A Sociology of Work in Japan

by Ross Mouer, Hirosuke Kawanishi

Overview

This comprehensive, introductory overview of the "world of work" in Japan recalls post-war Japan to analyze the development of industrial relations and the Japanese style of management. It considers the changes that took place in the early nineties when disillusionment set in and unemployment and economic insecurity became facts of life. The authors challenge the preeminence of Japanese management practices which have dominated the literature over the last three decades.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521651202
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/11/2005
Series:	Contemporary Japanese Society
Pages:	324
Product dimensions:	6.22(w) x 9.29(h) x 0.98(d)

About the Author

Ross Mouer is Professor of Japanese Studies in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at Monash University. His publications include Images of Japanese Society: A Study in the Construction of Social Reality (1986 with Yoshio Sugimoto).

Kawanishi Hirosuke is Professor of Sociology at Waseda University, Tokyo. He is the author and editor of many books including Enterprise Unionism in Japan (1991) and The Human Face of Industrial Conflict in Post-war Japan (1999).

Table of Contents

List of figures; List of tables; Preface; Note on transliteration, romanization and translation; List of abbreviations; Part I. A Context for Studying Work: 1. The Japanese at work; 2. Toward a sociology of work in postwar Japan; 3. Competing models for understanding work in Japan; Part II. The Commitment to Being at Work: 4. Hours of work, labor-force participation and the work ethic; Part III. Processing Labor Through Japan's Labor Markets: 5. Change and challenge in the labor market; 6. Segmentation of the labor market; Part IV. The Broader Social Policy Context for Understanding Choice at Work in Japan: 7. From labor policy to social policy: a framework for understanding labor process in Japan at the national level 8. Social security and safety nets; Part V. The Power Relations Shaping the Organization of Work in Japan: 9. The state of the union movement in Japan; 10. Management organizations and the interests of employers; Part VI. The Future: 11. The future of work in Japan; References; Author index; General index.

Editorial Reviews

"Rebick's analysis is masterfully institutional and his analysis is based on the most meticulous nalysis of primary and secondary labor data possible given the limits of data acces." - Mary C. Brinton, Harvard University

From the Publisher