The American Samurai

Blending American and Japanese Managerial Practices

Jon P. Alston

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9783110106190
• eBook ISBN: 9783110855470
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

No detailed description available for "The American Samurai".

Table of contents

• Chapter 1. Introduction
• 1.1 The Plan of this Book
• 1.2 America’s Productivity Gap
• 1.3 Japan’s Productivity Advantage
• 1.4 The Goals of this Book
• 1.5 Eight American Myths about the Japanese Worker
• 1.6 Four Basic Principles of Japanese Management
• Chapter 2. The Cooperative Japanese
• 2.1 The Japanese Insistence on Cooperation
• 2.2 The Japanese Sense of Inferiority
• 2.3 The Importance of Group Membership
• 2.4 The Japanese Concern for Group Harmony
• 2.5 The Concept of Wa
• 2.6 Wa and the Worker
• 2.7 Learning By Observing
• 2.8 Children Companies
• 2.9 The Just-In-Time System
• 2.10 Advantages of Worker-Management Consensus
• 2.11 Wa and Labor Unions
• 2.12 Union-Management Relations
• Chapter 3. The Competitive Americans
• 3.1 Competition in America
• 3.2 The Prisoner’s Dilemma
• 3.3 Overt vs Covert Competition
• 3.4 Competition Encourages Conformity
• 3.5 Scientific Management in America
• 3.6 Thinking vs Doing
• 3.7 The Japanese Helping Ethic
• 3.8 American Individualism
• 3.9 Walk-around Management
• Chapter 4. Japanese Leadership and Authority Patterns
• 4.1 Leadership-by-Designation
• 4.2 Leadership-by-Influence
• 4.3 Good Leadership in America
• 4.4 Achievement and Authority in Japan
• 4.5 Wa and Career Security
• 4.6 Avoiding Direct Confrontation
• 4.7 Foreign Machines and Japanese Spirit
• 4.8 Amae: Emotional Dependence on Others
• 4.9 The Invisible Leader in Japan and America
• Chapter 5. The Individual and the Work Group in Japan
• 5.1 Introduction
• 5.2 Group consensus Encourages Trust
• 5.3 Group Dynamics
• 5.4 How the Group Rewards the Individual
• 5.5 Corporate Structures Supporting Group Consensus
• 5.6 Turning the Recruit into a Team Player
• 5.7 Delegation
• 5.8 Tolerating Mistakes
• Chapter 6. Practical Examples of Japanese Cooperation
• 6.1 The Ringi Decision-Making System
• 6.2 Japan’s Lack of Lawyers
• 6.3 The Japanese Contract
• 6.4 Wages, Bonuses, and Gifts
• 6.5 The Education Rat Race
• 6.6 The Japanese at Play and Work
• 6.7 Rewarding the Japanese Way
• Chapter 7. Permanent Employment
• 7.1 The Nature of Permanent Employment
• 7.2 The Permanent Worker’s Responsibilities
• 7.3 Hiring Rituals for Permanent Employees
• 7.4 Becoming a Lifelong Employee
• 7.5 Advantages of Lifelong Employment
• 7.6 More Advantages of Lifetime Employment
• 7.7 Disadvantages of Lifetime Employment
• Chapter 8. Achieving Quality Performance and High Productivity
• 8.1 An Introduction to Quality Control Circles
• 8.2 Definitions of Quality
• 8.3 Quality Control Circles in Japan
• 8.4 Quality Control Circles in America
• 8.5 Waiting for the Benefits of Quality Control Circles
• 8.6 Making Quality Control Circles Work
• Chapter 9. Meetings in Japanese Style
• 9.1 The Necessity for Face-to-Face Meetings
• 9.2 Types of Meetings
• 9.3 How to Conduct a Meeting
• 9.4 Everyone a Participant
• 9.5 Exploratory and Leap Frog Meetings
• 9.6 The Freeloaders
• 9.7 How Many Members?
• 9.8 The Benefits of Full Participation
• 9.9 Practical Suggestions
• Chapter 10. How to Conduct Business with the Japanese
• 10.1 Japanese Business Etiquette
• 10.2 Negotiating with the Japanese
• 10.3 After an Agreement
• 10.4 Visiting Japan
• References
• Author Index
• Subject Index