The Role of Engineers in Japanese Industry and Education—An Industrial Sociologist’s View

Abstract

The number of Japanese companies with manufacturing facilities in the United States and West European nations has increased markedly in recent years. But this only serves to remind us of the many cultural and social differences that continue to exist between Japan and industrialized Western countries. One striking example is the difference in the roles of engineers and frontline operations in the factory. In Japan’s case, the social distance between graduate engineers and operators is, by and large, remarkably small. Engineers wear the same uniforms as operators. And they have their desks at the shop site, in most cases right alongside the foreman’s desk.

This chapter first appeared in Journal of Japanese Trade and Industry, 5,1983 and is reproduced with permission