The Japanese employment system

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject Sociology - Work Education Organisation grade: 17 University of Osnabrück course: Economical and Technical Development and Organisation WS 05/06 language: English abstract: After Japan recovered from the disastrous defeat of World War II its enormous economic growth provided a series of questions to the world's leading economists. With constant growth rates over 11% on average in the 1960s Japan had the world's second largest GDP. Seeking explanations and reasons for this phenomenon soon a couple of important influences on the Japanese economy were found. The increased demands on Japanese products during the conflicts in Vietnam after the Second World War (which led to the Vietnam War 1964-1973) and the Korean War 1950 to 1953 as well as the government aid for selected industries and protective duty accelerated its growth which exceeded all former expectations1. Another important element of the Japanese prosperity was met with the Japanese-style employment system2. What would primarily influence the image of the Japanese to the further decades the industrious never sleeping blue-collar and white-collar workers fulfilling a life for the company in a state of mutual dependence is the result of an elaborate employment system. And in fact lifetime employment a predetermined career path and the seniority-based wage system were established to commit the regular workers to their company while the temporary workers still did not reach a similar status. This Japanese Model as several authors call it is subject to constant change. Even though the system was never fixed it changed its surface not before the collapse of the bubble in 1990. Shortly after this prolonged economic recession which forced every industrialised country to undertake economic restructuring Japan was able to recover very fast through strict rationalisation and a revision of its employment system. Today J