Abstract

There is an ongoing debate over whether traditional Japanese business practices are converging towards those of Anglo-American societies. One aspect of business practice is the attitude toward the skills demanded of newly graduated recruits. Traditionally, Japanese managers were said to value communitarian attributes, such as cooperativeness and flexibility, to encourage socialisation into the firm’s culture; however, in the last two decades business groups have been emphasising a new set of qualities, including creativity and problem solving, expressing these in a discourse of personal independence and autonomy. This study reports interviews conducted with Japanese managers concerning the attributes and skills they seek in new employees. It finds that, within the firms canvassed, managers still stressed the importance of communitarian values, often articulating attributes and skills in terms of their contribution to the overall harmony of the firm. The findings have potential implications for how we understand cultural change and continuity within Japan.

摘要

关于日本传统商业行为是否正在向英美社会趋同，一直存在争议。商业实践的一个方面是对刚毕业的新兵所要求的技能的态度。传统上，据说日本经理重视社区属性，例如合作性和灵活性，以鼓励社会化融入公司文化；然而，在过去的二十年里，商业团体一直在强调一套新的品质，包括创造力和解决问题的能力，并在个人独立和自主的话语中表达这些品质。本研究报告了对日本管理人员进行的关于他们在新员工中寻求的属性和技能的采访。它发现，在所调查的公司中，管理者仍然强调社区价值观的重要性，经常根据他们对公司整体和谐的贡献来阐明属性和技能。这些发现对我们如何理解日本的文化变化和连续性具有潜在的影响。