leading across japan

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BACKGROUND It has been observed by the economist Herman Kahn in 1968 that, Japan, as

a nation is expected to attain a higher capita gross domestic product (GDP)

than the United States, in a near future. Even though, people were pessimistic

about his prediction, even though the contemporary critics found it hard to

believe, at the end of the day, Herman Kahns theory and prediction turned

out to be true. Today, Japan is one of the strongest financial powerhouses of

the world.

However, due to the impact of globalization,

the work environment and the office cultures

around the world is changing and the

intellectuals around the world are encouraging

nations around the world to come up with

entirely new systems to cope up with the

changing scenarios. When it came to Japan,

several intellectuals countered the idea. Even

though Japan went through a decade of

recession and uncertainties regarding restoring

prosperity, several intellectuals argued that, a change in Japanese business

culture and leadership is unnecessary in the changing global economy. In his

most recent book, The Re-emergence of Japan as a Super State, Kahn again,

turned his on Japan and made a prediction that suggests that, with a modest

pecuniary modification, recovery is still, well within the horizon for Japan. As

they have technical benefits in fast computers, nanotechnology, cybernetics,

hybrid car engines, and pharmacological

copyrights. Japan also has an absolute

advantage of chief labor, which they are trying

to utilize in the maximum possible way.

Herman Kahn concluded that, Japanese

frontrunners identified that the nations

historical command-economy ideas will not

work in the present or the near future.

During the era of Japanese premier,

Junichiro Koizumi, in 2002, the focus falls to him and his government and

his possible reform actions. During his time, Japan, as a nation was in

desperate need for a new model. Even though Japan had a proud culture and

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strong political beliefs, they were still in a dire need for a change to appease

the survival requirement- a demand of the 21st century for any countries

around the world, including Japan.

A brief history of Japan :

For more than 300 years, the

feudal lords conquered Japan as a

nation. This era is known as

Tokgawa era (Or, Edo era). The

sense of independence, the right

to express, during these era was

near to nothing for the Japanese

people. During the era of

shogunate (the early Japanese

government led by a shogun), they

still had very little sense of

independence. However, things started to change for good, during the Meiji

era (18681912). In this era the classical feudal system started to disappear

to pave the way for industrialization and modern capitalism.

Like their enriched history, the Japanese work culture is gradually changing.

Now, employees can no longer enjoy the lifetime employment that used to

exist in the past, and many best Japanese alumni are opting to work for

foreign companies because they aspire to be recognized and promoted by

their merit, not by the time they spent on their company.

The Japanese workforce is continuing its change. Several reformations are

already in order and some are yet to take place. For instance, Obuchis big-

bang reform, which was meant to take effect in 2000, with a view to make

corporate reporting transparent, is yet to be executed in 2003. However, a

significant breakthrough occurred in the form of an entirely new type of

leaderthe Japanese CFO. Since their emergence in the scenario, they are

significantly making an impact in the system where government instruction

has failed.

After suffering from ten straight years of declining shareholder values, in

2002, the frustrated business owners started to do, what was previously

unthinkable, they started to write off their billions of dollars of worthless

assets, sold off whole divisions, they also started to break off long lasting

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business relationships , they fired employees, They sought protection through

restructuring their entire business.

The collapse of feudalism brought modern capitalism in the stage of Japan.

All this was pioneered by the founder of Keio

University- Yukichi Fukuzawa. He was anxious

about the unreceptive performance of Japanese

people as a result of feudalism. He emerged in the

Japanese society as a promoter of the spirit of

independence and self-respect that was

profoundly influenced by the Western education

models. Fukuzawa played an important role in

creating the currently existing leadership model of

Japan. This leadership framework dispirits

employees to discuss their views and do only

what they are ordered to do.

Management in Japan has been prejudiced, historically, by the West during its

modernization and even the industries or organizations of Japan differ in the

definition of leadership and the organization, majority of Japanese now agree

to a common definition of leadership- It is the capability to articulate ideas and

aims and to make the members of an organization contribute and collaborate

simultaneously in the interest of achieving one common goal. Independence

and the self-respect are now the key phenomena in the Japanese culture.

