Abstract
This article analyzes studies comparing Japanese and American managers, workers, and societies in order to consider questions raised by William Ouchi's book, Theory Z: How American Business Can Meet the Japanese Challenge. The analysis results in 2 general observations: 1) Theory Z management is not likely to become the accepted norm in American companies to the extent that it has in Japan, and 2) the major conceptual or theoretical lesson we can learn from the Japanese is the potential values of developing a management system that is internally consistent, that fits societal norms and expectations and that obtains support from the major institutional actors in the world of work.
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*George W. England is Professor of Management and Director of the Center for Economic and Management Research in the College of Business Administration at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. Professor England is author or co-author of several books in the area of industrial relations and management, including The Manager and the Man, Organizational Functioning in a Cross-cultural Perspective, and The Functioning of Complex Organizations.
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England, G. Japanese and American Management: Theory Z and Beyond. J Int Bus Stud 14, 131–142 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490522
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490522