On June 5th, Prof. Naoki Kuriyama, Ph.D., visited the Centre for Eastern Languages and Cultures (CELC) to deliver a lecture on Japanese management, labour marketing, recruitment, and working style.
Prof. Kuriyama went over the strenghts of Japanese employment practices and labor management relations. As an example of long-running inheritance of the craft, he pointed out the oldest company in the world, Kongō Gumi, founded in 578 A.D. Building up new masters of the craft, including worthy candidates outside the family tree, is one of the key principles of traditional Japanese business. Following that, a concept known as shuhari (守破離) was described – obeying the fundamentals, detaching oneself from the rigidity of tradition to bring about innovation, and, finally, separating from the known forms to create something new, thus becoming part of the traditional wisdom yourself.
Toyota’s overnight success story with GM’s Fremont plant taught us how, rather than wait for problems to be solved, Japanese workers made the efforts themselves, saving valuable time. This all linked wonderfully together with the “5 Whys Technique” and kaizen, the principle of continuous improvement within the business. Another point of study was the “5S” method – learning the importance of preparatory arrangement and fostering a collaborative attitude. Case studies showed us how on-the-job training (OJT) helps employees get examples, practice through job assignments, and receive support while working.
Touching on labour market issues, Prof. Kuriyama talked about the standardised wage model for graduates as well as the very low youth unemployment, stemming from a social aspect of natural striving among peers. Universities and companies work together to get potential student candidates good job opportunities and commence their transition as soon as possible, a core part of the Japanese organisational behaviour field. Promotion, additional pay and benefits based on seniority are not uncommon and can be seen as a continual investment into an employee which minimises the risk of damages while increasing the employee’s expertise.