The Japanese scholastic arrangement produces individuals who have to be

trained to become frontrunners as it is difficult to distinguish leaders based on

qualities. Even if one has no noticeable leadership qualities, he is assigned to

a situation that involves leadership skills in accordance with his employment

spell. Following the wrong frontrunner will definitely disturb the rhythm of

performance.

Leadership Background Applied to Japanese Values:

Traits and Behaviors: A significant difference between japan and the

United States persists. Even though for the individuals, most of the traits

formed during childhood are quite stable, due to the varying education system

a difference in perception starts to occur. The differences are quite visible- the

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employees and the management in the

U.S. emphases on freedom and the virtue

of expressing their concepts and views.

This leads the persons to take initiative to

be aggressive. On the contrary, The

Japanese educational system, is still

maintaining a focus on harmony and

teamwork. Unlike the U.S culture, where

free thinking is highly promoted, Mentors,

or senpai, in Japan are considered

irrefutable, thus these followers of

Confucianism are still adhering to a

listening culture. Fairness is another component that averages out differences

and impedes the creation of strong characters.

Culturally, Japan adheres to faulty leader selection style. The tendency has

been further strengthened by the existence of a seniority arrangement. Even if

a senior worker has no prominent leadership traits, there is a high chance for

him to be assigned in a position that necessitates leadership skills in

accordance with the length of employment he has been associated within the

organization.

As we have studied the case we came across many issues where

development or training program is required or has the opportunity to improve.

Japanese culture allows very little room for independence among followers as

well as power distance practiced is very high. Employees are most likely to

follow their mentors regardless of any justification and mentors are viewed as

absolute. Cultural difference is triggering issues and modernization is creating

a confusing situation.

Transformational Leadership:

Transformational leadership is more

like a managers presence similar to

role model, the managers, rather

than enforcing a task to the

employees, inspires them towards a

task. However, for multiple reasons,

this ideal form of leadership does not

get established in Japan. Some of the many reasons are the mentors

presence in Japan, which is considered unconditional. Another reason behind

this setback is the expectation from the Japanese leaders to take on the role

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of a teacher and to always have the right responses when it is sought by the

followers. Power distance is another reason, which is followed by the rigid

hierarchical structures that prevails

within these organizations. For these

multiple reasons, Japanese leaders

tend to impose a high power-distance

on their followers and to be a typical

example of ordinance.

The positive Pygmalion effect

(holding high expectations of

followers) is another unpleasant trait

for the intellectuals to consider. The

supers of the Japanese organization

always maintains a high expectation

from their subordinates, which often

lead to excessive responsibility,

causing stress and pressure that can

often cross the limit. In fact, this

phenomenon is so common that, it has a name in the Japanese language

Karoushi, or the death from overwork.

The impact of Global framework in the Japanese work setting:

In global context, Japan has the total control and they use their low cost

strategy to beat the competitor. Criteria necessary to become an effective

leader in Japan may also vary by specific organizations or industries.

However, a traditional image of leaders continues to dominate Japanese

business. Historically, Japan has been a male dominant society and male

leaders were easily considered as a leader. The society in Japan shows its

utmost faith to the senior employees and considers marital status of a person

as a significant scale of responsibility.

In the modern era, the Japanese system took the initiative to come up with its

own definition of leadership. The propagators of this nation and the

organizations that adopts these theories have realized the following criteria,

that ensures the establishment of leaders:

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Also, there are some minor abilities that should get attention from the

prospective Japanese employees, who tends to be a leader. This includes

participation towards a friendly golf game, participation in Karaoke bar,

consumption of Sake and so on.

Vision, Communication, Action, and Learning:

Japans learning methods can be divided and explained into several different

phrases, which are presented in the flowchart below:

Communication is the most visible difference between Japan and its major

counterpart- the U.S.A common metaphor used for describing the difference

is bowling and tennis. Communication in Japan, as it has been defined in this

case, is unidirectional. The bosses of Japanese corporations prefer to give

orders and never expect a return feedback from that. A manager from the

U.S.A, on the other hand, always expects to receive a hearing from their

employees, if the order has some flaws.

