Leading Across Japan

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BACKGROUND
It has been observed by the economist Herman Kahn in 1968 that, Japan, as
a nation is expected to attain a higher capita gross domestic product (GDP)
than the United States, in a near future. Even though, people were pessimistic
about his prediction, even though the contemporary critics found it hard to
believe, at the end of the day, Herman Kahns theory and prediction turned
out to be true. Today, Japan is one of the strongest financial powerhouses of
the world.
However, due to the impact of globalization,
the work environment and the office cultures
around the world is changing and the
intellectuals around the world are encouraging
nations around the world to come up with
entirely new systems to cope up with the
changing scenarios. When it came to Japan,
several intellectuals countered the idea. Even
though Japan went through a decade of
recession and uncertainties regarding restoring
prosperity, several intellectuals argued that, a change in Japanese business
culture and leadership is unnecessary in the changing global economy. In his
most recent book, The Re-emergence of Japan as a Super State, Kahn again,
turned his on Japan and made a prediction that suggests that, with a modest
pecuniary modification, recovery is still, well within the horizon for Japan. As
they have technical benefits in fast computers, nanotechnology, cybernetics,
hybrid car engines, and pharmacological
copyrights. Japan also has an absolute
advantage of chief labor, which they are trying
to utilize in the maximum possible way.
Herman Kahn concluded that, Japanese
frontrunners identified that the nations
historical command-economy ideas will not
work in the present or the near future.
During the era of Japanese premier,
Junichiro Koizumi, in 2002, the focus falls to him and his government and
his possible reform actions. During his time, Japan, as a nation was in
desperate need for a new model. Even though Japan had a proud culture and
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strong political beliefs, they were still in a dire need for a change to appease
the survival requirement- a demand of the 21
st
century for any countries
around the world, including Japan.
A brief history of Japan :
For more than 300 years, the
feudal lords conquered Japan as a
nation. This era is known as
Tokgawa era (Or, Edo era). The
sense of independence, the right
to express, during these era was
near to nothing for the Japanese
people. During the era of
shogunate (the early Japanese
government led by a shogun), they
still had very little sense of
independence. However, things started to change for good, during the Meiji
era (18681912). In this era the classical feudal system started to disappear
to pave the way for industrialization and modern capitalism.
Like their enriched history, the Japanese work culture is gradually changing.
Now, employees can no longer enjoy the lifetime employment that used to
exist in the past, and many best Japanese alumni are opting to work for
foreign companies because they aspire to be recognized and promoted by
their merit, not by the time they spent on their company.
The Japanese workforce is continuing its change. Several reformations are
already in order and some are yet to take place. For instance, Obuchis big-
bang reform, which was meant to take effect in 2000, with a view to make
corporate reporting transparent, is yet to be executed in 2003. However, a
significant breakthrough occurred in the form of an entirely new type of
leaderthe Japanese CFO. Since their emergence in the scenario, they are
significantly making an impact in the system where government instruction
has failed.
After suffering from ten straight years of declining shareholder values, in
2002, the frustrated business owners started to do, what was previously
unthinkable, they started to write off their billions of dollars of worthless
assets, sold off whole divisions, they also started to break off long lasting
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business relationships , they fired employees, They sought protection through
restructuring their entire business.
The collapse of feudalism brought modern capitalism in the stage of Japan.
All this was pioneered by the founder of Keio
University- Yukichi Fukuzawa. He was anxious
about the unreceptive performance of Japanese
people as a result of feudalism. He emerged in the
Japanese society as a promoter of the spirit of
independence and self-respect that was
profoundly influenced by the Western education
models. Fukuzawa played an important role in
creating the currently existing leadership model of
Japan. This leadership framework dispirits
employees to discuss their views and do only
what they are ordered to do.
Management in Japan has been prejudiced, historically, by the West during its
modernization and even the industries or organizations of Japan differ in the
definition of leadership and the organization, majority of Japanese now agree
to a common definition of leadership- It is the capability to articulate ideas and
aims and to make the members of an organization contribute and collaborate
simultaneously in the interest of achieving one common goal. Independence
and the self-respect are now the key phenomena in the Japanese culture.
The Japanese scholastic arrangement produces individuals who have to be
trained to become frontrunners as it is difficult to distinguish leaders based on
qualities. Even if one has no noticeable leadership qualities, he is assigned to
a situation that involves leadership skills in accordance with his employment
spell. Following the wrong frontrunner will definitely disturb the rhythm of
performance.

Leadership Background Applied to Japanese Values:
Traits and Behaviors: A significant difference between japan and the
United States persists. Even though for the individuals, most of the traits
formed during childhood are quite stable, due to the varying education system
a difference in perception starts to occur. The differences are quite visible- the
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employees and the management in the
U.S. emphases on freedom and the virtue
of expressing their concepts and views.
This leads the persons to take initiative to
be aggressive. On the contrary, The
Japanese educational system, is still
maintaining a focus on harmony and
teamwork. Unlike the U.S culture, where
free thinking is highly promoted, Mentors,
or senpai, in Japan are considered
irrefutable, thus these followers of
Confucianism are still adhering to a
listening culture. Fairness is another component that averages out differences
and impedes the creation of strong characters.
Culturally, Japan adheres to faulty leader selection style. The tendency has
been further strengthened by the existence of a seniority arrangement. Even if
a senior worker has no prominent leadership traits, there is a high chance for
him to be assigned in a position that necessitates leadership skills in
accordance with the length of employment he has been associated within the
organization.
As we have studied the case we came across many issues where
development or training program is required or has the opportunity to improve.
Japanese culture allows very little room for independence among followers as
well as power distance practiced is very high. Employees are most likely to
follow their mentors regardless of any justification and mentors are viewed as
absolute. Cultural difference is triggering issues and modernization is creating
a confusing situation.
Transformational Leadership:
Transformational leadership is more
like a managers presence similar to
role model, the managers, rather
than enforcing a task to the
employees, inspires them towards a
task. However, for multiple reasons,
this ideal form of leadership does not
get established in Japan. Some of the many reasons are the mentors
presence in Japan, which is considered unconditional. Another reason behind
this setback is the expectation from the Japanese leaders to take on the role
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of a teacher and to always have the right responses when it is sought by the
followers. Power distance is another reason, which is followed by the rigid
hierarchical structures that prevails
within these organizations. For these
multiple reasons, Japanese leaders
tend to impose a high power-distance
on their followers and to be a typical
example of ordinance.
The positive Pygmalion effect
(holding high expectations of
followers) is another unpleasant trait
for the intellectuals to consider. The
supers of the Japanese organization
always maintains a high expectation
from their subordinates, which often
lead to excessive responsibility,
causing stress and pressure that can
often cross the limit. In fact, this
phenomenon is so common that, it has a name in the Japanese language
Karoushi, or the death from overwork.
The impact of Global framework in the Japanese work setting:
In global context, Japan has the total control and they use their low cost
strategy to beat the competitor. Criteria necessary to become an effective
leader in Japan may also vary by specific organizations or industries.
However, a traditional image of leaders continues to dominate Japanese
business. Historically, Japan has been a male dominant society and male
leaders were easily considered as a leader. The society in Japan shows its
utmost faith to the senior employees and considers marital status of a person
as a significant scale of responsibility.
In the modern era, the Japanese system took the initiative to come up with its
own definition of leadership. The propagators of this nation and the
organizations that adopts these theories have realized the following criteria,
that ensures the establishment of leaders:

