A Comparative Study on the Development of the Productivity Movement in Postwar Japan

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Main results of this research project are as follows.Firstly, immediately after the end of the war, under the guidance of both GHQ and Japanese government, some new management consulting organizations were formed. These organizations and other organizations, which were established in prewar days, including central figures of organizations, consolidated the foundation of the the productivity movement after 1950s. According to the case study of the iron and steel industry, the learning results accumulated within the company from prewar times also contributed to the introduction of the newly established American management techniques. On the other side, the members of the observation tours undertaken by groups made up of participants from the electrical equipment industry were convinced that mass production system could indeed be implemented in Japan, where variety has long been a watchword of consumerism. Concrete results can be seen to have stemmed from the overseas missions, such as the introduction of the suggestion system and the revamping of the design organization. Furthermore, it was made clear that the production movement was almost simultaneous with the introduction of foreign technology.Secondly, with regard to the birth and the role of the productivity center, the case of Japan differs both from the situation in Germany, in which the same organization as existed in prewar days formed the core, and in Austria, where the movement was under the influence of the prewar organization, yet the movement developed quite independently of the government, and from the situation in France, where dependence on the government is quite strong. In Japan, the movement's organization can be described as mutually complementary system made up of the government as well as a number of group.Thirdly, the labor unions of each countries, corresponding to their upper international organizations, had a commitment to the production movement.