Human Resource Management in Japan

Transcription

1 Human Resource Management in Japan Class 6 Copyright 2007 Keio University

2 Quotes of the Day Copyright 2007 Keio University 2

3 This Lecture Life-time employment (shushin koyo 終 身 雇 用 ) Seniority based promotion (nenko joretsu 年 功 序 列 ) Personnel training (jinzai seiiku 人 材 育 成 ) Japanese trade unions (kigyo betsu rodo kumiai 企 業 別 労 働 組 合 ) Copyright 2007 Keio University 3

4 Lifetime Employment System Employees take jobs with an employer after leaving school and continue with that employer until retirement age About 80% of Japanese companies are trying to observe lifetime employment It s merely a custom and is not prescribed by law Copyright 2007 Keio University 4

5 Lifetime Employment System Is strongly tied to promotions and pay raises Salaries in Japanese companies are relatively low for younger employees, but rise when the employee reaches his/her mid-thirties Many companies do not recognize previous work experience when workers switch jobs (so far few people change jobs) Copyright 2007 Keio University 5

6 Lifetime Employment Advantages Increases mutual understanding and trust between employer and employee Long-term projects are no problem (= high economic growth) Makes sure that layoffs are the last way of dealing with managerial difficulties Disadvantages Difficult to let people go Budget for salaries is stretched if the company has a lot of middle-aged and older employees with high salaries Makes it difficult to find talented people (midcareer employment is difficult) Copyright 2007 Keio University 6

7 Western HR Management Employees in a Western corporation can be laid off easily in times of trouble They can also attract the right people at the right time paying them the right salaries However, individual career strategies of Western employees make long-term management planning difficult Copyright 2007 Keio University 7

8 Problems with the Lifetime Employement System In the economic slowdown some companies were forced to dismiss longtime employees who have high salaries In some cases older employees were forced into early retirement Employees` attitudes changed too. More than half of Japanese employees are willing to change jobs if the situation called for it Copyright 2007 Keio University 8

9 Seniority (Wage) System Under the seniority wage system salaries and positions rise with the length of service within the company. Many companies promote simultaneously for the first 15 years after employees enter the company The basic idea is that people who worked for the same amount of time make the same contribution to the company Copyright 2007 Keio University 9

10 Seniority System Copyright 2007 Keio University 10

11 Seniority System Advantages Balance between younger and older workforce Stable workforce, because younger employees first earn very little Little animosity between employees Employees do not worry about demotions and salary reductions Employees can calculate income Disadvantages Not very competitive, does not necessarily motivate employees More effective when the company is in a field with little variety in work contents Does not allow much flexibility in increasing the number of employees (older employees are very expensive) Motivation problems Copyright 2007 Keio University 11

12 Recent Changes Some companies are trying to introduce achievement based salary systems (14.6% of Japanese companies have done so already, 20% are considering it) In the future more and more companies are expected to introduce output-oriented salary systems Copyright 2007 Keio University 12

13 Personnel Training Japanese human resource management is also famous for its company training Universities only take a limited role in training future managers, companies are expected to provide training for new hires (taking a long-term perspective) The recession had little influence on this, companies still invest a lot in training Copyright 2007 Keio University 13

14 Personnel Training Mostly managers are trained (to develop certain technologies and to improve specialized skills) Educators are the older employees and senior managers Training happens via Japanese knowledge management styles creating highly skilled generalists kôhai-sempai On-the-job training (OJT) Job rotation Copyright 2007 Keio University 14

15 Recent Changes Changes in industrial structure (employees need more specialized trainings) Less employment of graduates and more mid-life recruitment and recruitment of temporary employees New educational methods are needed Copyright 2007 Keio University 15

16 In-House Unions 22% of Japanese workers (60% of public employees and 54% in large utility companies e.g. electric and gas) are members of labor unions (14% United States, 30% United Kingdom) There are unions in Japan Most unions are in-house unions (in other industrial countries unions are horizontal relationships between employees in the same industry) Copyright 2007 Keio University 16

17 In-House Unions In Japan a union covers the needs of all types of employees in one organization Employees of a small company do not form their own union and can join a union under the trade union system Japanese union have the power to stop the work processes through strikes (but this rarely happens) Copyright 2007 Keio University 17

18 Particularities of Japanese Labor Unions Former executives in labor unions can become presidents of companies (is suppossed to lead to smooth negotations) Labor unions executives are elected by other union members. At the same time they are employees of the company and get promoted in the seniority system. When employees reach the management level, they retire from the union A chairman of a union can so become president of a company Copyright 2007 Keio University 18

19 Recent Changes 25 years ago about 33% of the employees in Japan were union members, but support is dwindling Young employees do not profit from membership because of the seniority wage system Part-time and temporary workers can not join Recently a new labor unionism has appeared, because many companies are trying to lay off middle-aged workers (attention goes from wage to job security issues) There are also unions now for foreign workers and part-time workers (not only inhouse unions any more ) Copyright 2007 Keio University 19

20 Changing Employment Patterns Increasing number of part-time employees and temporary employees (94% of which are women) Working patterns have also changed (e.g. flextime, core time work and free-time systems ) Copyright 2007 Keio University 20