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Also, there are some minor abilities that should get attention from the
prospective Japanese employees, who tends to be a leader. This includes
participation towards a friendly golf game, participation in Karaoke bar,
consumption of Sake and so on.
Vision, Communication, Action, and Learning:
Japans learning methods can be divided and explained into several different
phrases, which are presented in the flowchart below:

Communication is the most visible difference between Japan and its major
counterpart- the U.S.A common metaphor used for describing the difference
is bowling and tennis. Communication in Japan, as it has been defined in this
case, is unidirectional. The bosses of Japanese corporations prefer to give
orders and never expect a return feedback from that. A manager from the
U.S.A, on the other hand, always expects to receive a hearing from their
employees, if the order has some flaws.
A leader should have Masters degree
in business administration.
A leader should be able to manage
material & human resource
A leader will have accountability of
avoiding conflicts
A leader should be fluent in English
japanese learning
Traditional
learning
Confucianism
Eglatarianism
Modern learning
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Leaders who have the ability, vision and the good communication skills in
Japan are generally capable of materializing their visions; but, it is totally
different when it comes to learning, a strong vertical relation between the
employer and the employee persists. Employees provide the much needed to
the employee and, they set a high expectation from them, which the
employees may find difficult to meet.
The possible future of Japanese leadership:
In the near future, the leadership of Japan is expected to be way different than
their traditional leadership style. Japan and its culture have changed
dramatically in the recent past and will continue to change in the upcoming
days. Several Primary research, those are conducted to validate the heralded
Hofestede model of Asian culture validates this prediction The next generation
of Japanese leaders are expected to succeed by adopting a style, that
disregards their nontraditional leadership visions and styles.
Directional leaders do not align employee capabilities with the organizational
needs. Leaders are considered to be absolute and impose high power
distance to be direct.
Masaki Okano (69). With only six employees, Mr. Okano solves metal
production problems that large corporations, with their computers and
engineers, cannot. With only six worker, he produces a typical annual sales of
600 million. Okanos job title, Daihyouin, which means, representative
employee, has earned him the reputation as the metal magician.
Hisahi Kawahara (71). A former executive at Yamaichi Securities, Kawahara
has spent the five years since his firm went bankrupt completing his Ph.D.
The result is a 383-page dissertation on the lack of ethics in Japanese
business. Now he is campaigning to promote business ethics in Japan.
Kawahara believes that, Companies that survive, have strong corporate
ethics within them. The collapse of Yamaichi in 1997 was a very Japanese
one ... As long as the [Japanese] corporate culture (that fosters unethical
behavior) persists, we will see more bankruptcies. At Yamaichi, more than
100 people in the company knew about the tobashi (off-the-book trading), and
they all turned a blind eye. None of them admitted (to their share of the
blame), though. In addition to blind employee loyalty, Kawahara identified as
most in need of correction, passive investors (patient capital) who do not prod
companies to act more responsibly.
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Hideo Arai (60). Arai is an example of a Japanese leader whose conscience
forced him to take a stand against the government institution which employed
him for thirty years. A scientist at the National Institute for Infectious Disease,
Arai is spearheading a campaign against the relocation of the institute to a
densely populated residential district in Tokyo. At issue is the ability of the
new facility to contain experimental pathogens, including anthrax and bubonic
plague. The Japanese government has
deemed the facility totally safe, but Arai
feels that Even the most cutting-edge
filters cannot remove such pathogens.
Tetsu Iwanaka (53). As Mayor of
Takanosu City, Iwanaka passed
revolutionary legislation to protect the
rights of elderly Japanese nursing home
patients who suffered abuse and neglect.
I always tell people that I am just a machine that transforms the voters will
into specific policies. He has regular town meetings which everyone, from
teenagers to senior citizens, attends to make proposals for policy changes.
Iwanaka feels that Japans priorities since WWII have been mostly
nationalisticincrease productivity and economic strength. But as a result,
The value placed on human beings has declined. Old people in particular
tend to think they serve no purpose (in society) unless they contribute to
productivity.
Hiroshi Taguchi (65). CEO and President of Misumi Corp., Mr. Taguchi has
a style of leadership which he terms management of emptiness. His
employees are empowered with enormous autonomy, and his reward system
is such that they reap the financial gains of their efforts. He refers to his
employees as in-house entrepreneurs, who create their own projects, set
their own goals, and keep 13.3 percent of the profits of their initiatives. The
result is impressive33 years of consistent profits and some employees
making over 100 million yen per year. In Japan, the company usually decides
everythingwhich department you work in, how much you earn, what you
study. Thats how they turned individuals into salaried workers.
At Misumi, Taguchi refers to the company as a stage, and himself as a
stagehand. His criterion for success is to determine to what extent leaders are
created from the employees in the environment he provides. He will retire
soon and says that he will be happy just to see Misumi [continue to]
produce business leaders.
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Learning from the New Japanese Leaders
New Japanese leaders are bringing fresh new perspective in the leadership
arena of Japan. New Japanese leaders are providing high emphasis on self-
knowledge. They are guided by conscience, and believe in personal attributes
are the instigating factor towards promotion. They have a sound knowledge
regarding the organization and they understand their society and their
employees, better than any other leaders. They envision a broader goal that is
beyond the nationalistic attitude and shows concern to the employee welfare.
The new employees have a high sense of ethics. They are humble,
approachable and they are avid followers of the transformational leadership.
The new Japanese leaders are more
willing to promote and reward top notch
performance and discourage poor
performances through their reward and
compensation systems. They prefer to
be considered as an equal and prefers
to get blended with the employees,
rather than maintaining a king-like
attitude and distance themselves from
the employees.
Mr. Arai is a premium example for the new Japanese leaders who must defy
the Japanese clich, The nail that sticks up gets hammered down. He felt
the necessity to establish what he felt right. In order to do so he never
hesitated to stand against the government.
Mr. Kawahara, like Mr. Arai, demonstrates a similar self-knowledge. His
actions made him an opponent of many large Japanese corporations.
Kawahara also validates that he sees a link between his work and a
contribution to society. Like Mayor Iwanaka, he is trying to assist the elder
people of the society by setting up a nonprofit organization that focuses on
assisting the elderly in investing their savings.
Mr. Okano and Mr. Taguchi demonstrated the necessity for the new Japanese
leader to break from the traditional company hierarchy and encourages other
leaders to step down from the dais; to be seen more like a humble person
who cares about the employees and works for them.

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Conclusion
In conclusion, the reality is that, in the twenty-first century, things are
changing rapidly in Japan. Many organizations are adopting Western
management concepts and abolishing the seniority system and lifetime
employment. Reward systems are becoming based on the performance of
individuals as opposed to age or tenure. In order to avoid unidirectional
communication, leaders in Japanese organizations should focus on
understanding what their followers value. Talking to each follower would
immediately support understanding, as well as facilitate creating a shared
mindset and trust. The important thing is to break the barrier in traditional
mentor-apprentice relationships.
Even though a widespread promotion of self-respect and freedom is taking
place all over the Japan, Still, there are followers of Confucianism that defines
the vertical relationship between a mentor and an apprentice and others
classical managerial styles..
The government of Junichiro koizumi failed to live up the expectations of the
people regarding the leadership issue. So, it is up to new leaders of Japanese
corporation, to do what the bureaucratic government and business
corporations cannot. The new generation of Japanese leaders will have to
challenge the paradigm of Japanese business with its focus on employee
loyalty, by stressing in communication and learning, these leaders will ensure
socio- economical welfare for Japan as a nation.

