Management in Japan -- What can, and cannot, be copied in the west

The cultural differences between Japan and the West are vast and despite Japan's significant economic progress, it is unwise to believe that Japanese management practices are automatically transferable. This short paper examines a number of current management practices in Japan and discusses their transferability (or otherwise) to the West. In particular, it highlights the idea of multistructure as a successful organizational form, contending it to be particularly evident in Japan and capable of emulation elsewhere. In addition, it argues that the West, like Japan should use slack time, i.e. time not committed to production, for managerial training and development and the updating of skills. On the other hand there are Japanese organizational behaviour aspects which give them a large advantage over their non-Japanese competitors, but which are not transferable to Western national and multinational corporations. Finally, the paper presents a few aspects of Japanese culture which constitute constraints and shortcomings for the Zaibatsu, their large business corporations, when operating out of Japan.