management in japan. Japanese production management methods

Unprincipled adherence to the Western way of thinking without
taking into account realities, without raising the question of which
elements of modernization are effective in society,
developed in other historical conditions, deprives
ability to look at things objectively.
Seiji Tsukumi

1. Management in Japan

Introduction

Management in Japan, like in any other country, reflects its historical, peculiarities, culture and social psychology. It is directly related to the socio-economic structure of the country. Japanese management methods are fundamentally different from European and American ones. This does not mean that the Japanese govern more effectively. Rather, it can be said that the basic principles of Japanese and European management lie on different planes, with very few points of intersection.

Japanese management is based on collectivism. He uses all the moral and psychological levers of influence on the personality. First of all, a sense of duty to the team, which in the Japanese mentality is almost identical to a sense of shame. Considering that the tax system works to average out the income and material condition of the population with its emphasized progressive fiscal mechanism, there is minimal stratification in terms of welfare in society, and this makes it possible to use the feeling of collectivism as efficiently as possible.

What is the difference between the Japanese management method and the methods used in most European and American countries? First of all, its focus: the main subject of management in Japan are labor resources. The goal facing the Japanese manager is to increase the efficiency of the enterprise, mainly by increasing labor productivity. Meanwhile, in European and American management, the main goal is profit maximization, that is, obtaining the greatest benefit with the least effort.

According to Japanese management specialist Hideri Yoshihara, there are six characteristic features Japanese management.

Job security and creating an environment of trust. Such guarantees lead to workforce stability and reduce staff turnover. Stability serves as an incentive for workers and employees, it strengthens the sense of corporate community, harmonizes the relationship of ordinary employees with management. Freed from the oppressive threat of layoffs and with a real opportunity to move up the vertical, workers are motivated to strengthen their sense of community with the company. Stability makes it possible to quantitatively increase managerial resources, on the one hand, and to consciously direct their vector towards goals more significant than maintaining discipline, on the other. Job security in Japan is provided by the lifetime employment system, a phenomenon that is unique and largely incomprehensible to the European way of thinking.
Publicity and corporate values. When all levels of management and workers begin to share a common base of information about the policies and activities of the firm, an atmosphere of participation and shared responsibility develops, which improves communication and increases productivity. In this regard, meetings and conferences in which engineers and administration workers take part yield significant results. The Japanese management system also tries to create a common understanding of corporate values for all employees of the company, such as the priority of quality service, cooperation between workers and administration, cooperation and interaction between departments. Management strives to constantly inculcate and maintain corporate values at all levels.
Information-based management. The collection of data and their systematic use to improve the economic efficiency of production, the quality characteristics of production and the quality characteristics of products is of particular importance. Managers review revenue lines, output, quality, and gross receipts monthly to see if the numbers are on track and to see problems early on.
Quality oriented management. Presidents of companies in Japanese enterprises often talk about the need for quality control. When managing the production process main concern- Obtaining accurate quality data. The manager's personal pride lies in consolidating efforts to control quality, and as a result, in the work of the production site entrusted to him with the highest quality.
The constant presence of management in production. To cope with difficulties and to help solve problems as they arise, the Japanese often place management personnel directly on the production premises. As each problem is solved, small innovations are introduced, resulting in an accumulation of additional innovations. In Japan, the system of innovative proposals and quality circles are widely used to promote additional innovation.
Maintaining cleanliness and order. One of the significant factors High Quality Japanese goods is cleanliness and order in production. Managers establish such a procedure that would contribute to increasing productivity and quality of work.

Generally Japanese management focuses on improving human relations: consistency, collectivism, high moral qualities of workers and employees, stability of employment and harmonization of relations in a corporation between workers and managers.

Japanese Management Principles

We love people and the earth.
The slogan of the company "Sanyo Electric"

Modern management methods developed in Japan in the conditions of post-war devastation, which set the leaders the task of restoring the social, political and economic life. Under the influence of the American occupation administration, future Japanese managers got acquainted with American ideology and business management methods. It was during this period that Japanese business leaders began to comprehend social responsibility for the consequences of their activities. This does not mean that before 1945 Japan did not have an efficient production management system. As early as May 5, 1932, K. Matsushita, the founder of Matsushita Denki, who is called in Japan "the all-powerful magician of management" and "the founder of the creed of management," gave a fiery speech to almost two hundred of his employees. It was on this day that he realized the purpose of the producer: "The role of the producer is to overcome poverty."

The leaders of Japanese enterprises, combining the application of traditional management methods with the theories and methods of American management, extracting useful lessons testing theory by practice tried to find a new Japanese way of development.

As a result, the main features Japanese system management defines a number of concepts that are missing in American model. The most important of these are the lifetime employment system and the process collective acceptance solutions.

Japanese society is homogeneous and imbued with the spirit of collectivism. The Japanese always think in terms of groups. A person is aware of himself, first of all, as a member of the group, and his individuality - as the uniqueness of a part of the whole. According to E. Mayo, the guiding principle of Japanese management is that work is a group activity. The question of what human traits will be strong enough to be relied upon in the context of a rapidly changing social psychology and ethical values, for Japan, as well as for other countries, is still open. Many researchers believe that even the seemingly most modern features thinking and feeling personality and community groups are a product of past eras and will disappear in the course of the development of society. At the same time, voices in support of national spiritual values and concepts based on traditional approaches are heard more and more expressively, which is vividly demonstrated in the following statement by one of the most prominent entrepreneurs, S. Honda:

“He who is the head of an organization must first of all make his management comprehensively justified. This means that he must perfectly understand the goals of his organization, justify the policy and create plans for achieving the set goals in such a way that his subordinates work with self-esteem and get satisfaction from the work. In order to develop a way of thinking that would push subordinates to achieve their goals in any conditions, the leader must have a theoretically strong and practically applicable concept.

The Japanese are receptive to new ideas. They love to learn from the mistakes of others and benefit from the experience of others. They carefully observe what is happening in the world and systematically study information from abroad, borrowing and quickly assimilating new technological methods and processes. Japanese workers do not resist the introduction of novelties of scientific and technological progress. Innovation is the basis of economic growth, and the Japanese are sincerely committed to it.