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Identification of
development needs

In this case, we encountered lots of question regarding leadership,
independency, Government issues, decision making, training and
development etc. Some of these points are mentioned below:

1. Leadership quality needs to be improved and upgraded in the basis of
present context.
2. Some special counseling is needed regarding mentality and
dependency.
3. Some important training has to be given for reducing stress problem.
4. Motivate and make the employees able to adapt with changes and
new responsibility and train them on these to make them confident.
5. Need more collaboration among the leaders, managers and
employees.
6. Need a proper understanding about the
people, situation and most importantly, the
environment..
7. More communication with employee is
required to identify what suits them.
8. Training Programs can be organized
regarding dependency, decision making, and
pressure handling as well.
9. There should be always some contingency
plan in case of everything.
10. Awareness has to be creating so that they become more sincere
about the situation as well as for themselves.
11. Organizational hierarchy need to be redesigned.
12. Cross training is needed for everyone in the related sector.
13. Self-awareness is needed regarding everyones professional life.
14. The promotion system of the organization is required to be altered.
15. The development is also required in the establishment of womens
rights.
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Main issue

What kind of training and development should the Japanese organizations
and their leaders should adopt to encourage their employees to respond to
their integrity and personal aptitudes, rather than following others?

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Internal/external needs
assessment

Several internal and external needs have been identified in the Japanese
work culture; we tried to assess each and every need by seeking the answers
to the following questions:

In the following pages, we discussed our findings and assessed the necessity
and implementation of training and development for each and every problem.

Does a performance discrepancy exist?
Is it important for the organization ?
Is it correctable through employee
development?
Is the employee development, the cost
effective solution that can be applied?
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1) Transformational leadership is absent within the organization.

Indeed, a performance discrepancy exists within an organization, if the
transformational leadership is not present within an organization. In traditional
Japanese work culture; employees are treated like machine, where they are
made to follow orders by the leaders like a machine. This kind of system can
get the leader have their job done, but it fails to create the much needed
motivation towards the job among the employees.

It is indeed, an important issue for the Japanese organizations to consider.
Transformational leadership enhances the motivation, morale and
performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms. These include
connecting the follower's sense of identity and self to the mission and the
collective identity of the organization; being a role model for followers that
inspires them; challenging followers to take greater ownership for their work,
and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of followers, so the leader
can align followers with tasks that optimize their performance.

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The implementation of proper training and development can be imagined as
the best solution for this problem. Japanese organizations can arrange or
enroll their top executives, managers towards various on the job or external
training programs that provide a high emphasis on transformational leadership
and hence, leaders will start to realize that, employees should be motivated
towards work, rather than being enforced.

Yes, this is the cost effective solution that can be imagined for the given
problem. Even though the organizations may need to make some financial
considerations for introducing the culture of the transformational leadership
within the organization, the cost may get offset, if the employees eventually
get satisfied. The eventual outcome can surely enhance the outcome.

2) Power distance exists within Japanese employees and their
leaders:

A performance discrepancy exists within an organization, when the
employees maintain a distance from their boss, when they are supposed to
maintain a close connection among themselves. Maintaining distance clearly
indicates a sense of demotivation among the employees and their diminished
enthusiasm towards their work- this is harmful for Japanese organizations.

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Power distance is the extent to which less powerful members of institutions
and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed
unequally" It is indeed, an important issue for the Japanese organizations to
understand. Each and every organization needs a close employer-employee
relationship, which will enable both sides to understand each other. This will
allow the employees to understand the requirements of the boss, it will also
allow them to understand the message they receive from the boss. The end
result will be an outcome that the top executives desire from the subordinates,
or even more. Moreover, Employees in working environments with power
distances tend to be timid in voicing out their opinions and ideas because the
norm links together the rank of the person with the validity of the decisions or
policies made. In organizations with power index, subordinates work for these
leaders out of fear and are ready to jump ship as soon as the opportunity
presents itself.

No, employee development is not the solution in this regard. In this case,
initiatives have to be taken by the top level executives to eliminate this
perception within the employees. They will have to understand the employees
fear to face them and they must come up with a presence that is more friendly
and encouraging. They can actively participate with the employees in various
organizational activities and through their assistance; they can break the
perception of the employees.

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Training and development can somehow be incorporated by the management
to aid this problem, but in this case, training and development is not the cost
effective solution that can be imagined. The most effective solution will be
one, that will be taken by the Japanese leaders to reduce the distance.

3) Japanese employees lack in the capability to handle stress:

Yes, a performance discrepancy exists. The
Japanese employers hold a high expectation from
their employees, this leads to extreme mental
pressure for the Japanese employees as they
have to take a huge responsibility to meet the
expectations. This can make the work more
stressful and the employees can easily get
frustrated if the employees cannot meet their
superiors expectations. This can eventually lead
towards employee dissatisfaction towards work.

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It is undoubtedly, an important issue for an organization to consider,
especially for japan. High Pygmalion effect (the high expectation from the
employees) in the Japanese organizations has eventually ended in the series
of unfortunate incidents like: Karoushi (death from overwork). Lifestyle
diseases, suicide, and violence are other miserable consequences that are
spreading, even among children. Such issues can lead employees to leave a
job (In other words, increases the turnover rate of the employees, which can
be very costly). Also, incidents like these can lead to lawsuits. Japanese
employers may also have to pay compensation for the damages that occurs
from overwork, which is costly too.

Yes, this problem can be corrected through employee development.
Japanese organizations can arrange several in-house training programs for
handling stress, or enroll their workers to any workshop, that can develop their
skills to manage multiple tasks and responsibilities at a time. To some extent,
they can also bring motivational speakers or behavioral psychologists, who
can assist employees to develop their mindset in handling their work.

Yes, it is the most cost effective solution that the Japanese employers can
apply. Even though it can cost the employers to arrange the training and
development
program, it can at least allow them to avoid compensation for a series of
unfortunate events, lawsuits and so on.
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4) Japanese people work in same place for a long period, they lack
in much needed flexibility.

Yes, a performance discrepancy exists within an organization. In the 21
st

century, flexibility is a skill that is well expected from the employees around
the world. Many Japanese employees are still adhering to their age old policy
of working in the same organization from the beginning to the end. In this way,
they are becoming well aware about their organization and its operations. But
these employees will be in a deep trouble, when they are sent in foreign
countries as a foreign delegate. They will find it extremely difficult to cope up
with the environment outside their office. This can eventually lead to
performance degradation.

Yes, it is an important issue for the Japanese organizations to consider. As it
has been predicted by Herman Kahn, Japan is already becoming an
economic powerhouse. In the era of globalization, Japanese companies are
spreading all over the world. If a senior Japanese employee, who worked for
the organization for a long time is sent as a delegate in these foreign
countries, he may find it extremely difficult to perform, as he will spend more
time on understanding and coping with the changed environment. Scattered
problems like these can eventually lead a Japanese organization, which
aspires to be a global leader in its field, incur a huge loss. A Japanese
employee can also fail to do a competitor analysis, for not having this skill.

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Employee development is the only solution for this existing problem that can
be recognized. Japanese employers can come up with training program that
can allow the Japanese employees to see beyond their organization. They
can certainly come up with a training program that can expand their
employees knowledge regarding the industry. They can also arrange role
playing and interactive games, which can be a great source for both
entertainment and learning for the Japanese employees.

Employee development is the most cost effective
solution that the Japanese employers can apply in this
regard. It can cost the Japanese employers to arrange
the programs, but the end result can give them a huge
competitive advantage.

