A Sociology of Work in Japan [Hardcover]

A comprehensive, introductory overview of the 'world of work' in Japan.Work and Economic Orgnisation in Japan provides a comprehensive, introductory overview of the 'world of work' in Japan. It looks back at post-war Japan to analyse the development of industrial relations and the Japanese style of management. It then moves on to consider the changes that took place in the early nineties when disillusionment set in and unemployment and economic insecurity became facts of life. Underlying the discussion is a challenge to the celebration of Japanese management practices which has dominated the literature for the last three decades.Work and Economic Orgnisation in Japan provides a comprehensive, introductory overview of the 'world of work' in Japan. It looks back at post-war Japan to analyse the development of industrial relations and the Japanese style of management. It then moves on to consider the changes that took place in the early nineties when disillusionment set in and unemployment and economic insecurity became facts of life. Underlying the discussion is a challenge to the celebration of Japanese management practices which has dominated the literature for the last three decades.This comprehensive, introductory overview of the world of work in Japan recalls post-war Japan to analyze the development of industrial relations and the Japanese style of management. It considers the changes that took place in the early nineties when disillusionment set in and unemployment and economic insecurity became facts of life. The authors challenge the preeminence of Japanese management practices which have dominated the literature over the last three decades.List of figures; List of tables; Preface; Note on transliteration, romanization and translation; List of abbreviations; Part I. A Context for Studying Work: 1. The Japanese at work; 2. Toward a sociology of work in postwar Japan; 3. Competing models for understanding work in Japan; Part II. The Commitment to Being at Worl½