Japanese Culture Leadership Style
Participative Leaders in Japan Exemplify Theory Z Managers
Apr 9, 2008
Most Japanese managers believe that their employees are so motivated by teamwork that they want to share in the responsibility for attaining group goals. Thus, Japanese workers seek opportunities to participate in the management process.
Like their employees, Japanese managers take a participatory approach. Participative Japanese leaders use a blend of both task-centered and people-centered approaches to lead subordinates.
Theory Z Management
Because of this participative philosophy, Japan is often used as an example of William Ouchi’s Theory Z Manager. Theory Z management includes the following Japanese management characteristics.
- Both leaders and subordinates are motivated by a powerful sense of commitment to be part of a greater whole (namely the Japanese organization in which they work).
- Employees seek out responsibility and strive for opportunities to advance in an organization.
- People are self-satisfied when they contribute to organizational success through teamwork.
- In return for their organization’s long-term commitment to providing job security (often for life), workers develop strong bonds of loyalty towards their employer.
Differences with Theory X and Y
Japanese managers contrast with Theory X managers like those from Middle Eastern countries or Indonesia who believe that their workers are by nature lazy. Theory X managers are authoritarian, and therefore use coercion and threats of punishment to get work done.
Theory Z managers from Japan also differ from leaders in China, Europe and North America who generally follow the more paternalistic Theory Y approach. Under Theory Y, managers assume that workers will work hard and seek increased challenge and responsibility depending on the rewards associated with task achievement.
Communication Flows among Leaders and Subordinates
Because Theory Z is participative, Japanese organizations show a continual interaction and exchange of information and influence:
- Between leader and subordinates, as well as
- Among subordinates.
The multi-directional flow of communication within the more project-oriented Japanese organizational culture is unlike leader and subordinate behaviour in:
- Authoritarian Theory X where there is a one-way, downward flow of information and influence from boss to underlings
- Parental Theory Y where there is a mutual, two-way flow of information and influence between boss and underlings but no exchange among subordinates.
Japanese Culture Shock for American Expatriates
With few layoffs to worry about and Japanese management who are concerned with their employees’ welfare both on and off the job, one might think that a young American expatriate assigned to work in Japan would be happy. However, that is not necessarily true since evaluation and promotion is very slow in Japan. Seniority and age are much more important factors in the Land of the Rising Sun than in America where fast-lane promotions are common.
Similarly, career paths are very general in Japan when compared with the very specialized stepping stones in the US. A young American might also become frustrated with the informal control mechanisms in Japan, where managers rely on trust and goodwill as opposed to strict codes of conduct.
Japanese Cultural Discrimination against Women Executives
But perhaps a female American executive transferred to a Japanese corporation would experience the greatest culture shock. This is because even today many Japanese firms refuse to hire women or promote them into management positions. Some labour market analysts comment that the business reason for denying professional jobs to women is the belief that female managers will quit to get married after only a few years.
For many, however, this lack of opportunity is unfair and represents a major weakness of Japan’s otherwise participatory management model.
References
This article presents independent insights based on research from International Management, Culture, Strategy and Behavior (6th edition, Hodgetts-Luthans-DOH).
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