5) Female workers of Japan are not accepted in
the leaders role, they require empowerment
and freedom from glass barrier.

Yes, a performance discrepancy occurs, when the female workers of the
orders are not accepted as leaders, even if they are competent enough to
inherit the role of a leader. In a male dominated society, if a Japanese female
employee finds herself exposed in this kind of discrimination, it can
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tremendously demotivate her in providing her best for the organization. In this
case, rather than providing her best for the organization, she offers the
minimal performance for the organization. Eventually, organization receives
fewer outcomes from its female employees.

It is definitely an important issue to consider, not only for the Japanese
organizations, but also for Japan as a nation as well. If the female employees
are deprived from their equal right to inherit the leadership role, not only the
Japanese organizations are depriving themselves from the opportunity to
enjoy the chance of being under effective leadership, but also, by depriving
the female employees, they are depriving themselves from maximizing the
productivity. To some extent, there are also chances that the female

employees may start to
express their agitation by
boycotting their participation in
the organizations operation
and other productive activities.
This can hinder the progress of
the Japanese organization.
Depriving the Women
workforce from the leadership
role can be harmful for Japan
as a nation, as the 42% of the
entire Japanese workforce are
inherited by women. This figure
is expected to increase in the
near future.

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No, this problem cannot be solved by the employee
development. This problem is not involved with the
skills and the capabilities of the female employees.
Rather, it is a problem that deals with the perception of
the male dominated society of the japan. And hence,
instead of training and development, Japanese
governments and other institutes should address this
issue to the organizations considering its impact on the
socio economical context.

No, training and development is not the appropriate solution for this problem.
And so, we cannot say, this is the cost effective solution. It is the sustainable
solutions of the Japanese government that can turn out to be a sustainable
solution in this regard.

6) Employees lack the confidence to provide their opinion or speak
against their mentors and their superiors.

Yes, a performance discrepancy exists within the organization, if the
employees are discouraged to express their opinion. In the case of Japanese
workers, employees are more like listeners than speakers. The culture of
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communication is one sided, where only the boss provides their opinion and
the employees task is to listen and oblige. Sometimes these orders may not
be motivating or may become tremendously unfavorable for the employees.
Employees may find it extremely difficult to present a performance that is
expected from them. Also, employees may get demotivated while performing
these tasks. The demotivation can actually lead to a degradation of
performance.

It is indeed, a serious issue for the Japanese organizations to consider,
because, employees are trained and they are expert in their respective field.
Their understanding towards their work is much better than their superior.
Hence, these employees may have some information that can significantly
impact the superiors information towards a positive outcome. If the
employees are not

encouraged enough to express their opinion, the organization is simply
missing these information, that can lead to them towards a disastrous
outcome.

Indeed, the following problem is correctable though the employee
development. Employers can and should organize workshops, where the both
top level executives participate together and mutually decide an appropriate
way to communicate. Orientation program can also play a great part in this
regard. A proper orientation program that encourages feedback can reduce a
potential Japanese employees fear towards providing an opinion whenever
necessary.

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Yes, this is a cost effective solution that can be
applied by the Japanese employees for their
organization. The end result of this initiative ensures a
better input for the Japanese organizations and a
better decision regarding production, operation and
the various other field that are essential for the
organization.

7) The top level executives of the organization
lack the competencies and feedback
necessary for the effective decision making.

Indeed, a performance discrepancy exists, which can be clearly attributed to
the faulty executive selection process of the Japanese organization. Japanese
organizations prefer to select the executives based on their seniority, rather
than how efficient they are in managing the tasks and how good they are in
their decision making process. The Japanese organizations believe that, a
simple MBA degree is enough for a person to gain the leadership quality.
They also believe, that the married people are responsible people- which is
not true. In the end, if these people are placed in the leadership role, they are
simply in hot water. With their limited competencies, they fail to undertake
these huge responsibilities properly.

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Undoubtedly, this is an important issue for the organization to consider,
because, if the leaders of the organization are not efficient enough in their
decision making and strategy formulation, it eventually affects the entire
organizations performance. An ideal leader can assemble the resources and
manpower and leads his resources at hand towards a common goal. In the
case of Japan, due to the lack of understanding, regarding the requirement of
leadership, Leaders are not properly trained and hence, they may fail to
convince and motivate their followers or the employees to the desired profit
goal. At the end of the day, they are exposed to a serious risk of leading the
organization towards failure. Hence, we can insist, that, the Japanese
organizations bring this issue under a serious consideration.

Definitely, this problem can be corrected through employee development. Top
level managers or supervisors who undertake the leadership role within the
organization role can be enrolled by the organization in several universities,
which offers vocational training to the executives regarding and assists them
in developing an improved decision making process. In this case, the leaders
must be convinced, that- Leaders are built, not born.

Leadership development training programs are, without any doubt, the most
cost effective solutions the organizations can adopt. The leaders of the
organizations can get the opportunity through these training programs to do
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cross training with each other and create connections with leader from other
organizations and ultimately, they succeed in gaining the experiences that are
much needed in leading organizations and their resources towards
profitability.

8) Organizations in Japan decide everything for the employee. The
employees opinion is disregarded.

Yes, a performance discrepancy exists in this regard. As it has been
mentioned in the case by Hiromi Taguchi, Japanese employees decide
everything regarding an employee- where they are going to work, how much
they are going to earn, what they are going to study, how much salary they
are going to receive and so on. Clearly, this statement gives an impression,
that the Japanese employers regards employees as more like a machine,
disregarding their human needs. If this is the case, employees can easily get
demotivated, as they dont get what they expect. Sometimes the decision that
the organization provides can become a great source of underperformance
from an employee (For instance, hiring an introvert person as a sales person).
In this case, employees will find it extremely difficult to meet the expectation
and hence, they will find to provide expected outcome.

For a Japanese organization, this is a critical issue to consider. It is the
universal practice to understand the employee potential and place them in a
job. The Japanese organizations are totally disregarding the ability-job fit
theory and providing the employees the tasks that they cannot even manage.
The end result is tending to be disastrous, as the employees wont be able to
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meet the required standard on their work. For most of the time, they will be
engaged in the attempts to understand the job, rather than working. This will
cause a significant downfall in the productivity and the companies will create
an army of disgruntled workers, who, at an extreme level, may quit the job.
Hence, the companies may face trouble in handling the excess employee
turnover, which can turn out to be costly for an organization.

To some extent, the training and development section of an organization can
solve this problem. Through a proper orientation program, the organization
can present itself and receive feedback from employees regarding their area
of interest and act accordingly. Organizations can also carrier development
program, where they can get to understand the employees need and
potentiality and find the appropriate job for him.

No, this is not a cost effective solution for the organization. Training and
development can partially solve this problem. But the major solution of this
problem lies within the initiatives of the organizations and their ability to
identify employees need.

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Existing arrangement

At this point we are going to analyze the ongoing systems of Japanese
leadership. Also, we are going to discuss the current arrangements that exist
in the Japanese company or organization or industry as a whole. We will also
try to justify the existing arrangements with the Pros and Cons it holds:

There are two types of learning method that exists in the Japanese work
environment. One is the traditional Learning and the other one is the
Modern Learning. As it has been mentioned earlier, traditional learning can
be divided into two beliefs: Confucianism and Egalitarianism. These existing
arrangements are discussed in the following pages:

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Pros
Cons
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Pros:

TRADITIONAL LEARNING:
Confucianism:
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and
philosophical system developed from the
teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius.
It is a complex system of moral, social, political,
philosophical, and quasi-religious thought that
influenced the culture and history of East Asia. It
might be considered a state religion of some East
Asian countries, because of state promotion of
Confucian philosophies.

