Search results

Management practices in Japan differ from those prevalent in the West partly because of different cultural assumptions regarding the basic character of humanity itself. Whereas opinion in Western tradition tends to favour the pessimistic assumption, Japanese tradition (as represented, particularly, by Confucianism) has always held man′s nature to be intrinsically good. Confucian ideology has been gradually absorbed into business management, and various well‐known features of Japanese management such as emphasis on personal relations, informal superior‐subordinate ties, consensus oriented decision making, and life‐time employment derive from the notion of the individual′s intrinsic virtuousness.

Proposes that features unique to Japanese industrial management practice such as excessive emphasis on training, a mainly intuitive, pragmatic approach to problems of productivity and quality (as against exclusive dependence on scientific methods), the ethos of hard work, the quest for continuous performance improvement, and stress on self‐reliance in technology derive from the component of Japanese culture known as Zen Buddhism. Zen has always been associated with practical, economic pursuits; examination of its philosophy and techniques gives insight into the values underlying modern management in Japan.

This article presents the view that the remarkable post‐war improvement of Japanese product quality is attributable primarily to human factors in addition to experience gained in war‐time manufacture of military hardware. Other factors responsible for the phenomenon include organisation for quality at various levels, emphasis upon training, a policy of technological modernisation and innovations in production management such as just‐in‐time, total productive maintenance, inspection by workmen, continuous process development. Characteristics derived from Japanese culture, such as an overly moralistic outlook regarding the sale of defective merchandise, as well as group orientation, leading to better co‐operation among workers, and between the parent company and its subcontractors, are also relevant in this respect.

Ideas regarding the basic character of humanity assume importance wherever people interact with one another — from the family to the political state, to the business enterprise. These conceptions, ranging from pessimism to optimism, from notions that evil, predatory competition on the one hand to goodness, co‐ operation and virtue on the other characterise the intrinsic disposition of people, derive from the culture to which the individual belongs, moulding his values and conditioning his behaviour. They not only affect the quality of human relations present in any collectivity, but exercise critical influence on the theories and practices of social control. The understanding of a range of social parameters is considerably enhanced when viewed from the perspective of prevailing cultural ideas about human nature itself.

All human activities involve a dimension of time. Usually, the accomplishment of a stated task within lesser duration, other parameters remaining unchanged, entails superior performance. The factor of time is particularly important in economic endeavours. Thus, in manufacturing situations, functions such as forecasting, goal‐setting, planning, scheduling, evaluation and control become significant. The efficiency with which these tasks are accomplished, to an extent, determines the performance of the firm. Similarly, the time taken to complete a commercial project acquires importance. If an undertaking is unduly delayed, goods and services produced by it frequently turn out to be less economical because of cost escalations.

Describes a microcomputer software system for total productivity measurement in manufacturing organi‐zations, named TOPROD, developed by the author. Beginning with a discussion advocating the greater use of total productivity ratios in industry, the six main programs of the software are described. The first three modules deal with various categories of inputs: capital (including fixed and working), direct costs (such as labour and raw materials) and indirect costs. The fourth module considers all output items. The fifth and sixth algorithms compute total and value‐added productivity respectively, as well as partial productivities of the principal inputs. Describes the application of TOPROD to an Indian chemical process plant, producing high‐density polyethylene. The results are analysed, and possible steps for improvement suggested.

Caste is the basic structural feature of Hindu society; all social scientists are agreed on this. Since Hinduism is generally recognised to be as much a social system as a religion, its social framework embodying caste rituals has governed the lives of the majority of Indians for hundreds of years. Having deep roots in tradition and enjoying sanction in all religious literature belonging to the pre‐British era, caste has been the dominant principle of social organisation since ancient times. In fact, barring the recent past, Hinduism has always been identified in the minds of most Indians with caste observances. Writes R.C. Zaehner: “…until a century or so ago the acceptance of the caste system was considered by the orthodox to be the sole effective criterion of whether one was or was not a Hindu. In matters of belief it mattered not at all whether one believed in one god or many, or not at all, nor did it much matter on how one interpreted ‘liberation’ or whether one rejected it outright so long as one fulfilled the duties prescribed for one's caste.”

The essence of Japanese culture is said to lie in the group rather than in the individual. According to the viewpoint favoured in most writings on Japanese society and culture, the Japanese are a group‐oriented people; they like to work in groups and have always worked in association with one another, and social pressures on the individual to conform happen to be irresistible. The nail that sticks out, as the popular saying goes, gets hammered down.