A leader should have Masters degree in business administration.

A leader should be able to manage material & human resource

A leader will have accountability of avoiding conflicts

A leader should be fluent in English

japanese learning

Traditional learning

Confucianism Eglatarianism

Modern learning

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Leaders who have the ability, vision and the good communication skills in

Japan are generally capable of materializing their visions; but, it is totally

different when it comes to learning, a strong vertical relation between the

employer and the employee persists. Employees provide the much needed to

the employee and, they set a high expectation from them, which the

employees may find difficult to meet.

The possible future of Japanese leadership:

In the near future, the leadership of Japan is expected to be way different than

their traditional leadership style. Japan and its culture have changed

dramatically in the recent past and will continue to change in the upcoming

days. Several Primary research, those are conducted to validate the heralded

Hofestede model of Asian culture validates this prediction The next generation

of Japanese leaders are expected to succeed by adopting a style, that

disregards their nontraditional leadership visions and styles.

Directional leaders do not align employee capabilities with the organizational

needs. Leaders are considered to be absolute and impose high power

distance to be direct.

Masaki Okano (69). With only six employees, Mr. Okano solves metal

production problems that large corporations, with their computers and

engineers, cannot. With only six worker, he produces a typical annual sales of

600 million. Okanos job title, Daihyouin, which means, representative

employee, has earned him the reputation as the metal magician.

Hisahi Kawahara (71). A former executive at Yamaichi Securities, Kawahara

has spent the five years since his firm went bankrupt completing his Ph.D.

The result is a 383-page dissertation on the lack of ethics in Japanese

business. Now he is campaigning to promote business ethics in Japan.

Kawahara believes that, Companies that survive, have strong corporate

ethics within them. The collapse of Yamaichi in 1997 was a very Japanese

one ... As long as the [Japanese] corporate culture (that fosters unethical

behavior) persists, we will see more bankruptcies. At Yamaichi, more than

100 people in the company knew about the tobashi (off-the-book trading), and

they all turned a blind eye. None of them admitted (to their share of the

blame), though. In addition to blind employee loyalty, Kawahara identified as

most in need of correction, passive investors (patient capital) who do not prod

companies to act more responsibly.

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Hideo Arai (60). Arai is an example of a Japanese leader whose conscience

forced him to take a stand against the government institution which employed

him for thirty years. A scientist at the National Institute for Infectious Disease,

Arai is spearheading a campaign against the relocation of the institute to a

densely populated residential district in Tokyo. At issue is the ability of the

new facility to contain experimental pathogens, including anthrax and bubonic

plague. The Japanese government has

deemed the facility totally safe, but Arai

feels that Even the most cutting-edge

filters cannot remove such pathogens.

Tetsu Iwanaka (53). As Mayor of

Takanosu City, Iwanaka passed

revolutionary legislation to protect the

rights of elderly Japanese nursing home

patients who suffered abuse and neglect.

I always tell people that I am just a machine that transforms the voters will

into specific policies. He has regular town meetings which everyone, from

teenagers to senior citizens, attends to make proposals for policy changes.

Iwanaka feels that Japans priorities since WWII have been mostly

nationalisticincrease productivity and economic strength. But as a result,

The value placed on human beings has declined. Old people in particular

tend to think they serve no purpose (in society) unless they contribute to

productivity.

Hiroshi Taguchi (65). CEO and President of Misumi Corp., Mr. Taguchi has

a style of leadership which he terms management of emptiness. His

employees are empowered with enormous autonomy, and his reward system

is such that they reap the financial gains of their efforts. He refers to his

employees as in-house entrepreneurs, who create their own projects, set

their own goals, and keep 13.3 percent of the profits of their initiatives. The

result is impressive33 years of consistent profits and some employees

making over 100 million yen per year. In Japan, the company usually decides

everythingwhich department you work in, how much you earn, what you

study. Thats how they turned individuals into salaried workers.

