International Management - Rodchenko VV

4.2. Features of Japanese management

Evolution of managerial thought in post-war Japan

The art of management and its role were recognized only relatively recently. One of the leaders of Japanese business - Konosuke Matsushita, drawing public attention to the need for effective management, wrote: "Modern entrepreneurial organizations play an important role - maintaining public life." Food, clothing, housing become available to people as a result of production and distribution. Satisfaction and benefits In order to achieve these social goals, each organization must maintain its healthy and efficient state, which depends on the quality and effectiveness of management decisions and actions.The activity that we call management requires full dedication, it concentrates human intellect and experience The person who has devoted himself to management takes an extremely honorable and at the same time responsible position, demanding complete dedication and willingness to go on self-sacrifice "[12].

Recall that modern management methods have developed in Japan in the conditions of post-war disruption. The confusion of the first post-war years put before the leaders of Japan the task of restoring social, political and economic life. Business leaders faced the most acute need to fight for the restoration of their companies.

The purge of the leading businessmen of the war years, conducted by the American occupation administration, created an atmosphere in which those who faced the task of restoration, met and accepted (in some cases unconsciously) the ideology of management and the practical methods of American business. It was during this period that the leaders of Japanese business began to gradually comprehend the social responsibility and consequences of their activities.

Completely new circumstances and conditions caused by the occupation created an unprecedented situation. The purge of the entrepreneurs of the military era left the country without experienced experts of top management in leading industries. In the conditions of chaos, the task of restoring the Japanese industry fell on the shoulders of young administrators.

They fulfilled their tasks by first applying traditional methods of management to new conditions, and then with the help of the theory and methods of American management that they had mastered. In post-war Japan, entrepreneurs appeared with new ideas, a spirit of openness to the new and a desire to use the opportunities provided. They tried not only to apply the pre-war experience creatively to new conditions, but also to learn useful lessons, to perceive new ideas and thus create a new Japanese way of development.

The rapid restoration and development of post-war Japan brought new problems - the need to reassess and revise the practice of previous years, actively seeking a new management concept. The ideas of K. Matsushita and other leading specialists turned out to be not only a reaction to the existing situation, but also a serious contribution to the creation of a new management strategy.

Creative search resulted in the creation of a specific "Japanese" management system. This process, no doubt, was influenced by American ideas, but the direct application of American management methods was unsuccessful. In other words, the ideas of American scientists contributed to the establishment of a special style of thinking and approaches inherent only to Japanese managers. These difficulties sent creative search to the development of new directions of managerial thought.

The main features of the Japanese management system determine a number of concepts that were absent in the American model. The most important of these are the system of lifelong hiring and the process of collective decision-making.

The question of what kind of features will prove to be sufficiently stable for them to be able to rely on in the conditions of changing social psychology and ethical values ​​remains to this day open. Many researchers believe that even the seemingly most modern features are a product of past eras and disappear in the course of development. Modern development of management methods is characterized by increasing freedom of choice of concepts, the creation of optimal systems, but at the same time, Japanese methods of management should not be forgotten.

The basis for the creation of new theories and principles of management were general philosophical views. In this connection, questions arise which philosophical views prescribe to adhere to similar control systems with their specific features and how these views evolved [12, 17, 26].

It is important that the specific features inherent in modern management systems do not mix with the features of old systems, and even more so with the remnants of the feudal era. They should be regarded as the result of energetic efforts aimed at applying some elements of old concepts to solving entirely new problems.

Modern Japanese management has acquired the spirit of openness, which allows us to subordinate technological development to the solution of the problems posed by life itself.

The core of the new concept was the recognition of social responsibility, which lies on the managers. As K. Matsushita points out, "every company, irrespective of its size, must have definite goals other than making a profit, goals that justify its existence, it must have its own vocation in this world." If the leader has an understanding of this mission, he Can bring to the consciousness of employees what the company wants to achieve, indicate its ideals, and if its subordinates realize that they are working not only for daily bread, they will get an incentive for more intense joint work in the name of achieving a common goal. "[12]

At that time, the reorganization of existing institutions and installations had to be supplemented by a revision of traditional ideas and a reassessment of values.

The occupation authorities expressed only the most general provisions about democratization. Neither their commanders nor American orders gave clear instructions. The situation was determined by two factors: firstly, the solution of the problem was to be realized in rather difficult conditions, and secondly, it should become the business of the Japanese themselves.

It is unlikely that these difficulties could be overcome without resorting to the potential hidden in cultural traditions. The demand to move away from traditional ideas caused a radical rethinking of the potential built into them.

The Japanese economy did not develop in accordance with international trends. The crisis continued until 1950, when the changed relationship between the US and the former Soviet Union and the outbreak of war in Korea brought Japan economic recovery. It was followed, however, by a period of recession and economic instability.

In 1964, in Japan, the declaration "Theory of Management in New Conditions" was published, which stressed the independence and independence of entrepreneurs, the legitimacy of the desire for profit and its conformity to the purpose of the manager. This document also called for a new "philosophy" of management. It noted that the fusion of traditional values ​​with modern technology has made a great contribution to the rapid economic development of Japan. However, in a rapidly changing environment, the effectiveness of a number of traditional measures was questioned, including the traditional view of the organization of the company. The new "philosophy" of management, according to the authors of the declaration, should include a functional focus, flexibility and professionalism. But the statement also recognized the possibility of effective use of traditional methods. It emphasizes that the reward system based on length of service has shown its effectiveness in conditions when rewarding is usually made for adaptability and creativity. You should not abandon the system of lifelong hiring, because the company's dedication and identification of the interests of the employee with its interests give a greater gain than compensation for damages associated with such a system. Compilers of the document called on Japanese managers to use and improve the positive aspects of the Japanese management system.

In 1965, a commission was organized to study the current problems of management theory, which brought together the views of managers. She developed a generalized view, which among other things testified about changes in the concept of profit as a goal of activity.

The 1973 oil crisis dramatically changed the situation, halting the process of rapid growth, and this caused new concern among businessmen. In 1980, another statement, "Management for the Eighties," was published, which reads: "The success of Japanese companies in overcoming the crisis can be explained by constant efforts in the field of energy conservation." Energetic efforts at the technological level were the main factor in overcoming this situation. In the 1980s, part of Japanese companies shifted the emphasis from an adaptive strategy at a technological level to optimizing corporate policy "[15]. Discussion about the "philosophy" of management did not stop in the 80's. In recent years, there has been a turnaround in the discussion of strategic directions for management.