Japanese Human Japanese Human

Resource ManagementResource Management

By Mika Nelson

Sophia University, Tokyo

Japanese Human Resource Japanese Human Resource

ManagementManagement

• Japanese Human Resource Management is unique from any Western management style.

• What is it that makes Japan so different?

© Mika Nelson, 2009

Recruiting ProcessRecruiting ProcessNew graduates:

• Students in the end of their 3rd year of college start job hunting to be hired in April the next year.

• They are easy to train, and can easily adjust to the corporate culture.

Athletes:

• Highly favored, for they have endured 4 years of hard sports training and know how to function well in a group.

Easy last year:

• Students can relax and enjoy their last year of college, knowing where they are going to work after they graduation.

© Mika Nelson, 2009

LifeLife--time Employmenttime Employment

Difficult to fire employees:

• Strongly supported by the government.

• Cannot fire employees unless they made a criminal offense.

• There are implicit ways to fire people through peer pressure, but it would be called "voluntary retirement."

It's motivating!

• Once you are in a company, you know you can stay there until you retire.

• People feel gratitude and want to work hard for the company that they are proud of representing.

© Mika Nelson, 2009

SenioritySeniority--BasedBased PaymentPaymentFixed Salary:

• There is a fixed rate for every employee, which everybody is aware of.

• You know exactly how much you are going to get for the rest of your time at the company.

Benefits:

• Since everybody is earning the same amount, and increasing at the same rate, nobody feels inferior--good for group harmony.

• It is easier to get a loan from a bank, while also planning out your loan.

© Mika Nelson, 2009

My Opinion...My Opinion...

• Japanese people like things to be organized and predictable—sometimes this decreases creativity of employees within the firm.

• I personally like this system of being hired while still a student because then you can relax in your last year of studies.

• However, this system is somewhat unfair for those who do well in school but are not athletic because athletes from famous universities have an upper hand when it comes to being hired.

© Mika Nelson, 2009

These slides are part of a student podcast project related to the book “J-Management: Fresh Perspectives on the Japanese Firm in the 21st Century” edited by

Dr. Parissa Haghirian of Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan.

For further information about the podcasts and the book, please visit www.parissahaghirian.com

These slides are to be used for teaching and educational purposes only.

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