At Misumi, Taguchi refers to the company as a stage, and himself as a

stagehand. His criterion for success is to determine to what extent leaders are

created from the employees in the environment he provides. He will retire

soon and says that he will be happy just to see Misumi [continue to]

produce business leaders.

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Learning from the New Japanese Leaders

New Japanese leaders are bringing fresh new perspective in the leadership

arena of Japan. New Japanese leaders are providing high emphasis on self-

knowledge. They are guided by conscience, and believe in personal attributes

are the instigating factor towards promotion. They have a sound knowledge

regarding the organization and they understand their society and their

employees, better than any other leaders. They envision a broader goal that is

beyond the nationalistic attitude and shows concern to the employee welfare.

The new employees have a high sense of ethics. They are humble,

approachable and they are avid followers of the transformational leadership.

The new Japanese leaders are more

willing to promote and reward top notch

performance and discourage poor

performances through their reward and

compensation systems. They prefer to

be considered as an equal and prefers

to get blended with the employees,

rather than maintaining a king-like

attitude and distance themselves from

the employees.

Mr. Arai is a premium example for the new Japanese leaders who must defy

the Japanese clich, The nail that sticks up gets hammered down. He felt

the necessity to establish what he felt right. In order to do so he never

hesitated to stand against the government.

Mr. Kawahara, like Mr. Arai, demonstrates a similar self-knowledge. His

actions made him an opponent of many large Japanese corporations.

Kawahara also validates that he sees a link between his work and a

contribution to society. Like Mayor Iwanaka, he is trying to assist the elder

people of the society by setting up a nonprofit organization that focuses on

assisting the elderly in investing their savings.

Mr. Okano and Mr. Taguchi demonstrated the necessity for the new Japanese

leader to break from the traditional company hierarchy and encourages other

leaders to step down from the dais; to be seen more like a humble person

who cares about the employees and works for them.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, the reality is that, in the twenty-first century, things are

changing rapidly in Japan. Many organizations are adopting Western

management concepts and abolishing the seniority system and lifetime

employment. Reward systems are becoming based on the performance of

individuals as opposed to age or tenure. In order to avoid unidirectional

communication, leaders in Japanese organizations should focus on

understanding what their followers value. Talking to each follower would

immediately support understanding, as well as facilitate creating a shared

mindset and trust. The important thing is to break the barrier in traditional

mentor-apprentice relationships.

Even though a widespread promotion of self-respect and freedom is taking

place all over the Japan, Still, there are followers of Confucianism that defines

the vertical relationship between a mentor and an apprentice and others

classical managerial styles..

The government of Junichiro koizumi failed to live up the expectations of the

people regarding the leadership issue. So, it is up to new leaders of Japanese

corporation, to do what the bureaucratic government and business

corporations cannot. The new generation of Japanese leaders will have to

challenge the paradigm of Japanese business with its focus on employee

loyalty, by stressing in communication and learning, these leaders will ensure

socio- economical welfare for Japan as a nation.

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Identification of

development needs In this case, we encountered lots of question regarding leadership,

independency, Government issues, decision making, training and

development etc. Some of these points are mentioned below:

1. Leadership quality needs to be improved and upgraded in the basis of

present context.

2. Some special counseling is needed regarding mentality and

dependency.

3. Some important training has to be given for reducing stress problem.

4. Motivate and make the employees able to adapt with changes and

new responsibility and train them on these to make them confident.

5. Need more collaboration among the leaders, managers and

employees.

6. Need a proper understanding about the

people, situation and most importantly, the

environment..

7. More communication with employee is

required to identify what suits them.

8. Training Programs can be organized

regarding dependency, decision making, and

pressure handling as well.

9. There should be always some contingency

plan in case of everything.

10. Awareness has to be creating so that they become more sincere

about the situation as well as for themselves.

11. Organizational hierarchy need to be redesigned.

12. Cross training is needed for everyone in the related sector.

13. Self-awareness is needed regarding everyones professional life.

14. The promotion system of the organization is required to be altered.

15. The development is also required in the establishment of womens

rights.

