Crime costs money to local and national governments and to private citizens; and the Japanese have a remarkably social way of controlling their crime rates. The Japanese national conscience is so intense that it was used to “[convince] people that failure to keep up their social obligations would mean a loss of social respect,” (Kunio, 2006, p. 89). Japanese society, educational system, and government instill a pervasive sense of character that is uniquely Japanese. However political problems may arise if the leaders instilling this sense of identity for their own good and not for the good of the whole that they are trying to create. There is always the possibility of institutional corruption that could create problems when people become dissatisfied and restless with their government. “The belief of the government elite that they too belonged to the Japanese community and that it was their duty to contribute to its welfare,” (Kunio, 2006, p. 90) the fact that no one is truly above the rules of society even through the social ladder is a sign of extreme unity within Japan.
Examples of effective Japanese management policies “include lifetime employment, seniority-graded wages, seniority-based promotion, job rotation, emphasis on management philosophy and objectives, flexible management (little dependence on the job manual), group decision making, group responsibility, emphasis on smooth human relations, ringi, and the minimization of status differences between workers and managers,” (Kunio, 2006, p. 90). In Japan a company that a person works for is more than the place that they earn their paycheck at; according to Kunio in Japan workers have to learn the philosophy of their company and attend a variety of training courses that ...
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from:http://books.google.com/books?id=qmmyR0GcrUC&lpg=PR9&ots=z3JnmjV9tZ&dq=Robert%20N.%20Bellah%20Tokugawa%20Religion%3A%20The%20Cultural%20Roots%20of%20Modern%20Japan&lr&pg=PR4#v=onepage&q&f=false (Original work published in 1957).
Central Intelligence Agency. 2010. The World Factbook: Japan. Washington D.C.: Government
Printing Office.
Greenfeld, Liah. 2003. The Spirit of Capitalism: Nationalism and Economic Growth. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Kunio, Yoshihara. 2006. Developing Cultures: Case Studies. (Lawrence E. Harrison & Peter L.
Berger, Eds.). New York, NY, United States: Routledge.
Meyer, Milton W. 1993. Japan: A Concise History, Third Edition. Lanham, Maryland, United
States: Littlefield Adams Quality Paperbacks.
Tames, Richard. 1993. A Traveller’s History of Japan. New York, NY: Interlink Books.
Over the past fifty years Japan has seen significant changes in all aspects of its society and the way it interacts with the outside world. For example, despite suffering a defeat in World War II, Japan soon became one of Asia’s greatest economic powers. In Japan in Transformation, 1952 - 2000, Jeffrey Kingston focuses on various aspects of change in Japanese society and politics in the period after World War II. These include the effect of the US occupation, analysis of postwar politics, the economic boom, changes in demographics, the treatment of women, and foreign policy and security issues. Throughout the book, the author tries and often succeeds to explain many of these changes as part of the legacy of the occupation. All in all, Jeffrey Kingston gives a thorough economic, politic and social analysis of this crucial period in Japanese history.
In 1900 Britain was in many respects the world’s leading nation, enjoying a large share of world trade, a dominant position in the international money market, and possessing a far flung empire supported by the world’s most powerful navy. Japan was a complete contrast, sharing with Britain only the fact that it too was a nation of Islands lying off the shore of a major continent. Until the 1860s it had possessed a social and economic structure more akin to that of feudal, rather than twentieth century, Europe. By the 1990s, the positions were almost reversed. This paper sets out to examine the contrasting democratic political systems of the two nations and to explore the social and democratic consequences of the changes that have occurred.
Over the last decades social protection programs have been developed to mitigate damaging impacts from economic crises and individual setbacks. The role of social health protection has been particularly highlighted as a human right that safeguards the economic productivity of a healthy work force and serves as a social and economic stabilizer in times of crises (Adlung, X. & Sander, L., 2010). Kelly accepted her first job after graduating from her management program and relocated to Japan. Mr. Higashi was her immediate supervisor and mentored several of The Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) candidates. He definitely liked Kelly right away because she spoke fluent Japanese which set her apart from many of the current and past graduates. Each newly assigned JET employer signed an employment contract which set them apart from the Japanese workers in the office including key differences in work hours, Saturdays off and acknowledgement of the Japanese holidays. Many of the Japanese workers resented the recent graduates because they had these special considerations in their contract and did not have the same w...
The Japanese society can be portrayed as essentially having no classes since there is a small group of elite and underclass that encompass the numerous middle class. Social differences exist between rural folks and urban residents in terms of family composition, education and participation in the labor force. The social difference in urban setting exists between white collar middle class and blue collar industrial workers and the self-employed artisans (Japan social influence 2014:6).
This shows how language plays a role in Japan by the maintenance of the hierarchical structure of the society.
...ty for one that better suited its capitalistic tendency. That opportunity came in1868 when the Meiji imperial rule was able to overthrow the Tokugawa regime, setting off a political, economic, social and cultural change that transformed Japan. As Japan embraced modernity with full force, some began to realize the negative impact of modernization on the rural life, social structure and most importantly on its culture, blaming it on the western influence on its modernization. Thus as Japan neared World War II, it embraced a new sense of modernization, one that was separate from westernization, creating a nationalistic and fascist government policy. Japanese society is characteristic of plurality and opposing value systems coexisting. As new ideals and institutions arise, Japan sees itself transforming and changing at the hands of internal and external forces.
