Showing papers by "Markus Pudelko published in 2005"

Cross-national learning from best practice and the convergence-divergence debate in HRM

Abstract: The chief objective of this paper is to develop suggestions as to how to learn from best practices in HRM across national borders. The analysis is based on survey data gathered from 232 HRM managers from American, Japanese and German top 500 companies. The managers provide information on how the HRM model of their respective country is characterized and from which of the other two country models they seek inspiration. The concrete attributes of the models considered worth adopting are described in detail and future developments with regards to convergence of the HRM models explored. The empirical data suggest that HR managers from all three countries expect a partial convergence towards a hybrid model. Curiously, the model that comes closest to this hybrid – the German one – is also the one that rates lowest as a source of inspiration. An argument is made that in order to better understand learning from best practice and resulting convergence tendencies, research should seek more insights regarding the kn...

Japanese Human Resource Management: From Being a Miracle to Needing One?

Abstract: One major characteristic of the Japanese business model is the importance attached to human resources, and accordingly to human resource management (HRM). An indication of the weight given to the latter is the prominent position occupied by the HR department (Rehfeld, 1995). The head of HR is often, after the president, the second most important manager in a Japanese company (Thurow, 1993). It is therefore not surprising that HRM has been identified by many authors as one of the main factors in the astonishing achievements of Japanese companies in the world markets (Inohara, 1990), particularly during the heydays Japanese success story in the 1980s and early 1990s. During that time Japanese HRM practices were widely studied in the West to discover what might be learned from them (see for example Dore, 1973, 1987, 2000, 2002; Vogel, 1979; Ouchi, 1981; Pascale and Athos, 1981; Kenney and Florida, 1988, 1993). Huczynski (1986) described the fascination with Japanese HRM in the West as a major management fad, and books suggesting what Western managers could adopt from Japanese practices joined the best-seller lists and gained almost cult status. Vogel’s Japan as Number One (1979), Ouchi’s Theory Z (1981) and Pascale and Athos’s The Art of Japanese Management (1981) are but three examples.

Continuity versus Change: The Key Dilemma for Japanese Management

Abstract: In recent years there has been an abundance of testimonials on the relative decline in competitiveness of the Japanese economy and the Japanese management model. Many of these reports suggest that the only way for Japan to regain its competitiveness is to adopt management practices from the business model that currently, due to its alleged superiority, seems to be the focus point of global convergence: the Western, or more specifically, the Anglo-Saxon model. Indeed, it seems that the majority of management scholars are advising Japan to adopt certain key characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon model, and in many ways these are the opposite of those of the traditional Japanese system. This includes a comparatively stronger focus on the following.1

The Influence of Islam on the Economic Development of Muslim Countries

Abstract: In this paper we investigate the possible ways in which Islam influences the economic development of Muslim countries, specifically in the Arab world. Islam is regarded here less in its narrow definition as a set of particular religious beliefs, but more in its broader concept, as defining a specific culture, resulting in a specific social, political and legal environment. The paper focuses on Islam’s possible role in affecting economic activity, science and education, political systems, and the position of women. These contextual features are then discussed in light of their impact on human, physical, and natural resources, whose output is a crucial determinant of economic development. It is concluded that there are several ways in which Islam – defined more as a culture than a religious belief – may hinder economic development in Muslim countries in the Arab world. We conclude by suggesting ways of increasing economic development in Muslim nations, highlighting Turkey as a potential role model.

The Current State of the Japanese Economy and Challenges for Japanese Management: An Overview

Abstract: The success of Japanese companies in the world markets since the 1970s has attracted widespread attention. What became known as ‘the Japanese management model’ was the first non-Western model to question the supremacy of Western approaches to management, and its principles and practices were imitated in many ways in a number of other Asian countries, such as South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. But ‘learning from Japan’ was not a phenomenon limited to Asian nations. Many Western corporations also adopted several aspects of Japanese management, particularly with regard to production processes, and ‘Japanese management’ developed into a subdiscipline of management studies.