In 1947, an entrepreneur, one of the founders of Panasonic, I. Matsushita, founded creative laboratory Doikai to explore new management decisions. In one of the first works of this laboratory, Mr. Matsushita notes: “Every company, regardless of its size, must have profit-based goals that justify its existence. She must have her own calling in this world. If the leader has an understanding of this mission, he is obliged to bring to the consciousness of employees what the company wants to achieve, indicate its ideals. And if his subordinates realize that they work not only for their daily bread, they get an incentive to work harder. joint work in the name of achieving a common goal”.

Thus, modern Japanese management has acquired an open spirit that has made it possible to subordinate technological development to the solution of the problems put forward by life itself. The Japanese system of government can be seen as a synthesis of imported ideas and cultural traditions. Therefore, in order to understand the nature of modern Japanese management thought, it is necessary to touch on some features of the traditional culture of this country.

2. Behavior in the organization

As noted, the Japanese management system has been formed to date as an organic fusion of national traditions and advanced management experience. As for national traditions, their distinguishing feature is that the Japanese prefer not to adhere to written rules. Their language, due to the hieroglyphic nature of writing, is not characterized by the clear unambiguity of definitions that is characteristic of European languages. The Japanese themselves write “... in traditional Japanese society, there was no universal code of ethics, as well as categorical, religious prescriptions. There was not even a clear system of ideas about sin...” (M. Yoshino).

Chiye Nakane has done a brilliant study of types of relationships in groups in connection with the traditions of national cultures. He put forward the main provisions of the concept of analyzing the internal structure of social groups, dividing the types of relationships established between people into two: horizontal, as a set of individuals who have common features (for example, people of the same profession) and vertical, in which individuals with different features are connected by a certain social connection(e.g. family, clan, club). It is the second, "vertical" type of relationship that is characteristic and defining the "face" of Japanese society.

The group to which a Japanese belongs is as important to him as his family. In a Japanese firm, the head looks like a father. Family members cooperate spontaneously. There is an informal atmosphere. Internal conflicts minimized, friendly relations reign in groups. In Japan, the company is considered an organic whole, a living organism, endowed with a soul. The head may change, but the firm remains. A firm is considered a long-term organization because it guarantees lifetime employment.

The formula "enterprise is people" is a sincere conviction of employers. Japanese managers instill in their employees not only technical skills, but also moral values.

Ringi's group decision-making system can be considered as a product of the concept of "human potential". According to her, the responsibility for making a decision is not personified. Behind decision the entire group is responsible. It is assumed that no one person has the right to make a decision alone. The essence of the Ringi system is that decisions must be made by consensus. The system requires everyone to make a decision. If someone is against, then the proposal is returned to its initiator. This approach is still preserved, although the procedural part of the Ringi system has undergone changes. Each proposal is discussed in informal groups. The decision is never submitted for formal discussion without an informal one.

Here is how Richard Halloran describes the process of group decision making:

“In the process of formal discussion, each member of the group expresses a small part of his thoughts on this matter, but never comes out with a finished convincing speech. The Japanese, who have an extremely sensitive ego, do not want to fall into the state of being in the minority, or, even worse, with dissenting opinion. They are also afraid of accidentally offending a colleague with their harsh speech, which may contradict the opinion of their comrades. When the leader is confident that everyone basically agrees on a minimal solution, he summarizes the group's opinion, asks if everyone agrees, and looks around the room for nods of approval."

It must be clearly understood that the Japanese method presupposes complete unanimity. This is not a majority decision. The Japanese abhor the tyranny of the majority. If there is no complete unanimity, no decision is made. If the decision is opposed by the opinion of a small minority, he is persuaded to respect the views of the rest. This compromise position will be later rewarded. It is considered impolite for a Japanese to openly object to a senior and superior: disagreement must be expressed very diplomatically.

The Japanese allow uncertainty, ambiguity, imperfection in organizational life, as well as many other things that really exist. In addition, the Japanese feel much more interdependent. Therefore, they are ready to make constant efforts aimed at improving people and educating the ability to work effectively with each other.

In contrast to the traditional "X" and "Y" model of behavior, the Japanese have developed and successfully applied the "human potential" model, according to which the idea is brought to the fore that people need the opportunity to use and develop their abilities, getting satisfaction from this. The concept of "human potential" advocates a working environment in which the employee's abilities are encouraged to develop, and the desire for self-management and self-control is also stimulated.

Here is what management researcher Ishikawa Kaoru advises Japanese middle managers:

The company's need for an employee is determined by such qualities as quick response, ingenuity, initiative.
The one who manages subordinates is only half the leader. An accomplished leader can be called someone who is able to manage and higher in position.
Empowerment of subordinates stimulates comprehensive development their abilities and activates them creative possibilities. The leader is the educator of his subordinates. He must share with them knowledge and experience directly in the workplace. One of the methods of training personnel is to empower subordinates with the necessary rights, allowing them to resolve issues at their own discretion, but subject to compliance with the requirements overall strategy firms.
Do not strive to constantly monitor the reaction of higher management to the results of work.
Middle managers and their subordinates are responsible for the accuracy of information about the results of their work.
Middle management is responsible for the activities of the quality circles.
Collaboration and communication with other departments - this is management by function.
Orientation to the future is the key to the success of the company. The head of the company should be guided in his work for 10 years ahead, the top manager - for 5 years, the head of the department - for 3 years.

The power of management in Japan is considered to be legal and therefore readily accepted and respected. Workers feel that their managers are more educated and competent. Managers do not have excessive privileges, which could cause jealousy. Their salaries and other rewards are considered modest in relation to their merit. And effective management is a necessary condition for the prosperity of the workers themselves.

Thus, in Japan, behavior in an organization has its own characteristics, namely:

behavior is determined by the vertical relationship in the structure of the firm, which contributes to the reliability and satisfaction of its members;
the strategic focus of the corporate spirit leads to a harmony of interests and results;
the group decision-making system stimulates the use of the potential of each employee in achieving the goals and objectives of the enterprise.

3. Control system

Management control includes planning based on feedback. For a clearer idea of the Japanese control system, consider how it is organized in the Matsushita firm. The basis of the organization of the company is the system of branches. Planning in branches provides for the preparation of a plan for the internal capital of branches and monthly accounting reports. At the same time, each department develops its own plan. On their basis, developed overall plan the entire company. In general terms, the planning method provides for the following stages: Declaration of the company's strategy, development of directives on planning in branches, determination of the planning policy in branches, preparation of a plan and draft budget for the department and branch.