Presence of Equality:

One of the biggest
advantageous factors of
Confucianism is the emphasis
on equality. Confucius never
stated whether man was born
good or evil, noting that 'By
nature men are similar; by
practice men are wide apart' -
implying that whether good or
bad, Confucius must have
perceived all men to be born with intrinsic similarities, but that man is
conditioned and inuenced by study and practice. Xunzi's opinion is
that men originally just want what they instinctively want despite
positive or negative results it may bring, so cultivation is needed. In
Mencius' view, all

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men are born to share goodness such as compassion and good heart,
although they may become wicked. The Three Character Classic begins with
"People at birth are naturally good (kind-hearted)", which stems from Mencius'
idea. All the views eventually lead to recognize the importance of human
education and cultivation. There moto of humanity is:
Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you.

Presence of loyalty:

In Confucianism belief their loyalty describes as follows: Loyalty to
one's family came first, then to one's spouse, then to one's ruler, and
lastly to one's friends. Loyalty was also an extension of one's duties to
friends, family, and spouse. Loyalty to one's family came first, then to
one's spouse, then to one's ruler, and lastly to one's friends. Loyalty
was considered one of the greater human virtues. Confucius also
realized that loyalty and filial piety can potentially conflict. For this
reason, we can see in the Japanese work culture, a person works for a
same organization for his
entire life, as the person
demonstrates a strong loyalty
to his organization.

Presence of strong
relationships:

Relationships are central to
Confucianism. Particular
duties arise from one's
particular situation in relation
to others. The individual

stands simultaneously in
several different relationships
with different people: as a
junior in relation to parents
and elders, and as a senior in relation to younger siblings, students,
and others. While juniors are considered in Confucianism to owe their
seniors reverence, seniors also have duties of benevolence and
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Cons:
concern toward juniors. This theme of mutuality is prevalent in East
Asian cultures even to this day. In japan, as the employees work for the
same organization, relationship between the colleagues gets stronger
and better, .which is a crucial factor for attaining a better collective
result

Presence of gender discrimination: Even though the Confucianism
promotes the spirit of equality, this system promotes gender
discrimination. Because of their stereotypical thinking and plans for
every individual, in this belief, the perception
exists in the followers society (Including the
society of Japan), that the women should be in
home all the time and should do household
chores. On the other hand, Men are supposed
to do all the important works. This type of
mentality resulted in mass movement among
women and counter-productive actions within
organizations. This scenario is quite visible in
Japan, as the women are not entrusted with the
leadership role, even if they are competent to
undertake the role

Presence of a less thinking culture: As
people follow certain guidance and leader thus
there is no space for individual thinking. In
modern days

concept, every individual are supposed to have different traits and
abilities as well as specialized preferences. For this the listening culture
became inactive as time passed by and made revolutions out of it. In
the case of Japan, individuals are entitled to follow the orders of their
boss and they are not allowed to think, rather than obliging. We all
know, a society cannot survive, let alone progress, if the free thinking is
not promoted in every aspects of the society.

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Pros:

Egalitarianism:
Egalitarianism is a belief of thought that favors equality of some sort. Its
general premise is that people should be treated as equals on certain
dimensions such as race, religion, ethnicity, political affiliation, economic
status, social status, and cultural heritage. Egalitarian doctrines maintain that
all humans are equal in fundamental worth or social status. In large part, it is a
response to the abuses of statist development and has two distinct definitions
in modern English. It is defined either as a political doctrine that all people
should be treated as equals and have the same political, economic, social,
and civil rights or as a social philosophy
advocating the removal of economic
inequalities among people or the
decentralization of power. An egalitarian
believes that equality reflects the natural state
of humanity. Egalitarianism is the opposite of
elitism.

Ensures equality among people:
Egalitarianism, through its various activities, promotes a sense of
equality in most aspects of Japan, if not all.

It expresses its hatred towards an exceptional man, who, through his own
mental effort, achieves that which others cannot. Egalitarianism demands
the punishment and envy of anyone who is better than someone else at
anything. The promotion of egalitarianism is good for Japanese society in
this sense, that, it eradicates the possibilities of inequality and deprivation
of rights within the Japanese workforce.

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Cons:
Pros:

Impedes the creation of strong personalities: Even though the
presence of egalitarianism viewpoint is assisting in the promotion of a
minimal, standard life for all employees, still there remains a
tremendous disadvantages on this system, as it makes the greater
proportion of people unable to stand tall and speak out for what they
think is right. This is one of the many possible reasons, why the
Japanese workers cannot speak for what they think is right.

MODERN LEARNING:
The modern leadership system is an entirely different approach to Japan,
compare to the ones that existed in Shogun era or the Meiji era. This system
has been introduced in Japan by the founder of Keio University. Yukichi
Fukuzawa. Unlike the previously discussed ancient leadership systems, this
relied on loyalty of employee and the dominance over them, this system
showed its faith over the employee and granted them with empowerment.
This system has been influenced by the western countries like: U.S, U.K and
so on. The pros and cons of this fast growing Japanese leadership and
management system is discussed below:

Intellectual development of
employees: The best thing about this
system is that, it allows the
employees to undertake the
responsibility of decision making. As
the employees become empowered,
they become more mature in their
decision making process and they
feel much more motivated to deliver a
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supreme performance. The whole process, is ensuring one thing The
Japanese employees are becoming matured enough to make their own
decisions, rather than relying on their boss on what to do.

Reduces the power distance and presents the boss more as a
peoples man:
Unlike the ancient times, the modern era does not believe in a
monarchy like position for the boss. This modern leadership learning
method actually ensures that bosses are more like a humble peer,
which reduces the gap between themselves and the employees and
ensure a meaningful outcome.

Seniority is not rewarded: The biggest problem of this system is its
total disregard to the age old Japanese tradition of rewarding the
person for showing loyalty towards the organization. In this way, the
modern system is discouraging the employees of Japan to show their
much needed loyalty and hence, it is pushing Japan towards a culture
where employees will a very low commitment towards their
organization and will become more self-centered.

Emergence of more intensive
adversity: Another biggest problem of the
system is, that it causing adversity among
the company executives for other reason,
than competition. Visionaries of these
modern leadership systems, like Mr.
Okano, Mr. Kawahara faced threat from
the other organizations, when they tried to
implement this modern system.

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Imminent training and
development plan

Workshops can be arranged to reduce the power distance
within Japanese employees and their leaders;

Employee development needs:
When the employees maintain a distance from their boss, when they are
supposed to maintain a close connection among them, there exists a power
discrepancy. Maintaining distance clearly indicates a sense of demotivation
among the employees and their diminished enthusiasm towards their work-
this is harmful, not only for the employees as individual, but also for the
Japanese organizations as well.

Directed towards the goal
The target of Japanese organizations, in the interest of time is to successfully
establish a transformational leadership within the organizations of Japan.
However, this type of leadership is not possible, if the leaders cannot make
the employees comfortable and if, the employees feel better off by
maintaining a distance from the employees.

