HOW IS THE ART OF JAPANESE MANAGEMENT DIFFERENT FROM AMERICAN METHODS? It's a matter of the Seven S's. Western companies have tended to favor these three S's: Strategy, Structure and Systems. When an American manager wants to make changes, the odds are that he'll reorganize structure, introduce a new strategic direction and impose a new control system. Our emphasis on the first three S's produces an arid world in which nothing is alive. An organization is often given its life through the soft S's: Staff, Skills, Style and Superordinate Goals. The tremendous success of many Japanese companies comes through meticulous attention to the soft S's, which act as a lubricant in the organization machine to keep the hard S's from grinding one another away. HOW CAN COMPANIES HERE USE THE ART OF JAPANESE MANAGEMENT? Pascale and Athos show you how to use the best of Japanese techniques, add them to your own strengths to benefit by both cultures.