The last step is to submit the draft plan to the branch. This estimate is called the "document with the royal seal." The ceremony of this transfer is purely Japanese feature, because the "document with the royal seal" is seen as a contract between the president of the company and the branch manager. Each manager is responsible only for the execution of the points of this plan. The choice of method for implementing the plan is left to the branch manager. Obviously, this approach to management requires the manager to high feeling responsibility and self-control. It should be noted that managerial control over the fulfillment of the tasks set is carried out not by adopting certain directives, as is customary in traditional management, but by providing assistance and identifying weak links in the production process. Thus, they associate the word control not with the “detection-punishment” model, but with “check-help”.

In order not to tempt themselves with subjectivity, Japanese managers, where possible, use statistical methods. The Japanese believe in numbers. They try to quantify all aspects of the business. And they do it with their inherent diligence and impeccability.

To maintain discipline and improve quality, Japanese management relies more on rewards than punishment. The award is given for helpful suggestions, saving lives in an accident, for outstanding results in training courses, for excellent performance of duties, and for "dedication to work as a model for one's colleagues." These rewards can be different: certificates, gifts or money, additional leave. Punishments include reprimands, fines and dismissals. The latter are allowed in case of theft, bribery, cruelty, deliberate disobedience to the instructions of elders. In addition to stimulation, the Japanese actively use the practice of declaring corporate slogans and principles. For example, Hitachi put forward three principles in its corporate manifesto: sincerity, the spirit of optimism, and ultimate harmony.

Thus, the Japanese system of control can be characterized as humane, striving for the prevalence of the impact of reward over punishment.

4. Human resource management

The heyday of the state is in people
and the decline of the state is in the people.
ancient wisdom

One of the distinguishing aspects in the Japanese management system is personnel management. Corporations strive to manage their employees in such a way that the latter work as efficiently as possible. To achieve this goal, Japanese corporations use American personnel management techniques: effective wage systems, analysis of the organization of work and jobs, and employee appraisals. However, they are different from American systems place great emphasis in their motivation on the loyalty of employees to their companies, contributing to the strengthening of morale and the achievement high efficiency labor.

A Japanese employee, from the very beginning of his work, completely identifies himself with the corporation that hired him. At the same time, the management system seeks to strengthen this identification, bringing it to the point of sacrificing the interests of the company. Both senior officials and ordinary performers consider themselves representatives of the corporation. In Japan, every employee is convinced that he is an important and necessary person for the company - this is one of the manifestations of identification with the company. Another manifestation is that a Japanese worker, in response to a question about his occupation, names the company where he works. Many employees rarely take days off, and often do not take full advantage of their paid vacation, as they are convinced it is their duty to work when the company needs it, thus showing their loyalty to the company.

Lifetime employment is not legal law. His statement is a tribute to a tradition that may have originated in primitive community and received a finished form in Japanese feudal society. The firm takes moral care of its employee until retirement The staff is completed on the basis of personal qualities, biographical data and character. Loyalty is valued more than competence. Every worker is treated like a family member. In the same way, if there are financial difficulties, everyone tolerates a reduction in income with dignity.

Japanese managers believe that people are the greatest asset. When selecting applicants for management top level Most valued is the ability to lead people.

Since the firm must function as one close-knit team, qualities such as mutual trust, cooperation, harmony and full support in solving the problems facing the group. Individual responsibility and independent performance of work are deliberately obscured in order to improve the work of the group, to strengthen solidarity.

Summing up, it should be noted that the Japanese personnel management system is in many ways similar to other American-European models in terms of recruitment, employee development, control over the organization of business processes. At the same time, a distinctive feature is the coincidence of the corporate and personal strategies of the employee, focused on effective long-term cooperation, harmony of interests, priorities, the success of the company, as a set of successes for each employee.

5. Quality management system

The movement for quality improvement was first declared in a nationwide strategy, which eventually grew into complex method quality management.

Initially, the quality control and management system was based on quality circles. According to the founder and theorist of quality management in Japan, Ishikawa Kaoru, in order to organize circles, managers need to follow the following principles:

voluntariness. Circles should be created on a voluntary basis, and not on a command from above;
self-development. Circle members must show a desire to learn;
group activity;
application of quality management methods;
relationship with the workplace;
business activity and business continuity;
mutual development. Circle members should strive to expand their horizons and cooperate with members of other circles;
atmosphere of innovation and creative search;
universal participation in the end. The ultimate goal of quality circles should be the full participation of all workers in quality management;
awareness of the importance of improving product quality and the need to solve problems in this area.

Quality theorists identify several features of the Japanese quality management system that distinguish it from Western counterparts:

quality management at the firm level is the participation of all links in quality management;
preparation and training in quality management methods;
activities of quality circles;
inspection of quality management activities;
use of statistical methods;
nationwide quality control programs.

Today, Japanese management uses a system of integrated quality management. Total quality management penetrates people's minds and helps to identify false information. It helps firms avoid irrelevant output and sales data. "Knowledge is power" is the slogan of integrated quality management.

The main ideals embodied in the integrated quality management system can be summarized as follows:

The natural need of every person is to achieve excellence in work. If properly guided and encouraged, they can improve their work indefinitely.
People performing individual work are the real experts. There are many details in the work that are not done correctly, and professionals can make a valuable suggestion to eliminate difficulties and improve the production system.
Workers are endowed with ability and imagination. They have a thorough knowledge of the work and, accordingly, skill. They strive for success and are not afraid of responsible work. If they are trained to be directly responsible for the quality of their work, they can have an explosion of creativity in the organization.
Quality circles are not mechanical machine, a continuous process. It has two features. On the one hand, it is educational and cognitive process. On the other hand, it is a process that facilitates the participation of workers in activities that affect their daily work. This provides a basis for mutual cooperation between management and workers.

Thus, in connection with the constantly changing tastes, needs of people and the emergence of new technologies, managers are required to constantly rebuild their self-awareness and guidelines, which in the most general form can be formulated as:

First of all - quality, not short-term profits;
The main person is the consumer, with his own point of view of the end user;
The next stage of the production process is the consumer of your product;
Information support and application of economic and mathematical methods makes the decision process calm, efficient and more creative;
The person in the management system is involved in the quality management process.

