| There
are also indications of social unrest in Japanese
societies that are likely to
weaken the traditional bonds between corporations and
workers. The high-tech industries -- especially
electronics, telecommunications, and biotechnology
-- are catching the disease of Silicon Valley, where
employees
switch jobs very quickly once they are offered a
better package, and competing firms are always on the
look-out for smart employees from other companies. Three
factors explain this tendency:
-
Decision-making by consensus, employed by many
large companies, often discourages initiative
and pursuit of imaginative ideas. The basic of
consensus decision making is
homogeneity among members, not heterogeneity.
Many young employees are much more patient, and they
do not appreciate such a slow decision making
process.
- Personnel policies such as
seniority-based
wage and promotion systems cannot better
compensate highly specialized employees who are
fully aware of the value of their service to the
company. Then
younger generation wants to be compensated for
their skills rather than just their age. It is not
willing to accept higher wages in the future in
exchange for low wages and exceptionally hard
working conditions.
- Probably most important, many
Japanese have started to question the notion of
single-company loyalty and compensation based on
seniority rather than performance. Most Japanese
workers still acquire company specific skills
through in-house training and are reluctant to move.
This practice is reinforced by strong social norms
that make it difficult for employees to find work
with other employers. However, as the
Japanese are becoming more exposed to Western
culture and standards, their traditional norms
are weakening. Workers with high-technology skills
are finding it easier to change jobs and demand
skill-based wages.
Also,
more
subtle changes in attitude are harbingers of serious
problems for the
Japanese business system. For the first time, some
Japanese executives are
putting
family and home life ahead of work. Many managers
are willingly changing jobs from big, prestigious
companies to smaller, less well known companies so that
they can avoid frequent tours of duty overseas,
spend more time with their families, and have
greater freedom at work. Young people seeking their
first jobs are openly expressing preferences for smaller
companies and showing disinclination. Traditionalists
are alarmed at these tendencies, especially among the
young, and think that this will undermine the diligence
that helped create the postwar economic miracle. |
