Japanese Culture and Leadership

Topic & Contents

TopicA

research and

analysis of the culture

and leadersh

ip practices

in a country

The Country and Its History

Japanese Culture

Japanese Leadership Style

About Japan

Capital

Population

GDP

Industries

Tokyo

127,078,679 (-0.191% Growth rate)

≈ $5 Trillion, the 2nd largest economy; $39,731 per Capita

Consumer electronics, motor vehicles, machine tools, steel, and nonferrous metals

Exports

Science & Technology

Life Expectancy

Motor vehicles, semiconductors, and office machinery

700,000 researchers & US$130 bill R&D budge – the 3rd largest; 13 Nobel Prizes

Avg. 82, Male: 78.8, Female: 85.6AsiaJapan

History Timeline

1868

1945- 1952

1960 -1980

1990

2005

Meiji RestorationOpen policy & introduced technology

Focus on economic

growth and technology

development

Modern Japan

Occupied Period after WW IIOccupation force brought new technologies in

“Japanese Miracle” High economic growth; export oriented economy

High growth turned slow

Economy showed recovery

Japanese Culture _ Hofstede

Countries PDI IDV MAS UAI LTO

Japan 54 46 95 92 80

Asia Avg. 64 24 58 63 90

World Avg. 55 43 50 64 45

Japan Asia Avg. World Avg. 0

20

40

60

80

100

PDI

IDV

MAS

UAI

LTO

Geert Hofstede Model (1980)

Most widely accepted and used in the world until today

Described culture from five aspects:

Power Distance

Individualism & Collectivism

Masculinity versus Femininity

Uncertainty Avoidance

Long Term Orientation

Japanese Culture _ GLOBE

VariablesPractices

Japan Mean

Performance Orientation 4.22 4.1

Future Orientation 4.29 3.89

Gender Egalitarianism 3.19 3.37

Assertive 3.59 4.11

Institutional collectivism 5.19 4.25

In-Group Collectivism 4.63 5.13

Power distance 5.11 4.01

Human orientation 4.3 4.09

Uncertainty avoidance 4.07 4.16

Performance Orientation

Future Orientation

Gender Egalitarianism

Assertive

Institutional collectivismIn-Group Collectivism

Power distance

Human orientation

Uncertainty avoidance

0

5

10

Japan Mean

GLOBE Study (1990’s)

• GLOBE is the acronym for “Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior

Effectiveness,”

•A cross-cultural research effort that exceeds all others (including Geert Hofstede’s

landmark 1980 study) in scope, depth, duration, and sophistication

Triandis 1995Individualism & Collectivism

Mastumoto 1998 Emotional display rule & IC

Emotional display rule and IC are correlatedJapanese collectivism would discourage negative emotions and encourage positive ones to maintain group harmony and cohesion

Shapero & Sokol 1982 Uncertainty avoidance & Innovation

High tolerance of uncertainty in a society => encourage risk taking and non-standardized procedures => create an environment more encouraging of innovation

Yoko & Emiko 1999Masculinity & Femininity

Gender role stereotypes have been changing

Japanese Culture _ Other Studies

Collectivism (Japan) Individualism

• Culture of tightness• Culture of simplicity• External cause of behavior• Relationships• Horizontal & Vertical

• Culture of looseness• Culture of complexity• Internal cause of behavior• Personality • Horizontal & Vertical

Confucianism’s Impact on Japanese Social Behavior

道 right way

仁 benevolent

徳 virtuous

禮 propriety

義 morality

忠 loyalty

恕 reciprocity

信 trustworthy

命 destiny

天 heaven

理 principle

Seniority system (respect for elders)

Loyalty and devotion

Lower rates of crime

Stable family structures

Strong education system (entrance

exams are very tough)

The Japanese language is punctuated

by numerous honorific terms and

phrases of respect and consideration.

Confucianism main ideals

Common Japanese Culture Characteristics

•Relations based on hierarchical position, social status, education, and seniority;

•Listen to supervisors and obey their instructions;

Modest Power Distance

•Emphasis on teamwork and group assignments;

•Performance is evaluated by group not by individual;

•Harmonious working relationship and team cohesion are important

Institutional Collectivism

•Distinct gender role

•Male dominated society

•Work hard and have high level of loyalty

High Masculinity

•Prefer to use a set of rules, protocols, and regulations to avoid making mistakes

Modest Uncertainty Avoidance

•Long term business plan

•Long term reward, incentive and benefit

Long Term Orientation

Japanese Leadership StyleGeneral Culture Characteristics Implication to Leadership Style

Relations based on hierarchical position, social status, education, and seniority;Listen to supervisors and obey their instructions;

Sensitive to hierarchy and seniority;Have a paternalistic management style;Show a certain people caring

Emphasize teamwork and group assignments;Performance is evaluated by group not by individual;Emphasize harmonious working relationship and team cohesion;

Able to maintain harmonious working relations;Able to run business in the unit of team;Consensus decision making processParticipative management style

Male dominating Work harder and have high level of loyalty

Demonstrate hardworking and sacrifice spirit;

Prefer to use a set of rules, protocols, and regulations to avoid making mistakes

Provide explicit rules and examples to demonstrate the way of working;

Long term business planLong term reward, incentive and benefit

Able to create and communicate vision with employees;Motivate from long term perspective

Japanese Leadership Style _ GLOBE Study

CLT Leadership Dimensions Japan MeanCharismatic/ Value-based 5.94 5.63

Team oriented 5.56 5.61Participative 5.07 4.99

Humane oriented 4.68 5.04Autonomous 3.67 4.04

Self-protective 3.60 3.72

Charismatic

• Visionary• Inspirational• Self-sacrifice• Integrity• Decisive• Performance

oriented

Participative

• Participative• Autocratic

Autonomous

• Individualistic• Independent• Autonomous• Unique

Self-protective

• Self-centered• Status

conscious• Face saver• Procedural

Humane oriented

• Modest• Human

Oriented

Team oriented

• Collaborative team oriented

• Team integration

• Diplomatic• Malevolent• Administrativ

ely competent

CLT Leadership study in GLOBE

Japanese Leadership Style _ Transformational Leadership

Transformational Leadership

Transactional Leadership

A type of leadership style based on the leaders’ personal qualities:

Transactional leadership: a transaction or exchange process between leaders

and followers (by satisfying the expectations)

Transformational leadership: characterized by the ability to bring about

significant change. Share and communicate visions

Inspire followers to go beyond their own self-interests for the good of the group

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