6. The role of Japanese philosophy, art

Zen is “invested” in everything, freely and completely,
and acts selflessly and without looking back. He is not
confuses spirituality with contemplation of God
while peeling potatoes. Zen Spirituality
- just to peel potatoes.
Alan Watts

Exploring sources Japanese philosophy management, it is necessary to mention the Tokugawa era, when Japanese culture, after a long process of assimilation of Japanese traditions, finally reached its classical expression. For example, Sitei Yamamoto, in his book The Spirit of Japanese Capitalism, turned to the personality of Soizan Suzuki, a Zen philosopher, one of those theorists of that time, the influence of whose ideas is also found in modern managerial thought. All the teachings of Suzuki were aimed at resolving conflict situations encountered by peasants and artisans in Everyday life. His famous aphorism translates roughly as follows: "When we get involved in worldly affairs, we continue to adhere to religious customs." His teaching, reflecting the best of the tradition of Zen Buddhism, is still preserved in the minds of the Japanese. A. Yoshino notes: “The Tokugawa era bequeathed modern Japan, as the ability of rapid transformation, as well as discipline and order in the unchanging movement along the path of improvement. After all, Zen Buddhism, according to D. Suzuki, is “the crystallization of all philosophy, religion and life itself far east and especially Japan.

For centuries, Japanese society has been characterized by a kind of cult of labor, the transformation of work and service not intended for advertising and praise into a religious ideal. In communication between people, it becomes important to strive to understand the interlocutor yourself, to look at the world through his eyes, at least for a moment to live his life.

There are many explanations of why art is attractive for a businessman and an official, one of them is Andrey Platonov’s thought about art as “ highest form economy." developed aesthetic sense often called the basis of the national character of the Japanese. And the experience of Japan is interesting in that the goods produced there carry not only a utilitarian function, but also an aesthetic value.

7. Conclusion

Japan is a small country with a high population density with limited resources, frequent natural disasters. Therefore, the Japanese have a keen sense of the need national unity. They are fully aware that their survival depends on unity and social cohesion.

The Japanese work as a group more efficiently than the Europeans, especially when given difficult task. Even decision-making is done in Japan by group consensus.

It can be said that Japan is a country of paradoxes. Here they reject the person as a separate individual, but show respect for the opinion of everyone.

In their book The Art of Japanese Management, A. Athos and R. Pascal note: “The Japanese consider every person as having economic, social, psychological and spiritual needs, just as American leaders do when they specifically think about it. But Japanese leaders believe that their task is to give as much as possible more attention specifically the human person, with less focus on other institutions (such as government, family, or religion)." At the same time, the family for the Japanese is a form of existence. With a fairly rigid vertical hierarchy, there is no "deification" of the leader - he is "reachable". The Japanese show respect not for the place that this or that person occupies, but for what he has done in life, for his experience.

The Japanese is disciplined, thinks in the interests of the group and is capable of extraordinary efforts to achieve the good. Japanese - purposeful people. They want to perfect themselves ad infinitum. They are willing to work hard for this goal. This commitment to excellence has greatly helped Japanese management in integrating European experience into traditional Japanese culture.

"Japanese management has studied and absorbed modern principles and methods with energy bordering on greed,” said Susuma Takamiya, dean Faculty of Economics University of Tokyo — “He has successfully tackled the four major challenges of technological innovation, industrialization, democratization, and internationalization. All this didn't hurt so cultural property like group consciousness and respect for elders"

Japanese management appeals to the natural instincts of workers to develop their creativity, skill and consciousness. Training program is to encourage collaboration at work. It mobilizes the knowledge and experience of the whole group. It unites it even more, develops the spirit of cooperation. The desire to avoid working with the excuse “that this is not my job” disappears, instead there is an initiative and a willingness to bear additional responsibility.

In conclusion, I would like to note that understanding the phenomenon of Japanese management will possibly help Ukrainian consultants, economists, businessmen to understand the problems of our country's economy, will allow developing a flexible development strategy, and will teach how to make optimal decisions on the way to improvement.

Vladimir Veretnov

University of Economics

Management in Japan, like in any other country, reflects its historical features, culture and social psychology. It is directly related to the socio-economic structure of the country. Japanese management practices differ to a large extent from American and Russian ones because:
Japanese management is based on collectivism, the use of all moral and psychological levers of influence on the individual. First of all, this is a sense of duty to the team, which in the Japanese mentality is almost identical to a sense of shame;
The main subject of management in Japan is labor resources. The goal set by the Japanese manager is to increase the efficiency of the enterprise, mainly by increasing the productivity of employees.

According to the Japanese management specialist H. Yoshihara, the following basic principles of Japanese management can be distinguished:
1) job security and the creation of an atmosphere of trust;
2) publicity and values of the corporation;
3) management based on information;
4) quality-oriented management;
5) maintaining cleanliness and order.

In general, Japanese management is distinguished by an emphasis on improving human relations: coherence, group orientation, employee morale, employment stability, and harmonization of relations between workers and managers.

Control system

Management control in Japanese enterprises is carried out not by adopting certain directives, as is customary in traditional management, but by providing assistance and identifying weak links in the production process, i.e. control is not associated with the "detection - punishment" model, but with the "check - help" model.

To maintain discipline and improve the quality of work, Japanese management relies more on rewards than on punishment. Awards are given for helpful suggestions, for saving lives in accidents, for outstanding results in training courses, for excellent performance of duties, and for dedication to one's work as a model for colleagues. These rewards are of different types: certificates, gifts or money and additional leave.

Punishments are divided into reprimands, fines and dismissals. Dismissal is allowed in cases of theft, acceptance of bribes, sabotage, cruelty, deliberate disobedience to the instructions of elders. Japanese managers are extremely reluctant to resort to punitive measures. In contrast to the tactics of intimidation with punishment, Japanese management pays special attention to the self-consciousness of workers and therefore uses the tactics of slogans to increase discipline.

This position is quite understandable: on the one hand, each subordinate is an individual and has the right to make a mistake, on the other hand, a correct personnel policy when hiring will not allow an unscrupulous employee to enter the company, since the one who hired him is fully responsible for him.

Human resources management

Japanese corporations manage their employees in such a way that the latter work as efficiently as possible. To achieve this goal, Japanese corporations use American personnel management techniques, including effective systems of wages, analysis of the organization of labor and workplaces, appraisal of employees, etc.