PLAN-1

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Pros:
Training method/s the J apanese organizations can follow:
In house training program:
An in house training program can be arranged for the executives of the
Japanese organizations that can actually teach these executives how to be
co-ordeal with their employees and how they can create a Peoples man
impression among the employees

Employees will be more motivated towards their work
The old school executives will be able to enhance their leadership
skills.
Better communication will be ensured In the organizations
Higher productivity and efficiency will eventually enhance the countrys
overall economy

Leaders or the bosses might think they are losing their authoritative
power
Lower level employees might be mistreated and blamed for small
mistakes
Adequate support might not be available for the employees as their
bosses are conspicuous about their mislead perception.
Executives may find it uncomfortable to find themselves working with
their employee directly

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Japanese companies should improve the communication
process throughout the stages of organizational
arrangement.


Communication problem is a long term problem that has been existing in
japan. As it has been mentioned in the case, Communication is a one sided
issue. For this reason employee may find it difficult to identify the organization
necessity and respond to the needs efficiently. This includes the leader of the
organization as well. Without proper feedback, he will be at lost, in making
decision.


Communication plays the key role in establishing a two way decision making
system of the organization. Every verdict should be assumed by the
management solidly involving leaders as much as possible. Management also
should make decisions on what type of module will be used in order to
incorporate strategies with planning. The combined effort can eventually lead
to a better decision for the organization.

PLAN-2
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Pros:
In house training program:
An in house training program with the well-equipped communication facility
can assist both the executives and the employees to develop their
communication skill, which is a necessity in the context of the organization.

The mutual understanding gets improved.
The development of communication can significantly assist in
improving the rigid hierarchical structure of Japanese company.
The problems at hand can be swiftly responded by the organization.
Power distance problem can be cured through this solution.
Organizations can gain competitive advantage.

Arrangement of equipment can be costly.
The whole system may fail to bear a result if
cross cultural differences exist.

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In-house training programs can be used by the leaders for
their self-development


Japanese organizations can arrange several in-house training programs for
handling pressure for their leaders that can develop their skills to manage
multiple tasks and responsibilities at a time. Throughout these training and
development skills, leaders can understand and make their self-assessment;
hence, they prepare themselves for a better, changing environment, rather
than quitting.


By sacking a trained and experienced employee for the sake of embracing the
change, the organizations can bring forward a tremendous disaster on
themselves. Finding a suitable replacement for these employees can become
costly too. This solution can allow the organizations to embrace the change,
without compromising the experience.

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Pros:


Needs identification training for the leader:
Leaders can be trained to correctly identify the training through a proper out
house training program that may allow them to understand the changing
environment and the necessity for them to change.

Effective leadership will be ensured for the organizations
Better quality of work will be ensured
Turnover rates will fall down
Organizational productivity will increase.
Leaders will be able to add extra value in the organization through his
skill.

Causes the leader to diversify from his own work.
One training program may not be able to completely change the
experiences of lifetime.
Changes may further degrade the leaders performance.
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Initiatives can be taken to make employees more flexible to
work outside the office.


Many Japanese employees are still adhering to their age old policy of working
in the same organization from the beginning to the end. In this way, they are
becoming well aware about their organization and its operations. But these
employees will be in a deep trouble, when they are sent in distant nations as a
foreign representative. They will find it extremely difficult to cope up with the
environment outside their office. This can eventually lead to performance
degradation.


Like any other developed countries, Japan as a
nation intends to maximize its GDP. In this era of
globalization, many Japanese organizations are
establishing factories abroad and earning foreign
revenue. In this way, Japanese organizations are
contributing in their nations goal. However, there is
a possibility, that these organizations can
underperform, as the employees from Japan are not
flexible enough to cope up with the changing
environment, especially the senior ones.

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Pros:
Adaptability training:
Adoptability is something that leaders need to attain in order to get the pure
knowledge of global alterations. Training in adoptability in terms of technology
and cultural aspects of different business client is crucial for the Japanese
employees, especially, leaders.

Knowledge regarding both the local and global industry will increase
Flexible working condition will enhance the leaders or employees
potential toward the organization
It will allow Japanese organization to enhance their reputation in the
world.

Employees can fail to do a
competitor analysis, for not having
this skill.
Too much of flexibility can cause
employees lose focus on what
exactly they are employed for.

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Japanese corporations require structured progression
planning so that they can create plenty amount of
opportunities for upcoming frontrunners in the distant
future.


Responding to the demand of 21st century, Japan is diverting from its
traditional seniority based leadership selection to a merit based leadership
selection. In this case, the employees who are the potential leaders require a
proper training and development for their possible leadership roles. If the
Japanese employees are properly trained for their possible upcoming role,
they can certainly provide the performance that the owners and the
shareholders expect from them.


The training program is definitely related towards the most important goal
among the entire organizations goal, that is, to maximize the shareholders
profit. If the potential leaders are well nurtured and provided with proper
training and development, it enhances the decision making and the operations
of the organization. Hence, it will allow the Japanese organizations to move
towards a better future and overall, it will allow the Japanese economy to
thrive.

PLAN-5
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Pros:

Basic leadership training program:
The potential leaders can enjoy this privilege, where, they can get the chance
to have a carrier development consultation, receive leadership buildup
training. At the end of the training program, they might even get tested. Based
on this outcome, leaders may get selected.

The decision making capability of potential leaders get enhanced.
Japanese organizations can get the privilege to recruit an experienced
and capable person, instead of a senior with little progress.
The organizations can ensure efficient usage of manpower with a move
like this.

Very costly training program.
It is a time consuming process.
The whole initiative can fail, if the
employees are not competent enough.

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Employee development programs can be designed in
collaboration with successful business leaders.


Traditionally, the Japanese employers maintain a high expectation from their
employees. But unfortunately, these employees may find it very hard to meet
the desired performance. This can lead them towards stress and sometimes,
a series of unfortunate events like-Death from overwork. For this incident
and many other similar incidents, the organizations can seek for the support
of successful business leaders and develop a perfect training program, that
can set an employee with a right attitude.


Hassle free daily business activity is a desire for any business that desires to
stay in the market for an indefinite period of time. Unfortunately for companies
in Japan, this desire can suffer a major setback, for the death related to stress
from work. Incidents not only cause financial losses for the organization, but
also in terms of reputation as well. Besides, a well-developed training program
can also enhance the organization efficiency as well.

PLAN-6
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Pros:
In-house training with the successful businessman:
In this case, the successful Japanese businessmen, who can render their
knowledge, can be invited to join as a guest speaker and evaluator. In this
way, Japanese organizations can take the assistance of leaders, like: Masaki
Okano, Hisahi Kawahara to make their training program more efficient.

Higher productivity and efficiency will eventually enhance the
countrys overall economy
Organizations will ensure better training program for the employees.
Successful businessmens involvement adds value to the
organization.
Better communication will be ensured In the organizations.

Arranging this kind of program can be costly.
It can also be very difficult to organize.
Organizations may take the risk of exposing themselves to a fellow
competitor.

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PROPOSED TRAINING AND
DEVELOPMENT REALIZATION

1. Japanese companies should introduce teamwork
training in order to avoid power distance relationship
between leaders and followers and establish team
oriented decisions.

FIRST PHASE:

PRIORITIZING NEEDS OF EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT:

o JAPANESE COMPANIES SHOULD SELECT THE RIGHT PERSON WHO NEED THE
TRAINING:

To create self-display center, Japanese companies need to train its leaders
first. The sales head and operations manager and the project manager need
this type of training. The meeting is called for the top management and though
Japanese companies has an incorrect and simplistic view about the business
processes, senior managers should be trained to improving their persuading
quality in order to change the view of top management committee.

