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AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRIES, U.S. & JAPANESE
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Compares management, role of govt., competition, economic & cultural assumptions, production.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Compares management, role of govt., competition, economic & cultural assumptions, production.
Paper Introduction:
The automobile industry in Japan and the United States serves as an example of the differences in style between these two countries, differences which have been much studied in recent years as American companies attempt to become more competitive and to do so by learning what has made Japanese companies so successful. The Japanese industrial expansion since World War II has been considerable. Japan began from a position far behind the West, with her infrastructure devastated, and since has achieved a position of economic preeminence, challenging the United States and other industrialized nations for world leadership in innovation and industrial production, especially in high-tech industries of great import on the international scene today and into the future. The U.S. has recently started giving Japan greater attention in order to discern the management styles
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Dollinger, "Confucian Ethics and Japanese ManagementPractices," Journal of Business Ethics (August 1988), 575-584. Again, it is not clear that this will reduce the decline in theAmerican auto industry because these techniques are tied so closely to theculture from which they arose. This could mean that the move to adopt manyJapanese approaches, such as quality circles, the team concept, and so on,are doomed to failure because they do not fit the American context: The crux of the situation is that the United States and Japan have fundamentally different understandings of the purposes and workings of a national economy. The U.S. Cole, Work, Mobility, and Participation (Los Angeles:University of California, 1979), 262. The autoindustry was after all the industry that developed the assembly-line methodof production, among other innovations. After World War II, the problems of Americanindustry increased and in a sense became institutionalized. "Why Japan Won't 'Buy American.'" The New Leader (January 13, 1992), 1 -11.Cole, Robert E. In theautomobile industry, this added competition has stirred both fear and envy,and as the Japanese have transplanted some of their management techniquesto their U.S. American Samurai: A Warrior For The Coming Dark Ages Of American Business. [2]William Lareau, American Samurai: A Warrior For The Coming Dark AgesOf American Business (Clinton, New Jersey: New Win Publications, 1991) 12-17. Both sides seem to view the other with deepsuspicion.[7] Even as American auto makers are suspicious of the Japanese, ofcourse, they are also busy adapting Japanese management and manufacturingtechniques to their particular situation, as if this will solve theirproblems. TheJapanese have a system that is centrally controlled and directed, while theAmerican system emphasizes the idea of the entrepreneur and of individualaction and achievement, with no government control beyond regulation forfairness and a level playing field. products, especially auto parts.This is considered a transparent ruse by American companies, however, andnot a substantive change. The Japanese industrialexpansion since World War II has been considerable. Some of this is disputed by commentators likeYukio Miyamoto, who has worked for a Japanese trading company his entirelife. Prestowitz, Trading Places (New York: Basic Books, 1988),7-9. autoindustry, but the world market has changed so that other factors as wellmust be noted. Thiswould also save Toyota hundreds of millions of dollars each year, andNissan has wanted Toyota to go along with the change. [7]Michael Berger, "Why Japan Won't 'Buy American,'" The New Leader(January 13, 1992), 1 . While the United States embraces Adam Smith, the seventeenth-century prophet of free trade, and has concentrated on consumption as the main economic engine, Japan has focused on production and dominance of key industries that will enhance its strategic position. Japan began from aposition far behind the West, with her infrastructure devastated, and sincehas achieved a position of economic preeminence, challenging the UnitedStates and other industrialized nations for world leadership in innovationand industrial production, especially in high-tech industries of greatimport on the international scene today and into the future. Toyota has beenrestructuring in order to weather the recession, and it has done so bygoing its own way to a great degree. Subsequent history further ingrained the idea thatAmerica was special, and World War II brought the American self-image andachievements to their penultimate position. Bibliography"The ambush awaiting Japan." The Economist (July 6, 1991), 67-68.Berger, Michael. American government policies are not as laissez-faireas they are made out to be, especially with respect to the stimulation ofnew industries.[8] At the same time, MITI is not as powerful andcontrolling as it is sometimes made out to be. [8]Robert E. Trading Places. [3]Prestowitz, 1 -11. [6]"The ambush awaiting Japan," The Economist (July 6, 1991), 67. Miyamoto and other Japanese see America asexpressing an overly-simplistic understanding of the U.S.-Japaneserelationship. criticism bytriggering a surge in imports of U.S. It is important to note the environmental differences betweenAmerican and Japanese companies, differences which have a profound effecton how any management technique, Japanese or American, will fare over time. The American business experiencehas been in keeping with the development of American culture and history.It is a culture based on individualism and self-achievement and so hasresisted government interference and control to a much greater degree. Toyota, however,indicated there will be no such changes.[9] Before American auto makersadopt japanese methods, they need to be sure that those methods will workwell in the culture of the U.S. The Japanese seem to have movedahead in this area as well.