Behavioral Characteristic of the Middle Management at the Japan National Railways from 1945 to 1970

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The Japan National Railways (JNR) brought up broad tiers of middle management after the Meiji era. This middle management experienced a meaningful change in the aftermath of the Second World War. This research paper investigates the formation process and behavioral characteristic of the middle management from the perspective of internal bargaining.The middle management of JNR have made a "collective" bargain with not only the top management but also the rank and file for the purpose of strengthening their positions in the organization. The backgrounds of the bargaining are as follows:In the process of industrialization, JNR was structured departmentally. A kind of sectionalism originated from this departmental structure has made the foundation of the bargaining.An elite group ("career-group") of the middle management is clearly divided from the other groups at JNR. This division brings a kind of self-government of the non-elite group in the field of usual management.Only a small number of university graduates is adopted outside and lots of managers are fostered inside at the training center. The high school graduates compete against university graduates for the positions of the organization. This selection structure produces the voice of "non-career groups", but limit the power of voice by making the "mutual-checking" mechanism between the groups at the same time.