However, there is a big difference between American and Japanese management. labor resources:
1. Japanese corporations in more use the loyalty of their employees to the company.
Both senior officials and ordinary performers consider themselves representatives of the corporation. In Japan, every worker is convinced that he is an important and necessary person for his company - this is one of the manifestations of identification with the company. Another manifestation is that a Japanese worker, in response to a question about his occupation, names the company where he works. Many employees rarely take days off and often underutilize their paid holidays because they believe it is their duty to work when the company needs it, thereby showing their loyalty to the company. Theoretically, the longer a person works in an organization, the stronger his self-identification with it should be.

2. Japanese corporations guarantee jobs for their employees and use a seniority-based reward system to prevent an employee from leaving for another firm. An employee who transfers to another company loses his seniority and starts all over again.

Employment in Japan is of particular importance. It is not only a matter of contract between employer and employee. It has emotional and moral overtones. Japanese workers work methodically and devotedly, they are punctual, perhaps only a little relaxation in the last half hour of work. Japanese workers have a natural love of cleanliness and elegance, they have a highly developed sense of duty, take pride in their craftsmanship, derive great satisfaction from a job well done, and feel unhappy if they fail.

Lifetime employment in Japan is not a legal right. His statement is a tribute to a tradition that may have originated in the primitive community and received its finished form in the Japanese feudal society. The firm is morally obligated to take care of its employee until retirement. Japanese managers believe that people are the greatest asset.

3. Management values most of all such qualities of employees as mutual trust, cooperation, harmony and full support in solving the problems facing the group.
Individual responsibility and individual performance of work are deliberately obscured. The goals are to improve group performance and strengthen group solidarity. Thus, Japanese management always thinks from the position of the group. The group is responsible for the success of the case as well as for the failures. Therefore, individual workers are rarely reproached for failures, especially if they are creative failures or associated with risky ventures.

4. The system of group decision-making Ringi.
Subordinates formulate their proposals and pass them on interested parties. After the group discussion has set common tasks, each employee determines his own and proceeds to their implementation. If it is noticed that a subordinate is not able to control the situation, the middle manager will intervene and will personally exercise leadership. Such an attitude inspires confidence that personal failures and mistakes - in general, do not matter, the elder will always help to get out of a difficult situation. Thus, the emphasis is not on avoiding failure, but on achieving a positive result.

5. Managers in Japan constantly explain the goals and policies of the company to their workers, who are free to express their opinion on this matter.
Workers have Free access to the administration, since the success of the firm is their success.

Quality management system

The historical prerequisites for quality management were the nationwide movement "For the absence of flaws", which grew into a comprehensive method of quality management. This movement has significant influence not only on the quality of goods, but also on the awareness of the responsibility of each worker for the quality of the work performed, developing in them a sense of self-control.

Initially, the quality control and management system was based on quality circles. According to the founder and theorist of quality management in Japan, I. Kaoru, in order to organize quality circles, managers need to follow the following principles:
voluntariness;
self-development;
group activity;
application of quality management methods;
relationship with the workplace;
business activity;
mutual development;
atmosphere of innovation and creative search;
everyone's participation in the end result;
awareness of the importance of improving product quality.

For contribution to the achievement high results in the field of quality management, every year since 1951, the W.E. Deming, one of the founders of quality management in Japan.

Trade unions in Japan

Since trade unions in Japan are not divided by occupation, but are unions of workers in one firm, they share management values such as productivity, profitability, and growth. However, this does not mean that the trade unions are servile: they retain their independence, they constantly monitor proper observance of all agreed norms, and the management of the enterprise perceives the trade union as a legitimate intermediary between management and workers in matters of wages.

The unions are fully aware that the only way workers can improve their standard of living is by increasing productivity, so they solve any problems that arise through cooperation. Trade unions in Japan are constantly looking for ways and means to improve the lives of workers without harming the firm. They understand that the living conditions of workers ultimately depend on the prosperity of the firm.

It should be noted that the significance, resources and power of management are not comparable with the resources of trade unions. But union leaders and management share two basic assumptions: first, the prosperity of the firm creates the conditions for solving other problems, and second, hatred of each other does not benefit anyone.

In general, there are fewer complaints and claims against management in Japan for two main reasons: firstly, the Japanese worker does not feel oppressed, and secondly, he considers his work more important matter than rights or beliefs. The origins of this lie in the fact that the managers of Japanese firms pay great attention to the well-being of their workers, which naturally increases their confidence in both management and trade unions.

Personnel Management: tutorial Spivak Vladimir Alexandrovich

5.5. Japanese methods of labor organization and management

Starting from the 20s. of the last century, in countries with a developed market, studies were carried out related to identifying the role of a person in production, and not just as one of the factors, not just as a carrier of "living labor", as the owner of a specific product "labor force", but as a unique personality, carrier many and varied properties, qualities, potential, manifested in different ways in different conditions, in individual work and in a team. It turned out and received a comprehensive, including economic justification, that the results of both individual and collective labor are determined to a decisive extent by the attitude of people to work. It determines labor behavior, contribution to the common cause, development and competitiveness of the enterprise. It turned out that it is the quality of the workforce that is a decisive factor in ensuring the viability of the company, that it is investments in improving the quality of the workforce that pay off most fully in comparison with investments in material factors.

How to make the company's employees share its goals and interests, associate their expectations and striving for success with it, and show innovative behavior? Everything seems to be modern world consider positive example solutions to these problems, the experience of large Japanese companies, the so-called " japanese phenomenon". But if in the early stages of research Japanese miracle» attention was focused on subjective factors - Japanese national character, community consciousness, the spirit of collectivism, religion, now the reasonable opinion prevails that the basis for the success of Japanese firms is the involvement and systematic use of the personal and group properties of the company's personnel, the competent linking of human aspirations, needs, expectations with the interests of the company. We are talking about a non-trivial organization of individual and collective labor at levels from inter-company interaction to the workplace on the basis of really individual approach and empowering employees active participation in the affairs of the company and its own development.

The fact that the point is in the system of organizational decisions related to socio-psychological factors is proved by the unprecedented success of joint American-Japanese enterprises with a predominance of American personnel and some Western companies that more or less systematically use the Japanese approach, called " compacted technology”(as opposed to “in-line, Taylorist technology”), or “lean production” as the antithesis of “mass production”, and which, according to many experts, is the basis for organizing production in the 21st century. Examples - joint venture Nummi, offspring General Motors and Toyota on the American soil, as well as the successes of Japanese management achieved at the German automobile company Porsche.

