Managament

How Japanese Work

Humanity & Work

-By Madan Lamsal

"A company is its people" say the experts of personnel management, and Japanese companies have actually applied the theory. That is the reason why the Japanese style TQC is so successful. It respects humanity and makes human relations go smoothly, while enabling every individual to exercise his or her full capabilities through QC circle activities and the involvement of all departments and employees.

In Japanese style management, people are regarded as the most important factors of production. The logic is that, quality is planned, designed, manufactured and marketed by people, and goods and services are bought and used by people. While automation, robotization, computerization, and office mechanization may become more widespread, they are still used by people.

People have various desires, such as financial satisfaction, personal growth and interpersonal acceptance. If an employee does not find a congenial environment at work he will be unable to produce a quality result. If an employee is disturbed at office he will be disturbed at home and vice versa. Therefore, Japanese management experts say that total quality control must be implemented in such a way that desires of employees are satisfied as much as possible to make them happy.

Why is it that sports are more enjoyable than work? Because scientists say that sports contain the element of humanity, while work is sometimes unenjoyable because it has become dehumanized to a certain extent. Therefore, Japanese experts suggest to incorporate and make use of the demands of humanity, i.e. creativity, sociality and the rest. Since work naturally involves activities, fully exercising our humanity in our work is essential for motivation. A motivated person’s productivity in his work is always higher.

But in our part of the world, humanity is most neglected. Therefore, productivity of our people is regarded as the lowest in the region. In most of the companies and in most of the cases employees have to work under pressure from superiors. In most of the blue collar jobs in Nepal, there is no scope for talking about humanity.

For example, in carpet and garment industries, and in other manufacturing industries also, employees are regarded simply as objects, not humans. What is the harm if the carpet weavers are allowed to sing while working? Would not that increase productivity in their work? For example, in Nepal while planting paddy saplings, farmers sing in the field and in many cases they have music instruments played to make their work enjoyable. Therefore, even though they work harder, they seem less tired. Contrary to it, employees working in industries or companies feel more tired even though they work less hours than those farmers. This example proves that ‘humanity’ is very important factor to make work more enjoyable and productive.

The philosophy behind giving importance to ‘humanity’ in workplace is that humanity needs respect. Therefore, Japanese experts promote total quality control and QC circle activities based on the belief that humans differ from animals and machines. Unlike animals, people work better if they are allowed to work autonomously, of their own free will, under their own motivation.

If employees have to work under pressure, they may work grudgingly. Therefore, they can never produce good products or services. Working under pressure is no different from being a machine, and it takes all interest out of work.

Similarly, humanity fosters professionalization in work. It helps delegation of authority and employees start to think and use their heads while working. If employees keep thinking and questioning while they work, good ideas will emerge, which foster creativity and facilitate the development of new products and new technology. It is now high time that Nepali companies also consider the factor of humanity so as to create better working environment.

Based on AOTs Training Course