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SECOND PHASE:

ALLOCATING RESOURCES FOR TRAINING:

o JAPANESE COMPANIES NEEDS TO DIVIDE THE EMPLOYEES INTO GROUPS
AND PROVIDE THE T&D ACCORDING TO THE REQUIREMENT:

The Leaders in groups should be provided with specific training and
development programs according to the needs. The Leaders are required to
have different types of inefficiencies in different tasks within a same
department. The senior management is required to have training and
development program in order to change the outdated business plan and
implement according to the plan that is the need of day to day business and
market needs.

o TRAINEE CAN PROVIDE TRAINING TO THE LEADERS INTERNALLY:

In addition the ideology would be like training the trainer. If a top executive is
sent abroad for training, he could come back to his country and transmit his
learning to subordinates saving the company training cost for more than one
Leader. The other Leaders work under the trainee who came back to home
country must have a learning attitude in order to implement this training plan.
Each and every leader must be eager to learn from the opinion leader who
has just returned from abroad after getting the latest training methods.

o INCREASED MARKETABILITY AND PROFITABILITY:

After conducting to make experience of abroad for training in popular and
famous training institutes and universities, the trainers are also increasing
their marketability and the markets demand for quality and latest training. So,
for the

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top management this type of schooling in foreign countries also helps them to
become the best that they can be and fulfill their self-actualization motivator.

These foreign training programs could also be done online through virtual
instructors but these are not as effective as the first hand experiences. This is
much cheaper way out but it lacks the method of matching the implementation
of the training program with the cultural background of China.

o TIME FRAME:

It will take 2 months time to make sure the analytical fragmentation of the
plan. The span of the training process should have to be 3 6 months and a
continuous process of having so.

o EVALUATION:

In this type of continuous training of the Leaders, feedback will be provided by
the training institutions. But when he will teach the same things to other junior
Leaders, the senior trainee must be able to give the feedback to the junior
trainees. Top executives that go abroad for many training are usually very
knowledgeable and diverse, but most importantly they have experience.
When all these characteristics of a foreign trained executive blend together, it
gives the trainer the ability to pinpoint lickings in performance of even the best
Leaders. Therefore it is very important that the foreign trained top executives
evaluate the Leaders working not only below them but also make an
organization wide evaluation of Leaders performance.
While foreign trained top executive will be evaluating the subordinates
performance through performance appraisals, there must be a controlling
mechanism for tracking and evaluating the performance of the top executives
or in the case of Alchemy, the partners training and development.

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THIRD PHASE:

JAPANESE COMPANIES SHOULD INTEGRATE SURVIVING PROGRAMS INTO
WORKING PLANS:

o TRAINING VALIDITY:

The current job of the Leaders should
be enough concerned about the
training validity that is the training
program should be enough outdated
that it will help the leaders work in a
long run.

o TRANSFER VALIDITY:

The training and development
program should possess transfer
validity so that the selected leaders
those are trained can help their peers to
provide the same training programs by themselves.

o INTRA ORGANIZATIONAL VALIDITY:

Leaders development is performed in order to develop the leaders and make
them effective and efficient in future. Career planning is provided for the
Leaders in order to perform the task in the other organizations in the future.
The training program that is delivered should have intra organizational validity
for the leaders development.

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o INTER ORGANIZATIONAL VALIDITY:

The trainers as well as the management should be aware of that training that
is provided is valid within the organization. The training is given department
wise so it must be valid and suitable for the specific department of the specific
organization.

Basically Japanese companies may do one thing that will put an extra value
towards it, as the top executives are getting the training out of it, so if there
are any factors that could enrich the issues in more fascinating way then the
methodology would be more lucrative. When these top executives are getting
trained, the company could put an extra task to the mechanism- making
research project on global expansion of the company to those countries
where it is not situated.

2. Japanese companies should develop the
communication process throughout the levels of
organizational structure.

FIRST PHASE:


o SELECTING THE COMMUNICATION MODULE

Communication plays the key role in establishing two way decision making
process of the organization. Every decision should be undertaken by the
management unanimously involving leaders as much as possible.
Management also should make decisions on what type of module will be used
in order to incorporate strategies with planning. Leaders must ensure the
proper channels of communication as this will be the key in making
judgments.

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SECOND PHASE:


The idea of providing communication training revolves around proper
communication facilities. Any group conference facility and media selection
would be sufficed for making the training into action.

o TO GET FEEDBACK ON THE TRAINING:

After implementing proper Leaders training the whole organization will face
the instant success of being a step ahead of their competition. In order to do
that the department heads must be trained methodically. For this type of
situation when the top executives of training Japanese companies are looking
to be trained amid their busy schedule, organizational goals can be easily
accomplished. The project proposal should be persuading and should provide
all the data related to the project.
The computer based training can give the executive access to a huge
database of cases that he can study for refreshing his own knowledge in all
fields. The advancement of Information Technology has created the
opportunity for the trainees to purchase training courses online and do the
whole course online as well. Organizations must be completely clear about
what they want from training, and what skills gaps are to be filled.

o TIME FRAME FOR THE TRAINING:

To field the plan it will take maximum 12 months time to initiate it. The span of
time will depend upon the evaluation criterion of the related objectives
mentioned upon the objectives. If the measurement could be converted in
solidity it would be a plan of 2 years, then the outcome might arrival.

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THIRD PHASE:

WORKING PLANS:


Leaders development is performed in order to develop the leaders and make
for the Leaders development.


The training and development program should possess transfer validity so
that the selected leaders those are trained can help their peers to provide the
same training programs by themselves.


The current job of the leaders should be enough concerned about the training
validity that is the training program should be enough outdated that it will help
the Leaders work in a long run.

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3. Leaders must be alerted or informed through an in-
house schooling session about the ongoing training
process designed for their subordinates and must
receive critical feedbacks from them as well.

FIRST PHASE:


o SELECT THE LEADERS WHO NEED THE TRAINING:

The first thing of train up the leaders is their
competency should be measured first by
conducting interviews, surveys through
questionnaire, discussing with them personally.
According to the tasks and previous
performance, trainers should deliver training
program which may help them in their current as
well as future job.

Japanese companies need to cater those
potentialities to excel and gain a competitive
advantage over its competitors, so Japanese
companies have to stop downsizing and dispose the idea of downsizing the
Leaders, instead they should focus on training for those leaders and make
them work.

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SECOND PHASE:


o SENDING THE LEADERS FOR OUT-HOUSE TRAINING, WORKSHOPS AND
SEMINARS

In order to train a Leader from the operations department, the company does
not have to go for external training programs which can be very expensive.
Rather, they could select the most potential and able Leaders and then give
coaching to him to develop him for the duties that he might have to face when
sharing the responsibilities. However, in order to do that the department
heads must be trained methodically. It gives the executive access to a huge
database of cases that he can study for refreshing his own knowledge in all
fields. The advancement of Information Technology has created the
opportunity for the trainees to purchase training courses online and do the
whole course online as well. Organizations must be completely clear about
what they want from training, and what skills gaps are to be filled. Supporting
the big mistakes might be the biggest threat of having it in minor rationales to
be avoided.

THIRD PHASE:

WORKING PLANS:


The organisation has to form a team which will be designing and
implementing the training and development program. The team divides the
leaders into groups and designs program according to their needs. It sets the
duration, timing and the specific training program for a certain number of
leaders and implements according to the design. For example, sales team are
provided with training that improves their skills, helps them to increase and
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improve their sale quality and perform their best. Again, leaders in marketing,
finance, management information system are also provided with relevant
training and development program to improve their performance in their
current and future job.