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Main issue

What kind of training and development should the Japanese organizations

and their leaders should adopt to encourage their employees to respond to

their integrity and personal aptitudes, rather than following others?

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Internal/external needs

assessment

Several internal and external needs have been identified in the Japanese

work culture; we tried to assess each and every need by seeking the answers

to the following questions:

In the following pages, we discussed our findings and assessed the necessity

and implementation of training and development for each and every problem.

Does a performance discrepancy exist?

Is it important for the organization ?

Is it correctable through employee development?

Is the employee development, the cost effective solution that can be applied?

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1) Transformational leadership is absent within the organization.

Indeed, a performance discrepancy exists within an organization, if the

transformational leadership is not present within an organization. In traditional

Japanese work culture; employees are treated like machine, where they are

made to follow orders by the leaders like a machine. This kind of system can

get the leader have their job done, but it fails to create the much needed

motivation towards the job among the employees.

It is indeed, an important issue for the Japanese organizations to consider.

Transformational leadership enhances the motivation, morale and

performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms. These include

connecting the follower's sense of identity and self to the mission and the

collective identity of the organization; being a role model for followers that

inspires them; challenging followers to take greater ownership for their work,

and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of followers, so the leader

can align followers with tasks that optimize their performance.

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The implementation of proper training and development can be imagined as

the best solution for this problem. Japanese organizations can arrange or

enroll their top executives, managers towards various on the job or external

training programs that provide a high emphasis on transformational leadership

and hence, leaders will start to realize that, employees should be motivated

towards work, rather than being enforced.

Yes, this is the cost effective solution that can be imagined for the given

problem. Even though the organizations may need to make some financial

considerations for introducing the culture of the transformational leadership

within the organization, the cost may get offset, if the employees eventually

get satisfied. The eventual outcome can surely enhance the outcome.

2) Power distance exists within Japanese employees and their

leaders:

A performance discrepancy exists within an organization, when the

employees maintain a distance from their boss, when they are supposed to

maintain a close connection among themselves. Maintaining distance clearly

indicates a sense of demotivation among the employees and their diminished

enthusiasm towards their work- this is harmful for Japanese organizations.

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Power distance is the extent to which less powerful members of institutions

and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed

unequally" It is indeed, an important issue for the Japanese organizations to

understand. Each and every organization needs a close employer-employee

relationship, which will enable both sides to understand each other. This will

allow the employees to understand the requirements of the boss, it will also

allow them to understand the message they receive from the boss. The end

result will be an outcome that the top executives desire from the subordinates,

or even more. Moreover, Employees in working environments with power

distances tend to be timid in voicing out their opinions and ideas because the

norm links together the rank of the person with the validity of the decisions or

policies made. In organizations with power index, subordinates work for these

leaders out of fear and are ready to jump ship as soon as the opportunity

presents itself.

No, employee development is not the solution in this regard. In this case,

initiatives have to be taken by the top level executives to eliminate this

perception within the employees. They will have to understand the employees

fear to face them and they must come up with a presence that is more friendly

and encouraging. They can actively participate with the employees in various

organizational activities and through their assistance; they can break the

perception of the employees.

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Training and development can somehow be incorporated by the management

to aid this problem, but in this case, training and development is not the cost

effective solution that can be imagined. The most effective solution will be

one, that will be taken by the Japanese leaders to reduce the distance.

3) Japanese employees lack in the capability to handle stress:

Yes, a performance discrepancy exists. The

Japanese employers hold a high expectation from

their employees, this leads to extreme mental

pressure for the Japanese employees as they

have to take a huge responsibility to meet the

expectations. This can make the work more

stressful and the employees can easily get

frustrated if the employees cannot meet their

superiors expectations. This can eventually lead

towards employee dissatisfaction towards work.

