Changes In Japanese Employment Practices

This book discusses changes in Japanese employment practices, specifically in performance-related pay and non-regular employment. The book argues that these changes have not replaced the existing practices, but have been shaped by them.

Japan's employment practices were long considered a cornerstone to its economic success. However, the reversal in economic performance during the 1990s altered the positive perception and inspired major adaptations like the rise in performance-related pay ('seikashugi') and non-regular employment. This book presents case-studies of the adaptations in personnel management by major Japanese firms. It highlights the diversity, the stability and the considerations behind the adaptations that are implemented by these firms. Drawing on insights from institutional theory, it shows how factors such as legitimacy and institutional interlock have guaranteed an important continuity in employment practices. It discusses how the adaptations have not actually replaced the existing practices but have been shaped by them and, as a consequence, the result may not be as revolutionary as once expected but is likely to last. Furthermore, it argues that the employment practices remain specifically Japanese and that expectations of convergence have so far proved misplaced. Overall, this book is a valuable contribution to the study of employment issues. It provides an effective framework to analyse the ongoing developments in Japanese employment practices and demonstrates that Japanese developments continue to offer important insights for human resource management and labour market institutionalisation in general. Review: All in all, Keizer has done an excellent job in presenting...a balanced set of conclusions, skilfully avoiding the overblown rhetoric of previous studies that have hailed a complete transformation or collapse in lifetime employment in Japan. The book deserves to be read by scholars from the fields of management studies, economics, and sociology who are interested in contemporary employment practices in developed countries, and is an excellent example for graduate students who are themselves engaged in firm level field work. In short, this book is a welcome dose of good sense on a subject that routinely requires a grounding in real world data analysis in order to retain balance. I look forward to reading more from Keizer as he deepens and extends this research. -- Peter Matanle, Relations industrielles / Industrial Relations -- 66-4, 2011