Electronic Revolution and Japanese-Style Management : With Particular Emphasis on ERP

在本研究中，我们调查了日本企业的管理风格如何适应新的信息技术，重点是企业资源计划（ERP），这是世界上最流行的企业信息系统之一。企业资源规划系统是为了在全球范围内通过标准化业务操作，在管理活动中有效地利用计算机而开发的。然而，日本式管理传统上在其独特的业务运营中找到了自己的优势。ERP和日本式管理基本上是相互矛盾的，给日本企业造成了严重的困境。我们对以往的相关研究进行了综述，并对个人和企业进行了访谈。虽然信息技术（IT）是当今重要的管理问题，但学术界对IT与管理之间关系的研究仍然不足，往往缺乏认真的审查。这一点也适用于专门从事管理信息系统的研究人员。我们相信，通过本研究，可以弥补以往研究的不足，帮助学者、研究者和企业家认识IT对企业经营的重要影响。我们希望通过对日本大型企业的问卷调查，进一步深化本研究。

In this study we investigated how the management style of Japanese companies has been adapting itself to new information technology by focusing on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), one of most popular corporate information systems worldwide. ERP was developed for the purpose of effectively utilizing computers in management activities through standardizing business operations on global basis. However, Japanese-style management has traditionally found its strength in its unique business operations. ERP and Japanese-style management basically contradict each other, creating a serious dilemma for Japanese companies. We surveyed preceding research related to our topic, and then conducted interviews to both individuals and companies.Although Information technology (IT) is an important managerial concern today, academic studies on the relationship between IT and management are still insufficient and tend to lack serious scrutiny of this subject. The same can be pointed out about researchers specializing in management information systems. We believe that our study could provide what is missing in past studies and help scholars, researchers, and business practitioners to recognize the crucial impacts of IT on corporate management.We would like to further develop our research by conducting research questionnaire to large Japanese companies.