" actually violates the basic laws of management science.
Different from lean production and target management completely transplanted from the United States, the other three characteristics of Japanese management undoubtedly have obvious traces of Japanese culture. They are: lifelong employment system, seniority system and enterprise trade union system.
The above three characteristics of Japanese management reflect Japan's unique collectivism values, which are different from those of the United States. However, the lifelong employment system, seniority system and enterprise trade union system mainly reflect the characteristics of Japanese enterprise talent management mechanism and supervision mechanism, but not the whole of Japanese management. Management also involves many values and systems such as production management, strategic management and financial management. Therefore, it is still untenable to support "Japanese management" with lifelong employment system, seniority system and enterprise trade union system.
Especially from the perspective of development, Japan has broken the lifelong employment system, seniority system and enterprise trade union system since the 1960s. It is of no practical value to regard these systems that have been abandoned by Japanese enterprises themselves as the core characteristics of "Japanese-style management"
Further convergence of Japanese and American management in the era of globalization
Japanese management is not only the same as American management, but also a successful model that can be relied on for a long time. Since the 1990s, Japanese companies have suddenly fallen into trouble because they rely too much on the previous model. At the same time, the United States has already surpassed Japan's previous management experience, thus leading the world in the knowledge economy revolution.
The backwardness of Japanese management in the 1990s once again shows that Japan lacks the innovative spirit of the United States. The so-called "Japanese management" is just the result of learning from the United States. In fact, the United States is the country that is really good at learning. In the 1980s, a large number of American managers flew across the Pacific Ocean and made pilgrimages to Toyota and Sony. Because of this, the United States can surpass Japan to become the leader of knowledge economy.
In the wave of global knowledge economy, enterprises in various countries are facing the same environment and management objects. "Knowledge workers" all over the world have the common characteristics of independence, freedom and individuality. Therefore, facing the management challenges brought by "knowledge workers", the integration of Japanese management and American management is deepening. Knowledge economy or post-industrial revolution makes the cultures of different countries more and more isomorphic. Therefore, it has brought about a comprehensive change in management technology and management concept.
As far as Japanese management is concerned, globalization makes the traditional characteristics of Japanese management more and more diluted. In June 2005, Sony, the pioneer of Japanese enterprise internationalization, appointed American Howard? Stinger is the CEO. For Japan with a strong nationalist tendency, Sony's move is an important symbol of surpassing "Japanese-style management".
In fact, Sony, which has been at the forefront of the internationalization of Japanese enterprises, is not a "Japanese company" in the strict sense. The use of foreign executives is nothing new to Sony. 1June, 989, Sony appointed two non-Japanese employees, Michelle? Shukhoff and Jacob? Schmukerry is a member of the board of directors; 1993, Sony reappointed Michelle? Shukhoff is the chairman of the American Department.
Sony's leaders unswervingly pursue the road of internationalization and have always expressed dissatisfaction with its internationalization. Guo Wei Ando and Idei Nobuyuki are both such leaders. Guo Wei Ando himself has no interest in traditional Japanese things. His hobbies are golf, tennis, swimming and watching F- 1 racing. Idei Nobuyuki is an out-and-out cosmopolitan.