The main elements of this organizational technology, hopefully, the near future of our country, requiring research, linking with the original and constantly changing conditions of Russian reality, are as follows:

implementation of the concept of "shojinka": systems for regulating production volumes by streamlining and redistributing the workforce. Flexible redistribution of workers on the production line allows you to change the flow cycle in accordance with the demand for the company's products (usually these changes are for the coming month), due to the rational placement of machines, the availability of a sufficient number of production personnel - well-trained multi-machine workers, constant evaluation and periodic revision of the sequence of execution of technological operations reflected in the map of labor processes, continuous training of workers at the workplace, in "quality circles", due to rotation;

predominantly horizontal communications, when the bulk operational information, which controls and regulates the production process, moves towards material flows without passing through senior management management;

System operational support production of material resources "just in time" ("kanban");

complete quality control system all objects of labor at each workplace (“ jidoka»);

a system of constant search for ways to improve quality, safety and efficiency of labor and products, unification of products, reducing the labor intensity of production ("kaizen"). Under lifetime employment, workers realize that their innovations and management efforts are not intended to make their job harder, but to avoid unnecessary movements to produce more products as the basis for the prosperity of the firm and workers;

brigade organization of labor, cooperation and mutual assistance;

Orientation of all labor collectives to achieve end results linked to end results firms as a whole, target management;

overall production synchronization, minimizing the number of workers also for production as a whole;

System special relationship with suppliers and banks, based on cooperation and taking into account the interests of the parties.

It is no coincidence that the concept of “system” is widely used here (although it would be more correct to speak of “subsystems”): the fact is that these elements are really worked out deeply, comprehensively, provided with all types of resources, interconnected, brought to the level of technological operations, constantly improved and effectively are functioning. The development of the “densified technology” system and its elements was carried out mainly in the branches of the electronic and electrical industries, automobile and shipbuilding, therefore, a large and difficult problem it remains to use the potential of this approach in other areas of activity, at enterprises of a different size, organizational and legal forms, in particular, in banking structures, and here there are ample opportunities for realizing the creative potential of specialists with economic education, especially in combination with fundamental training in the field of human behavior and personnel management.

Since this system is associated with the promotion of the personality of the employee and the labor collective to the first place, increasing their role in achieving the goals of the organization, the quality of the workforce and its attitude to work at the enterprise play the most important role in the success of the common cause. The full use of such factors of labor enrichment as decision-making, independence, responsibility, Feedback and others in the main production cell, in fact, delegating the function of operational management of production to the personnel of the main production link implies the ability of this link to effectively perform the assigned functions. This, in turn, imposes increased requirements on the personnel management system, on the activities of which the quality of the company's personnel and its development, as well as the degree of job satisfaction and, consequently, the attitude to work and returns depend.

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The trendsetter is Toyota, which develops and implements the Kanban system.

Japanese managers teach 9 lessons of a simple approach to production management. Japanese manufacturers have rejected complex control recipes, their approach is to simplify problems, not to find complex solutions.

The Japanese management system can be divided into two main groups of methods. The first refers to the problem of business efficiency, the second - to the problem of product quality.

The first part is aimed at increasing the efficiency of production and is known as the "kanban" - "just in time" system. It is directly related to material costs and affects all aspects of the company's activities. The kanban system also has a partial impact on product quality. Both groups of methods are closely intertwined. Consider a just-in-time system.

First lesson. Management technology is a transportable commodity. The secret of success lies in efficient inventory management. The benefits, as it may seem at first glance, are insignificant. They boil down to some of the savings in inventory costs that come from making and stocking the smallest batches of parts.

The Japanese found that the main benefits came from improved product quality, increased worker motivation, and increased productivity.

Here's how it goes. The worker receives one piece each. If it is not suitable, he immediately brings it to the previous worker, who finds out the reason and eliminates the shortcomings. Thus, mutual assistance is provided. The Japanese control mechanism uses specific national traits Japanese people: diligence, thrift, dedication to business, firm, susceptibility to innovation, high educational level.

Lesson two. Just-in-time production allows you to identify problems that are otherwise invisible due to excess inventory and excess personnel.

The concept of "just in time" is at the heart of the production management system. The idea is simple: to produce and deliver finished products just in time for their implementation, component parts - for the time of assembly of products, individual parts - for the time of assembly of units, materials - for the time of manufacture of parts.

"Kanban" is purely Japanese and means "card" or visual recording system. Kanban is an advanced system used by Toyota in which an order for the manufacture of parts is entered on a special card.

The Kanban system provides for the release of products in small batches, reducing the time for changeovers of equipment and fixtures, reducing the cost of shipping, delivery, receipt (one-day deliveries are made by phone orders, several times a day in small batches), the complete rejection of any stocks.

The presence of large batches of components and parts hides the causes of defects and defects. When the size of the parties is reduced, the reasons for the marriage are exposed.

It is worth providing proper visibility - and everyone will strive to choose the right course. Here, the technique of "pulling" parts and assemblies is used, as opposed to the practice of "pushing out".

The effectiveness of a just-in-time system is determined by a number of factors. Firstly, the increase in production efficiency is ensured by reducing stocks, waste and indirect costs, and the direct labor costs for rework are reduced. In addition, the need for storage facilities, equipment, mechanisms, labor, the cost of transporting goods, the need for control and accounting, and information processing are reduced. Management costs are reduced.

Secondly, additional benefits are derived from studying the market situation and forecasting its changes, related to the size of purchases and deliveries, delivery times, etc.

Thirdly, the constant repetition of the cycle (reduction of stocks, improvement of quality, increase in productivity, etc.) ultimately means that goods become cheaper and of higher quality.

Fourth, the pricing tactics of Japanese firms is to focus on low profit margins. Low costs and a low rate of return lead to reasonable prices, which allows more and more new contracts to be concluded, and this entails the development of production and stimulates the growth of output. Gross margin is high due to increased sales volume.

The second lesson can be formulated as follows: avoid excesses, waste, unevenness.

Lesson three. Quality begins with the organization of production. It is essential that all personnel in the company develop the habit of improving quality. The challenge is to do everything right at once. The responsibility rests with the manufacturers themselves. This is basic principle Japanese approach.

