What's the difference between American enterprises and Japanese enterprises?

Five major differences in management between the United States and Japan

First of all, let's compare the differences in management between the United States and Japan, which are mainly reflected in the following aspects:

(1) Source of strength

● United States: Dependent system

The operational strength of the American management system comes from strict governance and incentive system, and the behavior of top managers is restrained and encouraged by the power of the system. The rights, responsibilities and interests of the board of directors, shareholders' meeting and management of the company are clearly defined.

● Japan: Relying on culture

The operational strength of Japan's management system comes from the cohesion of corporate culture and relies on the Japanese cultural tradition of employees' lifelong loyalty to the enterprise. Establish a management mode of cooperation, consultation and harmony among the board of directors, trade unions and supervisors.

(II) People's Status

● America: Attaching Importance to Individuals

America respects the personal strength of leaders or elites. Leadership is often top-down, and enterprises rely on the judgment, observation and decision-making power of the president. Employees are deeply influenced by the behavior of business leaders. The core of corporate culture is boss culture.

● Japan: Pay attention to the team

Japanese enterprises pay more attention to the strength of the team. Leadership is usually from the bottom up. Middle-level leaders constantly communicate closely with front-line workers on the spot, stimulate their innovation potential, and infiltrate the company culture into the hearts of every employee.

(III) Mission objectives

● USA: Maximizing the interests of shareholders

The fundamental goal of American enterprises is to create value for shareholders to the maximum extent. Therefore, enterprise policies are constantly affected by the fluctuation of the stock market.

● Japan: diversified goals

The goals of Japanese enterprises are diversified, and the goals of employees, customers and markets are often greater than the recent interests of shareholders. Usually, in order to expand the market, enterprises would rather sacrifice the interests of shareholders in the short term.

(4) organizational division of labor

● United States: highly specialized

American enterprises have a stronger trend of specialization and a delicate internal division of labor. Employees can gain career progress and organizational optimization by improving their professional level.

● Japan: highly integrated

The division of labor in Japanese enterprises is quite rough, emphasizing the long-term employment mentality of employees. Enterprises often provide employees with continuous comprehensive training and internal job rotation to cope with the sudden situation in the market.

(V) Performance evaluation

● USA: Short-term goals

American enterprises adopt management by objectives, strictly implement short-term performance evaluation, and implement material stimulation, punishment and encouragement, more work and more rewards, and the survival of the fittest in the process of quarterly and year-end award evaluation.

● Japan: Long-term development

Japanese enterprises attach importance to tapping the potential of employees in enterprises. The short-term performance of enterprises is usually put after the long-term development of employees, and the short-term performance of employees is not the only criterion for judging and rewarding.

There is no "law" in management

From the above comparison, it can be seen that the management systems of the United States and Japan are essentially different in management thoughts, concepts and philosophies. For the rising enterprises in China, which mode to learn depends on the specific situation in China, and we must not simply follow blindly.

enterprise management practice is actually the result of the interaction of managers, subordinates and situations. There is no fixed management mode, and any management system is determined by many factors such as politics, economy, organization, cultural atmosphere, social atmosphere, personnel quality, status and position.

Take the United States as an example. A political system of separation of powers was established 2 years ago, emphasizing individualism, civil rights and public opinion. The United States is a multi-ethnic and multi-racial country with a very developed economy, and the tertiary industry accounts for more than 9% of GDP. In such an environment, employees of enterprises in the United States, mainly in financial services, are eager for freedom and independence, and pursue opportunities for continuous progress in money and career. Therefore, the adoption of performance evaluation, vocational training, specialization and mobility in management is bound to meet the psychological needs of Americans.

Unlike Japan, after a thousand years of relatively stable history, the national structure is single and deeply influenced by China's Confucianism, Japanese Buddhism, Bushido and Yamato culture. The situation of its island country also gives people a great sense of crisis, and then evolves the national cohesion of cultural oneness. Japan's economic structure is also very different from that of the United States, and the manufacturing industry (secondary industry) still accounts for 27% ~ 3%. These factors make it more suitable for Japanese manufacturing industry to adopt the management mode of long-term employment and team innovation.

in view of this, I think: Japanese enterprises should pay more attention to the essence and essence of American and Japanese management thoughts, and should not just focus on colorful superficial management skills and models.

At present, China is in a very unique historical stage. On the whole, we are still a developing agricultural country, and we have a profound humanistic tradition of benevolence, filial piety and loyalty. At the same time, years of political turmoil and the opening of the market, all kinds of western cultures and ideas have had a great impact on different levels of China society. Diligence, humility and pleasure, arbitrary decision-making and democratic elections, publicity of collective consciousness and personality, happiness in poverty and pursuit of wealth, all kinds of ideas are colliding and blending fiercely.

Therefore, Japanese enterprises should absorb the management experience of the United States and China at the same time: give full play to the institutional strength while relying on the influence of traditional culture; We should not only cultivate outstanding leaders, but also give full play to the collective wisdom; It is necessary to maximize the interests of shareholders without sacrificing the fundamental interests of employees; Performance appraisal of survival of the fittest can't replace humanistic care for employees ...

For Japanese enterprises, the key to learning American-Japanese management lies in flexibly and critically absorbing advanced foreign management concepts on the basis of profoundly grasping China's national conditions and employee needs, and creating a set of mixed management body that truly conforms to China's reality and is the essence of China+American-Japanese management.