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It is undoubtedly, an important issue for an organization to consider,

especially for japan. High Pygmalion effect (the high expectation from the

employees) in the Japanese organizations has eventually ended in the series

of unfortunate incidents like: Karoushi (death from overwork). Lifestyle

diseases, suicide, and violence are other miserable consequences that are

spreading, even among children. Such issues can lead employees to leave a

job (In other words, increases the turnover rate of the employees, which can

be very costly). Also, incidents like these can lead to lawsuits. Japanese

employers may also have to pay compensation for the damages that occurs

from overwork, which is costly too.

Yes, this problem can be corrected through employee development.

Japanese organizations can arrange several in-house training programs for

handling stress, or enroll their workers to any workshop, that can develop their

skills to manage multiple tasks and responsibilities at a time. To some extent,

they can also bring motivational speakers or behavioral psychologists, who

can assist employees to develop their mindset in handling their work.

Yes, it is the most cost effective solution that the Japanese employers can

apply. Even though it can cost the employers to arrange the training and

development

program, it can at least allow them to avoid compensation for a series of

unfortunate events, lawsuits and so on.

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4) Japanese people work in same place for a long period, they lack

in much needed flexibility.

Yes, a performance discrepancy exists within an organization. In the 21st

century, flexibility is a skill that is well expected from the employees around

the world. Many Japanese employees are still adhering to their age old policy

of working in the same organization from the beginning to the end. In this way,

they are becoming well aware about their organization and its operations. But

these employees will be in a deep trouble, when they are sent in foreign

countries as a foreign delegate. They will find it extremely difficult to cope up

with the environment outside their office. This can eventually lead to

performance degradation.

Yes, it is an important issue for the Japanese organizations to consider. As it

has been predicted by Herman Kahn, Japan is already becoming an

economic powerhouse. In the era of globalization, Japanese companies are

spreading all over the world. If a senior Japanese employee, who worked for

the organization for a long time is sent as a delegate in these foreign

countries, he may find it extremely difficult to perform, as he will spend more

time on understanding and coping with the changed environment. Scattered

problems like these can eventually lead a Japanese organization, which

aspires to be a global leader in its field, incur a huge loss. A Japanese

employee can also fail to do a competitor analysis, for not having this skill.

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Employee development is the only solution for this existing problem that can

be recognized. Japanese employers can come up with training program that

can allow the Japanese employees to see beyond their organization. They

can certainly come up with a training program that can expand their

employees knowledge regarding the industry. They can also arrange role

playing and interactive games, which can be a great source for both

entertainment and learning for the Japanese employees.

Employee development is the most cost effective

solution that the Japanese employers can apply in this

regard. It can cost the Japanese employers to arrange

the programs, but the end result can give them a huge

competitive advantage.

5) Female workers of Japan are not accepted in

the leaders role, they require empowerment

and freedom from glass barrier.

Yes, a performance discrepancy occurs, when the female workers of the

orders are not accepted as leaders, even if they are competent enough to

inherit the role of a leader. In a male dominated society, if a Japanese female

employee finds herself exposed in this kind of discrimination, it can

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tremendously demotivate her in providing her best for the organization. In this

case, rather than providing her best for the organization, she offers the

minimal performance for the organization. Eventually, organization receives

fewer outcomes from its female employees.

It is definitely an important issue to consider, not only for the Japanese

organizations, but also for Japan as a nation as well. If the female employees

are deprived from their equal right to inherit the leadership role, not only the

Japanese organizations are depriving themselves from the opportunity to

enjoy the chance of being under effective leadership, but also, by depriving

the female employees, they are depriving themselves from maximizing the

productivity. To some extent, there are also chances that the female

employees may start to

express their agitation by

boycotting their participation in

the organizations operation

and other productive activities.

This can hinder the progress of

the Japanese organization.

Depriving the Women

workforce from the leadership

role can be harmful for Japan

as a nation, as the 42% of the

entire Japanese workforce are

inherited by women. This figure

is expected to increase in the

near future.

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No, this problem cannot be solved by the employee

development. This problem is not involved with the

skills and the capabilities of the female employees.

Rather, it is a problem that deals with the perception of

the male dominated society of the japan. And hence,

instead of training and development, Japanese

governments and other institutes should address this

issue to the organizations considering its impact on the

socio economical context.