It is based on the following provisions:

mass training of personnel;

organization of quality circles;

goal setting, habit of improvement, and striving for excellence.

Workers are given the right to stop the conveyor line (using yellow and red signals).

Principles contributing to further quality improvement:

production in small batches;

order in the workplace;

planned underload;

daily check of equipment condition.

“Quality first” is not just a slogan, but a strategy for organizing production and all personnel from top to bottom.

Lesson four. Cultural differences nations are not an obstacle.

The application of the method contributes to a change in the attitude of workers to work and managers to their activities.

Lesson five. "Strive for simplifications, and goods will overflow the record." Meaning:

simplify the production structure of the enterprise, break down the boundaries between technologically specialized workshops.

Lesson six. Flexibility opens the door to success. The flexibility of production, its rapid adaptability to market conditions is the foundation of the position.

Hence - the release of mixed models, the flexible use of highly skilled labor (diversified workers). Flexible use of workforce is the key to effective resource management.

Lesson seven. Do not take too much cargo at once: it is better to make several trips ( we are talking on the purchase of materials, cost reduction, exact observance of the volume, terms of delivery and delivery of goods). Japanese buyers seek one supplier of one product.

Single Source Buying: A firm with 60% of its supply destined for one buyer will do its best to please the partner so that it does not deal with other firms. Another wording: force your suppliers to deliver daily or more often.

Lesson eight. Great emphasis on self-improvement. Fewer programs, less intervention from specialists. Quality circles are combined with the acquisition of related professions by workers and the rotation of workers and managers.

The Japanese did not discover anything new and did not make any amendments to the old ideas about line and staff personnel. They simply stick to the desire to help line managers and workers improve their performance.

Therefore, production personnel are trained and trained in such a way as to make them experts in their field and move it in time so that workers can improve themselves. They do everything according to science. And again the same idea is emphasized: the firm does not need a large number of programs implemented or managed by specialists, production managers and workers can manage themselves.

Lesson nine. Simplicity is the natural state. The desire to de-bureaucratize, to eliminate excessive paperwork where verbal orders and telephone conversations can be dispensed with, and the rejection of unnecessary administrative links.

The simplicity of the Japanese system does not tolerate redundant organs and bureaucratic red tape. The Japanese are increasingly resorting to simple and clear solutions. The main motto: simplify and reduce.

Of no small importance is the timing of change - it is symbolic that in Toyota this system was born during a real crisis, under the threat of bankruptcy.

Management in Japan, like in any other country, reflects its historical features, culture and social psychology. It is directly related to the socio-economic structure of the country. Japanese management methods are fundamentally different from European and American ones. This does not mean that the Japanese govern more effectively. Rather, it can be said that the basic principles of Japanese and European management lie on different planes, with very few points of intersection.

Japanese management, based on collectivism, used all the moral and psychological levers of influence on the individual. First of all, this is a sense of duty to the team, which in the Japanese mentality is almost identical to a sense of shame.

Given that the tax system works to average the income and material condition of the population with its emphasized progressive fiscal mechanism, there is minimal stratification in terms of welfare in society, and this makes it possible to use the feeling of collectivism as efficiently as possible.

What is the difference between the Japanese management method and the methods used in most European and American countries?

The main difference between management in Japan, the main subject of management in Japan is labor resources. The goal set by the Japanese manager is to increase the efficiency of the enterprise, mainly by increasing the productivity of employees. Meanwhile, in European and American management, the main goal is to maximize profits, that is, to obtain the greatest benefit with the least effort.

According to Japanese management specialist Hideki Yoshihara, there are six characteristic features of Japanese management.

Job security and creating an environment of trust . Such guarantees lead to workforce stability and reduce staff turnover. Stability serves as an incentive for workers and employees, it strengthens the sense of corporate community, harmonizes the relationship of ordinary employees with management. Freed from the oppressive threat of layoffs and with a real opportunity to move up the vertical, workers are motivated to strengthen their sense of community with the company. Stability also helps to improve the relationship between managers and ordinary workers, which, according to the Japanese, is absolutely necessary for the improvement of the company's performance. Stability makes it possible to quantitatively increase managerial resources, on the one hand, and to consciously direct the vector of their activity towards goals more significant than maintaining discipline. Job security in Japan is provided by a lifetime employment system, a phenomenon that is unique and largely incomprehensible to the European way of thinking.

Publicity and corporate values . When all levels of management and workers begin to share a common base of information about the policies and activities of the firm, an atmosphere of participation and shared responsibility develops, which improves communication and increases productivity. In this regard, meetings and conferences in which engineers and administration workers take part yield significant results. The Japanese management system also tries to create a common understanding of corporate values for all employees of the company, such as the priority of quality service, services for the consumer, cooperation between workers and administration, cooperation and interaction between departments. Management strives to constantly inculcate and maintain corporate values at all levels. 3) Information based management . The collection of data and their systematic use to improve the economic efficiency of production and the quality characteristics of products is of particular importance. In many firms that assemble TVs, they use an information collection system in which it is possible to identify when the TV went on sale, who was responsible for the health of a particular node. In this way, not only those responsible for the malfunction are identified, but mainly the causes of the malfunction, and measures are taken to prevent this from happening in the future. Executives review revenue lines, output, quality, and gross receipts monthly to see if the numbers are meeting targets and to see early challenges ahead. 4) Quality Oriented Management . Presidents of firms and management companies in Japanese enterprises often talk about the need for quality control. When managing a production process, their main concern is obtaining accurate quality data. The personal pride of the manager lies in consolidating efforts to control quality and, as a result, in the work of the production site entrusted to him with the highest quality. 5) The constant presence of management in production. In order to quickly deal with difficulties and to help solve problems as they arise, the Japanese often place management personnel right in the production premises. As each problem is solved, small innovations are introduced, resulting in an accumulation of additional innovations. In Japan, the system of innovative proposals and quality circles are widely used to promote additional innovation. 6) Maintaining cleanliness and order . One of the essential factors for the high quality of Japanese goods is cleanliness and order in production. Japanese business leaders are trying to establish a routine that can serve as a guarantee of product quality and can increase productivity through cleanliness and order.

