ABSTRACT
In Chapter One, eight significant characteristics of the Japanese organization of production were outlined by Murakami and Rohlen (Murakami and Rohlen 1992). The transferability of the organizational practices of Japanese firms to their U.S. subsidiaries entails examining these eight characteristics of Japanese organizational practices among transplants in the United States. This chapter will examine the significance of these eight characteristics among Japanese transplants in the Midwest. They are (1) Lifetime employment (or long tenure of employment); (2) Seniority-based wage and promotion systems; (3) Elaborate welfare, bonus, and other benefits systems; (4) Companybased labor unions; (5) Considerable inter-job mobility within a firm and emphasis on internal promotion; (6) Small group activities on the shop floor level; (7) Intensive training and socialization of new employees by the management; (8) Attention to developing a corporate culture and management philosophy.
