Jyuji Misumi

Personal Reliance on Alternative Event-Management Processes in Four Countries

Organization members seek information from different sources, depending on how familiar they are with the work situations they encounter from one moment to the next. Event-management processes are the sources of information that organization members use to interpret and respond to the sequence of events they experience. Questionnaire items were constructed to ask employees how much they use five event-management processes to respond to two categories of events— day-to-day situations and unusual problems (i.e., exceptional situations). The questionnaires were administered to employees in five electronics-related manufacturing plants located in four countries— the U.S., U.K., Japan, and Hong Kong. The results indicate that the respondents find the distinction among different event-management processes in all four countries. Applications to process-oriented rather than traditional structure-oriented contingency management models for research and application are addressed.

The Japanese Meaning of Work and Small Group Activities in Japanese Industrial Organizations

Abstract Japan has modernized itself by using Western countries as its model of development. Japanese management is, however, not necessarily an imitation of European or American management. It is unique and deeply rooted in the tradition of Japanese society, which has nourished such practices as periodic recruitment of employees, life-time employment, seniority wage system and company unions. In this paper, the meaning of Japanese working Life. work motivation and values will be discussed first. This is followed by a review of Japanese manager-employee relations from the standpoint of the authors PM leadership theory. Finally, organizational development experience in the Nishitetsu Railroad Company and the Mitsubishi Shipyard will be presented to illustrate intervention schemes in solving accident and safety problems with special reference to leadership development and small group activities.