This book examines the major challenges and dilemmas in human resource management as Japan's industrial society continues its resurgence in the global arena.

This title was first published in 2003. Seeking to demonstrate a high level of insight, this is an analysis of the characteristics and advantages of Japanese human resource management. It describes the situation and the main trends in the transformation of the Japanese human resource management and employment practices, and investigates the possible options for the future. The work should be useful to academics and policy makers dealing with Japan and courses on human resource management and economics.

Human Resource Management (HRM) is fundamentally shaped by institutional and cultural factors, such as the different political environments and social philosophies of particular countries and regions. By examining the various organizational aspects of business life and systems of people management in Asia, the study of HRM across the continent can, therefore, give us a greater understanding of Asian societies, as well as the contemporary world of work more generally. This handbook provides an up-to-date and intellectually engaging overview of HRM in the Asian context. Distinctive in its comprehensive coverage of traditional as well as emerging topics of HRM, it analyzes important themes, such as the regulatory framework for work and employment, religiosity, family business, and gender. Using a comparative approach, it also effectively highlights the unique features of each country’s attitudes towards HRM. Covering a range of themes and case studies, sections include: • Institutional and cultural contexts, • Labour regulation and industrial relations, • Thematic and functional HRM, • HRM in selected Asian countries, such as China, Japan, Vietnam, India, and Singapore. Written in a highly accessible style, this book will be useful to students and scholars of Human Resource Management, Asian Business, Economics, and Sociology. Chapter 15 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

This book is a comprehensive study underpinned by thirty years of research conducted by the author relating to Japanese human resource management and labour-management relations. Its aim is to achieve a better understanding of the Japanese model for human resource management and labour standards issues, and its transferability to supply chains in Asia. Seeking a better understanding of the strength of Japanese management and its applicability to foreign countries, Japanese Human Resource Management introduces a new agenda for Japanese corporations that wish to operate in sustainable and inclusive ways in local societies and in global supply chains. Organized into three major themes this comprehensive study is essential reading for students, researchers and government who wish to promote productivity improvement and constructive labour-management relations.

This book examines possibly the greatest challenge facing Japanese multinationals as they continue to expand their foreign direct investment: how to integrate local managers into the management process of overseas subsidiaries as well as in that of the parent companies themselves. In the majority of Japanese subsidiaries, management control has remained in the hands of Japanese managers at extremely high cost, but now Japanese firms are being forced to consider integrating local nationals into the management process of their companies, a process which may yield significant competitive advantage.

Japan and Germany have faced very similar challenges, namely ageing populations, changing employment structures, and globalization. This book explores the demographic challenges for human resource management and labour market policies in Germany and Japan and how public and company policies in both countries deal with these challenges.