Japanese-Style American Management: Primary Relations and Social Organization

Abstract

Management methods that are said to make American companies “Japanese in style” are examined. The notion that Japanese organizational performance can be duplicated by adopting Japanese management methods is disputed. It is suggested that management methods operate through their influence on the nature of the employee-organization relationship. Since this relationship is influenced by many factors other than management methods, it is suggested that a more productive approach to enhance organizational effectiveness would focus on the employee-organization relationship. An empirical investigation reveals that employee emotional well-being and the employee-organization relationship are associated; no relationship between management methods and employee emotional well-being was found.