Corporate Culture in the 40 Samurais

Abstract

The achievement of efficiency in production is important for any company. The importance of corporate culture in the analysis of production efficiency is analyzed in the previous chapter. In this chapter, 40 companies in the iron and steel, automobiles, electronics and electrical machinery industries which, are the core of Japan’s industry, called in this research ‘40 Samurais,’ are analyzed. These Japanese companies have adopted similar corporate values as there are in ‘Shogun One’ and ‘Shogun Two.’ These companies believe that employees are the main source of strength for the organization. Human resources management seeks to create a corporate culture where values such as ‘continuous improvement’ and ‘respect for people’ are reflected in all corporate and individual activities. They take maximum care to ensure stability of employment and strive to improve working conditions. They also believe in continuously improving the company’s products and practices. They seek to progress by empowering their employees (Basu & Miroshnik, 2000; Aoki, 2008).