Japanese Management Practices in Historical Perspective

Abstract

In the past, Japan was seen by Europeans as a geographically remote country, somewhere in the ‘Tar East’. By the same token, Japanese people had little awareness of most European countries—France, Germany, and Italy were perceived as being different from ‘Western’ countries. Furthermore, in contrast with attitudes toward the United Kingdom or the United States, Japanese knowledge and interest about business in the continental European countries was very limited. Before World War II, as far as Japan was concerned, Great Britain represented the pinnacle of achievement in commerce, industry, and finance; it was a model for Japan to try to catch up to. In the post-war period, the United States became the model whose business and management practices were emulated by Japan. Little attention was paid to developments in France, Germany, and Italy, despite their long histories of political and cultural eminence within Europe.