Another important feature of Japanese management is the concept of continuous learning. The Japanese believe that continuous learning leads to continuous improvement of skills. Each person through continuous learning can improve the performance of their work. This leads to self-development, and results achieved bring moral satisfaction. On the other hand, the purpose of training is to prepare for more responsible work and career advancement. But, unlike the Western approach to management, the Japanese emphasize the duty of mastery without the expectation of any material gain. The Japanese are convinced that the improvement of skill itself can bring great satisfaction to a person. The Japanese are receptive to new ideas. They love to learn from the mistakes of others and benefit from the experience of others. They closely monitor what is happening in the world and systematically supplement information from abroad. They borrow and quickly assimilate new technological methods and processes. Japanese workers do not resist the introduction of technological innovations. Innovation is the basis of economic growth, and the Japanese are sincerely committed to it. The ideas described above were important for preparing changes in Japanese management strategy and leadership style, as well as for the restructuring of individual enterprises and the economic system as a whole. The core of the new concepts was the recognition of the social responsibility that lies with the managers. II. 1. Directed change in management strategy. Modern management methods developed in Japan in the conditions of post-war devastation, which set the leaders the task of restoring social, political and economic life. Under the influence of the American occupation administration, future Japanese managers got acquainted with American ideology and business management methods. It was during this period that Japanese business leaders began to comprehend social responsibility for the consequences of their activities. This does not mean that before 1945 Japan did not have an efficient production management system. It's just that the post-war crisis gave incentives to search for a model of the national economy, since it was already ready. As early as May 5, 1932, K. Matsushita, the founder of Matsushita Denki, who is called in Japan "the all-powerful magician of management" and "the founder of the creed of management," delivered a fiery speech to almost two hundred of his employees. It was on this day that he realized the purpose of the producer: "The role of the producer is to overcome poverty." The leaders of Japanese enterprises carried out their tasks, first by applying traditional management methods to new conditions, and then with the help of the theories and methods of American management that they had assimilated. They tried not only to creatively apply pre-war experience to new conditions, but also to draw useful lessons, absorb new ideas and thus find a new, Japanese way of development. As a result, the main features of the Japanese management system are determined by a number of concepts that are absent in the American model. The most important of these are the system of lifetime employment and the process of collective decision-making. Japanese society is homogeneous and imbued with the spirit of collectivism. The Japanese always think in terms of groups. A person is aware of himself primarily as a member of the group, and his individuality - as the individuality of a part of the whole. The guiding principle of Japanese management is in agreement with the studies of E. Mayo, who showed that work is a group activity. The question of what human traits will be strong enough to be relied upon in the context of a rapidly changing social psychology and ethical values, for Japan, as well as for other countries, is still open. Many researchers believe that even the seemingly most modern features of thinking and feeling of an individual and social groups are a product of past eras and will disappear as society develops. The change in management methods in Japan today is characterized by an increase in the freedom to choose concepts for creating optimal systems, but traditional management methods are not forgotten. The desire for change, based on respect for national spiritual values, is clearly demonstrated in the following statement by one of the most prominent entrepreneurs in Japan, S. Honda: “He who is the head of an organization must first of all make his management comprehensively justified. This means that he must perfectly understand the goals of the activities of his organization, justify its policies and create plans for achieving the set goals in such a way that his subordinates work with self-esteem and get job satisfaction. In order to develop a way of thinking that would push subordinates to achieve their goals in any conditions, the leader must have a theoretically strong and practically applicable concept. II. 2. Features of the principles of production strategy. In recent years, in the course of international competition, three very important principles of production strategy have emerged. Firstly, this is a production on the principle of "just in time". In accordance with this principle, the company strives to receive all materials and components exactly at the time when they are needed for the production of the final product. In this scheme, the supplier must deliver components to the assembly shop several times a day. The Japanese are more insistent on minimizing inventories than US production managers. The Japanese are more successful and efficient in using these systems. The Japanese have done a great job of integrating their inventory management systems with their business philosophy, their approach to quality management and the introduction of automated production control systems. The second important idea that firms have to learn already from their international competitors relates to integrated quality control (the so-called “do it right” concept). Under this concept, quality is ensured by including a responsibility for quality in every job description or job description of a production worker. The new worker learns the principles of quality management at the same time as learning how to operate the production equipment. In this case, the role of the dedicated special quality control function decreases, and the role of quality control at each workplace increases. The third, and closely related to the above, strategic principle is the combination of preventive maintenance. It is the responsibility of production workers to carefully carry out preventive maintenance and maintenance of equipment in order to exclude its breakdowns and failures. The absence of a centralized service to control and distribute the flow of materials between workshops is a hallmark of the assembly plant of the Japanese company. It does not have managers specializing in intershop coordination. The task of intershop adjustment is solved by the heads of the respective shops through direct negotiations. This is inter-shop coordination in a Japanese firm or localized horizontal coordination. When analyzing the reasons high performance in the Japanese auto industry, it is very important to note that they have only five levels of management compared to 11-12 levels of management in the American automobile industry. Many foreign competitors are in favor of an in-line production system with a “push” of workpieces, which provides for closer coordination of the work of production sites. In this case, the workpieces are sequentially "pulled" from the previous section as needed. Such production systems are usually quite simple in structure. The transfer of information from site to site is mainly carried out with the help of paper cards (“kanban”), and not with the help of a computer. The functioning of such systems is largely determined by the interaction of neighboring production sites. With decentralized horizontal coordination of production, as Japan's experience shows, high efficiency is achieved in terms of production and information management. Here, information moves from the final vertex (the final assembly shop) to the higher shops, but without the mediation of administrative departments, as is the case in a hierarchy, where everything that happens in the shops is closely related to the decisions of the central planning service. In the system of horizontal coordination, the shops themselves are the nodal points of the communication network, and in this case, the lower-lying shops "command" the higher-lying ones. In a focused form, this coordination of production is reflected in the kanban system of the country's automotive industry. The purpose of the kanban system is to integrate production and information flows in order to successfully respond to changes in the market situation with minimal inventory. However, if the product range is limited or the market demand is very stable with rapid change through horizontal coordination of the output schedule in response to market signals, then savings in storage costs may be negligible. On the other hand, with large changes in demand, horizontal coordination without information centralization may not be effective. The absence of a centralized service for controlling and distributing the flow of materials between workshops is a hallmark of an assembly plant in a Japanese company.

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