Characteristics of Japanese Employment Relations

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Table of Contents

National factors and employment relations
Factors influencing the Japanese Employment relations
References

Changes in the some national factors such as institutions, labour markets, capital markets, national relations, businesses, economy, culture and rule triggers the employment relation practices and its changes.

Considering the Japanese employment relations, it has some key aspects, which include the lifetime, enterprise based and seniority based amalgamation that determines employment relations.

Japan is a country considered as highly cultured but the cultural practices that seem hinder development appear to face sidelining in the resent past. For instance, the trade unions had a significant consideration of enhancing interrelationship between the member groups and the government.

This has not been the case recently. According to Bamber et al, (2004, 283) effects on the union show a constant decline due to the general improvement of the living standards.

The work ethics of Japan today face influences from customs, traditions, cooperation, collectivism, respect, relationships and handwork among the social members. People consider these as the key elements influencing employment relations and practices form the company’s level. (Havey, 2005, 187)

The labour market of Japan indicates features of a declining growth rate, increasing aging workforce and increasing rates of unemployment.

National factors and employment relations

Management training or practices are not universal they ought to have a developmental basis at the national level or the company’s level. The national or external environmental factor that influences the relations mainly entails the labour markets, culture of the nation and business and economical factors.

Considering the national and other internal factors, they provide a better and more integrative perspective that makes it easy to vary but still relate employment focusing on other independent and developed country’s forces.

Every external force has to pass through a management system according to the Lewin’s Change Theory. This means that for a proper examination of the changes that affect practices of employment relations, one should analyze the internal and external forces or the dynamics of the factors. (Sato, 1999, 27)

The contingency factors such as magnitude of the employees, technological advancement and the culture or internally developed policies, cause the organizational or countries to change, thus influence the employment relationship.

Today the increasing pressure in the domestic and global markets of a country causes the evident changes in the employment relations.

As a developed country, Japan’s employment relations directly connect to the international factors such as the economy or political changes. Like the U.K. and the U.S. markets, it mainly depends on the competitiveness at the international and domestic levels.

The employees and company practices at the domestic level have stabilized the business environment. After the economic crisis experiences, Japan was able to consciously restructure and rationalize majority of the white collar jobs for better efficiency and under similar compensation rates as before or better.

The labour force of 73% in 2000 indicated a growth of over 1 million from 1995 with 83% being employees. (Bamber et al, 2004, 272) This consensus regarding employment practices and industrial relations brought about firm, stable and supportive relations among employment thus the stability of the economy.

Factors influencing the Japanese Employment relations

Beside the institutes, labour markets, economy and the business environments discussed above other factors, include the institutes and culture.

National institutions

A national institute refers to the practice, customs, the relationships and the culture. The national institutes are government, educational, training, trade unions and associations.

The national policies, rules and regulation introduced by the government on these institutes are the micro economic policies frequently governing the labour policies and therefore enhancing the relationships in the employment sector.

When the institutes are vigilant to maintain the enforced policies then the country is in a position to maintain its social-economic status at the international level. (Blanpain et al, 2008, 85)

As a major source for the human resource of main companies, the education institutions play vital role in recruitment and development. They increase competition thus the need for the in-house training evident in majority of the firms in Japan.

A lot of mismatch between the job openings and the seekers is evident in the Nation due to differences between the careers. In line with Bamber et al, (2004, 278) unemployment rates have steadily grown. The young people are not able to find a career matching their qualifications.

The IT industries are also subsiding human workforce. Argumentatively, most of the institutes fail to adhere to specification, advocating for creativity and technicality that divert students’ qualifications but equality benefiting the country’s technological advancement evident in most industrial manufactures. (Deery et al, 1999, 172)

National Culture

These are the social groups in which employees exist they entail the process of building rapport, making reports and enhancing communication between the employer and the employee. Culture shapes and influences the way people interact thus determining the employment relations practices.

Influence of globalization on the Japanese employment relation

The Japanese economy is arguably the second largest economy after the U.S. (Bamber et al, 2004, 272) The County has been to deep economic crisis but managed stronger comebacks and enhanced innovations for instance the oil crisis catalyzed huge investments into the energy saving products.

The country’s business highly integrates to the global economy as evident with the appreciating and depreciating in the growth of the economy. There was a fall on the economy growth of minus 0.75 in 1998, although the employment relation had grate regards as a fundamental element to the economy growth of the country. (Bamber et al, 2004, 272)

Currently, there are eminent differences on the size, employee’s number and the sectors of the firms. There is a considerable amount of reduction on the labour force, which is a concern especially for the future endeavours of most companies. Thus might be the cause of the current latent economic growth averaging at 2%. (Bamber et al, 2004, 292)

The increase in competition has made companies to consider cutting operation costs, investing in recruitments and utilizing the contractual basis of operational labour forces. Globalization has made the performance-based system to replace the earlier senior-based systems gradually for both the medium and big-sized companies.

By the year 2000, the working hours were as low as 1853 per annum and currently they are even lower due to the part-time engagement and contraction. (Bamber et al, 2004, 279)

The issue of globalization has also led to decline on the number of employees in member unions. The growth of the service industries structure cause more part-time employment.

These employment practices are mainly because of globalization and increase in competition among the markets both globally and locally. “In Japan, most of the union’s organization occurs through enterprises as opposed to occupation or job industries.”

References

Bamber, G., Lansbury, R. D. and Wailes, N. (2004) “International and comparative Employment relations: Globalisation and the developed market economies”. (Forth Ed) London: Sage.

Blanpain, R., Lansbury, R.D. and Wailes, N. (2008). “Globalization and employment Relations in the auto assembly industry” Kluwer Law International Publishers

Deery, S. and Mitchell, R. (1999). “Employment Relations: Individualisation and Union.” Exclusion Federation Press.

Harvey, D. (2007). “A Brief History of Neoliberalism”. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Sato, K. (1999) “Japan at a Crossroads,” in K. Sato the Transformation of the Japanese Economy, London: An East Gate Book, 1999.

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