One of the most important phases in the
training and development program is
analysing the impact of the program on the
trainee. In this case, the team and the
supervisor evaluate the performance and
their improvement of the trainees. They call
for informal and formal interview to the
Leaders and analyse whether the training
program was beneficiary to them or not.
They try to find out the performance of the
Leaders after the training is up to the
expected level or not. According to the
findings, the team as well as the supervisor
take further steps in human resource
management and development.


Leaders should be trained in a way that they would be efficient in making
financing and investing decisions within the organization considering the
limited budget and time. The trainers as well as the management should be
aware of that training that is provided is valid within the organization. The
training is given department wise so it must be valid and suitable for the
specific department of the specific organization.

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4. Japanese companies to ensure highest global
competency should introduce adaptability training for
leaders.

FIRST PHASE:


Adoptability is something that leaders must achieve in order to get the clear
idea of global changes. Training in adoptability in terms of technology and
cultural aspects of different business client is crucial for the Japanese leaders.

Organizational goals of achieving adoptability can be accomplished if the
leaders are trained and empowered to make the best decisions. Japanese
companies has to spend in- Cost of specialized and customized E-Commerce
system, upgrade the computer system, providing Training and development
Program for its leaders, fees for consulting firms, fees for the vendor of the E-
Commerce system, ongoing software licensing fees, charges to maintain an
in-house IT group after E-Commerce implementation in order to adopt with
global competency.

SECOND PHASE:


o TIME FRAME:

It will take one months time to make sure the analytical fragmentation of the

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o EVALUATION:

In this type of continuous training of the leaders, feedback will be provided by
trainees. To implement the E-Commerce system within a limited budget, fund
allocation should be perfectly decided. Executing the plan cost effectively can
ensure the largest profit in Japanese companies.

Organizational goals can be accomplished if the Leaders of finance
department are trained and empowered to make the best decisions and
implement in order to increase the higher rate of return. Japanese companies
have to allocate funds in the following below and perfect allocation of funds is
crucial. Evaluation should be completed after providing the training. According
to the performance trainers should decide whether the trainees need more
training or not.

THIRD PHASE:

WORKING PLANS:


Leaders of every department are required to be trained in a way that the
program is valid enough and help to improve the performance of the leaders
in order to increase the profitability of the company through using the cost
effective method.


Leaders should be trained in a way that they can provide training programs
and other finance techniques to their peers and improve the overall
performance of the department. Though Japanese companies had a limited
budget in implementing E-Commerce system, it should be aware of the
training programs and provide on this cost effective way.
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specific department of the specific organization.


Leaders development is performed in order to develop the Leaders and make
for the Leaders development. Leaders then will be better understood E-
Commerce.

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5.Japanese companies must practice structured
succession planning so that they can create ample
amount of opportunities for upcoming leaders in the
foreseeable future.

FIRST PHASE:


Japanese companies should dispose the idea of
inherited leadership, because, there are many
potential Leaders out there. Japanese companies
need to cater those potentialities to excel and gain
a competitive advantage over its competitors, so
Japanese companies have to stop downsizing
and dispose the idea of downsizing the Leaders,
instead they should focus on training for those
Leaders and make them work.

Japanese companies just cant train all the
leaders. They need to select some leaders who
are eligible for the training. Moreover, the
software would be a customized one, so they
need to be selected very cautiously. So, Japanese companies have to at first,
select some Leaders to be trained and train them and build them up to the
industry requirement.

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SECOND PHASE:


o TIME ALLOCATION:

To field the plan it will take maximum one months time to initiate it. The span
of time will depend upon the evaluation criterion of the related objectives
mentioned upon the objectives. If the measurement could be converted in
solidity it would be a plan of 2 years, then the outcome might arrival.

o EVALUATION:

In this type of continuous training of the leaders, feedback will be provided by
trainees.

Organizational goals can be accomplished if the Leaders of finance
department are trained and empowered to make the best decisions and
implement in order to increase the higher rate of return. Japanese companies
have to allocate funds in the following below and perfect allocation of funds is
crucial. Evaluation should be completed after providing the training. According
to the performance trainers should decide whether the trainees need more
training or not.

THIRD PHASE:

WORKING PLANS:


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leaders into groups and designs program according to their needs. It sets the

Leaders and implements according to the design. For example, sales team
are provided with training that improves their skills, helps them to increase
and improve their sale quality and perform their best. Again, Leaders in
marketing, finance, management information system are also provided with
relevant training and development program to improve their performance in
their current and future job.


One of the most important phases in the training and
development program is analysing the impact of the
program on the trainee. In this case, the team and the
supervisor evaluate the performance and their
improvement of the trainees. They call for informal and
formal interview to the Leaders and analyse whether the
training program was beneficiary to them or not. They
try to find out the performance of the Leaders after the
training is up to the expected level or not. According to
the findings, the team as well as the supervisor take
further steps in human resource management and
development.


specific department of the specific organization

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6. Japanese companies should incorporate shared
experience or executive judgments with the module of
training.

FIRST PHASE:


o SELECT THE RIGHT PERSON WHO NEEDS THE TRAINING:

The senior management, especially the
operations manager and the project manager
need this type of training. Japanese companies
may perform the needs assessment task by-
Conducting Interviews, consulting with the
supervisors, consulting with the manager of the
specific department, observing the performance
of Leaders, reviewing the past records,
conducting surveys by the Leaders themselves,
examining the problems the company recently
facing.

With shared experiences with all the successful
business leaders like Masaki Okano, Hisahi
Kawahara and Hiroshi Taguchi, Japanese companies can remodel its training
module as these leaders are pioneer in leading all the successful business.

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SECOND PHASE:


o TIME FRAME:

It will take 2 months time to make sure the analytical fragmentation of the

o EVALUATION:

In this type of continuous training of the Leaders,
feedback will be provided by the training institutions.
But when he will teach the same things to other junior
Leaders, the senior trainee must be able to give the
feedback to the junior trainees. Top executives that go
abroad for many training are usually very
knowledgeable and diverse, but most importantly they
have experience. When all these characteristics of a
foreign trained executive blend together, it gives the
trainer the ability to pinpoint lickings in performance of
even the best leaders. Therefore it is very important
that the foreign trained top executives evaluate the
Leaders working not only below them but also make
an organization wide evaluation of Leaders
performance.

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THIRD PHASE:

WORKING PLANS:


Leaders into groups and designs program according to their needs. It sets the
leaders and implements according to the design. For example, sales team are
provided with training that improves their skills, helps them to increase and
improve their sale quality and perform their best. Again, Leaders in marketing,
finance, management information system are also provided with relevant
training and development program to improve their performance in their
current and future job


One of the most important phases in the training and development program is
analysing the impact of the program on the trainee. In this case, the team and
the supervisor evaluate the performance and their improvement of the
trainees. They call for informal and formal interview to the leaders and
analyse whether the training program was beneficiary to them or not. They try
to find out the performance of the Leaders after the training is up to the
expected level or not. According to the findings, the team as well as the
supervisor take further steps in human resource management and
development.

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The trainers as well as the management should be aware of that training that
is provided is valid within the organization. The training is given department
wise so it must be valid and suitable for the specific department of the specific
organization.

The new generation of Japanese leaders will have to challenge the paradigm
of Japanese business with its focus on employee loyalty, in favor of personal
initiative and desire for patient capital. They will need to stress communication
and learning, and in doing so, help not only the economy but society as well.

Leading Across Japan

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