[3] Those American managers trying to adapt Japanese managementtechniques to American automobile companies, or any American company, needto remember the fit between Japanese culture and Japanese style.Management is not an isolated phenomenon but rather operates in the contextof a particular nation. Some of these differences are also sources of dissension between the twocountries, especially in terms of the role of the Japanese government inprotecting Japanese industry by excluding competition. Recently, MITI has tried to counter U.S. The Civil War became the impetus for the foundationof a consistent, centralized system of laws and commerce and a solidindustrial base. Japan rebuilt afterthe war by using techniques that continue to be used today. hasrecently started giving Japan greater attention in order to discern themanagement styles used in Japan and to emulate them to the greatest degreepossible, and there has been an increase in Japanese investment in theU.S., with the opening of a certain number of Japanese manufacturingcompanies in the U.S., primarily to produce Japanese cars. Clinton, New Jersey: New Win Publications, 1991.Prestowitz, Clyde V. Japan negotiated trade treaties so that foreignerswere prevented from doing business in the interior of the country. [9]Taylor, Alex. [5]Marc J. The problemsare not limited to the manufacturing industries. The Japanese are still ahead in terms of sales and futureoutlook, however, and there are three reasons for this, Japaneseautomakers use leaner production processes and also have major factorysites in America and Europe, providing a big advantage over the crumblingfactories of some of their western rivals.Second, even in a slump the Japanese producers out-perform the market. [4]Ibid., 13. Another reason forthe success of Japanese car makers is that they make cars people want.[6] Americans note the degree to which the Japanese government influencesthe auto industry through its Ministry of International Trade and Industry(MITI), and generally this observation is made in a way that shows MITI tobe imposing unfair trade restrictions on American goods so that Japanesecompanies have an advantage. Many observable Japanese managerialpractices can be reduced to three underlying factors: 1) a long-run planning horizon; 2) a commitment to lifetime employment; and 3) the Japanese sense of collective responsibility.These factors are based on Confucian thought.[5] With the world-wide recession in recent years, Japanese automobilecompanies have encountered difficulties just as have American companies.Many Americans blame the Japanese for the problems in the U.S. An analysis of the two countries in terms of theirautomobile industries shows the different ways each are related to theirrespective governments and shows what this means in terms of theirdevelopment, their economic health, and the way management techniques matchthe country's business culture. "Confucian Ethics and Japanese Management Practices," Journal of Business Ethics, August 1988, 575-584.Lareau, William. In the early 198 s, thepopular myth held that America would lead the world into the"postindustrial age" and that in the future American competitive strengthwould be based on service industries. New York: Basic Books, 1988.----------------------- [1]Clyde V. Some commentators find that theAmerican system is based in part on a certain American arrogance stretchingback to the Revolutionary War period, which heightened the belief thatAmerica was special. The automobile industry in Japan and the United States serves as anexample of the differences in style between these two countries,differences which have been much studied in recent years as Americancompanies attempt to become more competitive and to do so by learning whathas made Japanese companies so successful. Decision-making for this Japanesefirm is also influenced by government edicts and controls on the economy.Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) asked forautomakers to stretch out the time between model changes from four years tofive years or more as a way of conserving resources and manpower. Inthe U.S., where car sales fell by 16 percent in the first five months of1991, Japanese producers managed to increase their market share, and carsbuilt by Japanese companies (either in Japan or at their "transplant"factories in America) now account for about one-third of the Americanmarket, which could rise to 4 percent in a short time. When the war was over, most ofthe prewar industrial powers were in ruins, and the only major economy leftintact was that of the United States.[2] More recently, this perception has started to change, causing many toquestion the American economic system and its management structure,traditions, and theories. subsidiaries, American companies have considered whether tocopy these methods. Any attempt to learn from the Japaneseshould begin with consideration of the fundamental differences in economicstructure between the two countries and the nature of the unemploymentproblems each faces. Work, Mobility, and Participation (Los Angeles: University of California, 1979), 262.Dollinger, Marc J. While the United States has encouraged and written into law adversarial relationships between business and government and labor and management, Japan has striven to achieve cooperation.[4] The ethics of the Japanese system is to be found in Confucianism.Japanese Confucianism has several distinct themes: 1) the human beingregarded with respect and dignity; 2) the values of harmony; 3)righteousness and the acts of righteous individuals in a framework ofloyalty; and 4) the morally superior person who leads by example and isdevoted to the other Confucian values. During that time, he has watched the gradual economic role reversalof Japan and the United States, beginning during the post-war period whenAmerican reforms focused the energies of Japan on rebuilding and creatingan egalitarian society. Growth was rapid so that by 19 Japan'scapital industries had reached a level of technology comparable to that ofthe West.[1] The American system has developed along a very different track andwith a very different culture, and to a great degree the automobileindustry has been at the forefront in developing this culture. Foreignexperts were hired to come to Japan and transfer the technology and skillsthey had developed. Japanalso avoided foreign investment and sought the technology of the West notto be westernized but to maintain her autonomy and purity as a society.All such efforts were at the behest and under the guidance of thegovernment authorities, and this was a key element in the way Japanesebusiness culture developed. "How Toyota Copes with Hard Times." Fortune (January25, 1993), 78-81.----------------------- 9
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