Since my cultural experience was on the Japanese culture, I decided I would continue on with that interest and write my paper about the Japanese culture therefor giving me a chance to do more research about the culture. The Japanese culture is really rich and diverse, there is a particular hierarchy or structure to the Japanese culture, Denison (2002) stated that “Japanese culture is structured around black and white norms for acceptable group behavior. People who do not function by there norms are viewed as outsiders who lack legitimate status. Black and white expectations of behavior produce equally clear cut conformity, resulting in high harmony and certainly of outcome, trust is early through continuous conformity”.This is a huge and really important aspect of their culture because it governs their social standing, interacting with others and the way they are seen, and when it comes to your social standing in the culture, the way you are seen and respected by those around you is very important.
Japanese attitude and values inevitably affect how we view, feel and act about things as is exemplified in relation to politics. The functioning of political institutions reflects the attitudes, norms and expectations of citizens. In times of systematic change, a supportive public can facilitate the development of a new political system, while the lack of public support can destroy the foundation of a political system. In order to understand the tendencies for present and future behavior in a nation, we must examine a country's political culture-the public's attitude toward politics and their role within the political system. It is important to recognize that political culture does not explain everything about politics
Sitting in a dimly lit, smoke filled room on the second floor of a private club, a group of men discuss private matters in a hushed voice. These men, with elaborate body tattoos, flashy American cars, tight fitting shiny suits, and prostitutes on their arms are part of the Yakuza, an organized crime group in Japan similar to the Italian Mafia. With around 110,000 active members and around 2,500 crime families (Bruno, Anthony), the Yakuza is the most influential crime group in Japan. Even though modern police along with the Japanese government have the means required to end the group, the Yakuza have managed to exist for years. Despite the fact the the Yakuza is not nearly as powerful as they once were and are wanted by the police, they continue to exist today because of their acceptance in society, the large role that they play in many industries and corporations, and the firm political alliances that they possess with right-wing nationalists.
They also see their managers as task masters and expert problem solvers rather than as motivators and they value production roles more than leadership roles (Hofstede, 1993, p. 83). In Japan, they value employee loyalty. They expect their workers to join a company and remain there for the duration of their working life. They have a groupthink outlook and spend a lot of time working in groups. They value what is good for the company and the team rather than looking for individual recognition and tend to be more peer led than manager led, which means that US management cultures are not a good fit for countries like Japan (Hofstede, 1993, p. 83-84). In France, employees who are educated are more highly respected and their workers are divided into two categories. There are the properly educated workers (cadres) and the not properly education workers (non-cadres). There is no crossing between the two and the cadres are given privileges that the non-cadres are not regardless of their actual job title or task (Hofstede, 1993, p. 84-85). In Holland, they manage by consensus (Hofstede, 1993, p. 85). China has many smaller, family run businesses and because of this, many times the manager and the owner are the same. They tend to be more specialized and less global, and most of the decisions are made by the most dominant member of the family that owns the business. They are very thrifty when it comes to cost and spending and apply Confucian values on money. Their management system is very lacking of modern business management practices (Hofstede, 1993, p. 86). In short, all these comparisons can be summed up by saying that all companies everywhere have a concept of management, but what it means and how it’s practiced is different around the world (Hofstede, 1993, p. 88-89). So, if
as is the custom in Japan for retires. Getting rid of senior workers is one the
...t diversity as a necessary evil of the new world economy, but still hold onto the xenophobic and conformity views it has had throughout its’ history. Only time will tell whether the Japanese society is ready to accept diversity. The movement has been started by the younger generation and the successful technology based companies they have founded. Japan’s history dictates that conflict follows fast cultural changes. The transformation from the Nara Era into the Tokogawa Era, and later from the Tokogawa Era into the Meiji Era were all marked by quick and rapid changes in Japanese cultural doctrine. Each transition had violent confrontations between those fighting to take power and those trying to keep it. During each of these cultural revolutions influences from the old system remained. Japan today has put down their swords, but as past history shows, the old conservatives will not hand over their system to the younger liberals easily. This suggests that the change toward diversity in Japan will not happen over night, but slowly over time. It may take generations for the Japanese society to completely forget the conformist and xenophobic cultural influences of the past 1500 years.
Stockwin, J. A. Chapter 7: Who Runs Japan? In Governing Japan: Divided Politics in a Resurgent Economy (4th ed., pp. 46-72). London, The United Kingdom: Blackwell.
Based on the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) studies (Northouse, 2013), researchers concluded that the Japanese people place higher importance on performance orientation, institutional collectivism, and in-group collectivism. A collectivistic culture places group needs and wants above those of the individual (Northouse, 2013). Japanese people are particularly sensitive to and concerned about relationships. They discourage individualism whe...
This dedication of Japanese employees to their work contributes greatly to the strength of the economy of Japan. They feel like they are part of a big family (the company). Employees work together for the benefit of the company as a whole. They truly feel that their hard work and success contribute to the company's success and growth. Companies also have special programs and classes for the employees, who are the children, to make them feel at home. There are company athletic clubs and cultural classes, such as flower arrangement and the tea ceremony. Since everyone is a member of the "family" in Japan, decisions that the company must make are circulated among the lower echelons of the work force for their opinio...