Tateshakai

The Vertical Society

By Takehiro KakiyamaSophia University, Tokyo

Origin 1 - Social Hierarchy

Farmers

Samurai

Artisans

Merchants

士

農

工

商

Edo Period

1stClass

2nd Class

3rd Class

Companies Today

2009 Takehiro Kakiyama

Origin 2 - Family

EntranceKitchenReference:http://www.asij.ac.jp/elementary/projects/japanmro/Nina/image/saze1.jpg

Reference: http://www.mc-soul.com/image/photo/diary-photo/04/04-12-19-03.jpg

2009 Takehiro Kakiyama

Senpai (Seniors) and Kohai (Juniors)

• Senpai-kohai system

Junior = KohaiSenior = Senpai

Reverence

Benevolence

Reference:http://gigazine.jp/img/2008/01/30/beautiful_gian/012.jpg

Reference:http://www.hobbycrazy.com/images/1102908364/9_vcd_nobita_2.jpg

2009 Takehiro Kakiyama

Advantages

• Secure jobs and income (life-time employment)

• No jealousy between employees (everybody at the same level earns the same amount)

• Employees are socialized in the company by their peers

• Employees have a lot of time to learn their jobs (on-the-job training)

2009 Takehiro Kakiyama

Disadvantages

• Slow decision-making (group decision making)

• Not everybody has the patience to wait for promotion

• Mid-career hiring is still rare in Japan• No real job market for top managers

2009 Takehiro Kakiyama

These slides are part of a student podcast project related to the book “J-Management: Fresh Perspectives on the Japanese Firm in the 21st Century” edited by

Dr. Parissa Haghirian of Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan.

For further information about the podcasts and the book, please visit www.parissahaghirian.com

These slides are to be used for teaching and educational purposes only.

About This Project