Invasion of the Salarymen : The Japanese Business Presence in America

During the 1980s a host of books on management proclaimed the triumph of Japanese companies' emphasis on corporate values, loyalty, lifetime employment and consensus. In the first full-length study of Japanese direct investment in the United States, Sullivan shows that Japanese companies generally have not performed well and that part of their problem is poor management. Contrary to popular belief, management practices in Japan are rooted in the clever use of power rather than the development loyalty or values. While the system of highly authoritarian but benevolent managers and submissive employees has transferred well to some rural manufacturing firms in the U.S., it has fared poorly in urban areas.