No, training and development is not the appropriate solution for this problem.

And so, we cannot say, this is the cost effective solution. It is the sustainable

solutions of the Japanese government that can turn out to be a sustainable

solution in this regard.

6) Employees lack the confidence to provide their opinion or speak

against their mentors and their superiors.

Yes, a performance discrepancy exists within the organization, if the

employees are discouraged to express their opinion. In the case of Japanese

workers, employees are more like listeners than speakers. The culture of

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communication is one sided, where only the boss provides their opinion and

the employees task is to listen and oblige. Sometimes these orders may not

be motivating or may become tremendously unfavorable for the employees.

Employees may find it extremely difficult to present a performance that is

expected from them. Also, employees may get demotivated while performing

these tasks. The demotivation can actually lead to a degradation of

performance.

It is indeed, a serious issue for the Japanese organizations to consider,

because, employees are trained and they are expert in their respective field.

Their understanding towards their work is much better than their superior.

Hence, these employees may have some information that can significantly

impact the superiors information towards a positive outcome. If the

employees are not

encouraged enough to express their opinion, the organization is simply

missing these information, that can lead to them towards a disastrous

outcome.

Indeed, the following problem is correctable though the employee

development. Employers can and should organize workshops, where the both

top level executives participate together and mutually decide an appropriate

way to communicate. Orientation program can also play a great part in this

regard. A proper orientation program that encourages feedback can reduce a

potential Japanese employees fear towards providing an opinion whenever

necessary.

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Yes, this is a cost effective solution that can be

applied by the Japanese employees for their

organization. The end result of this initiative ensures a

better input for the Japanese organizations and a

better decision regarding production, operation and

the various other field that are essential for the

organization.

7) The top level executives of the organization

lack the competencies and feedback

necessary for the effective decision making.

Indeed, a performance discrepancy exists, which can be clearly attributed to

the faulty executive selection process of the Japanese organization. Japanese

organizations prefer to select the executives based on their seniority, rather

than how efficient they are in managing the tasks and how good they are in

their decision making process. The Japanese organizations believe that, a

simple MBA degree is enough for a person to gain the leadership quality.

They also believe, that the married people are responsible people- which is

not true. In the end, if these people are placed in the leadership role, they are

simply in hot water. With their limited competencies, they fail to undertake

these huge responsibilities properly.

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Undoubtedly, this is an important issue for the organization to consider,

because, if the leaders of the organization are not efficient enough in their

decision making and strategy formulation, it eventually affects the entire

organizations performance. An ideal leader can assemble the resources and

manpower and leads his resources at hand towards a common goal. In the

case of Japan, due to the lack of understanding, regarding the requirement of

leadership, Leaders are not properly trained and hence, they may fail to

convince and motivate their followers or the employees to the desired profit

goal. At the end of the day, they are exposed to a serious risk of leading the

organization towards failure. Hence, we can insist, that, the Japanese

organizations bring this issue under a serious consideration.

Definitely, this problem can be corrected through employee development. Top

level managers or supervisors who undertake the leadership role within the

organization role can be enrolled by the organization in several universities,

which offers vocational training to the executives regarding and assists them

in developing an improved decision making process. In this case, the leaders

must be convinced, that- Leaders are built, not born.

Leadership development training programs are, without any doubt, the most

cost effective solutions the organizations can adopt. The leaders of the

organizations can get the opportunity through these training programs to do

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cross training with each other and create connections with leader from other

organizations and ultimately, they succeed in gaining the experiences that are

much needed in leading organizations and their resources towards

profitability.

8) Organizations in Japan decide everything for the employee. The

employees opinion is disregarded.

Yes, a performance discrepancy exists in this regard. As it has been

mentioned in the case by Hiromi Taguchi, Japanese employees decide

everything regarding an employee- where they are going to work, how much

they are going to earn, what they are going to study, how much salary they

are going to receive and so on. Clearly, this statement gives an impression,

that the Japanese employers regards employees as more like a machine,

disregarding their human needs. If this is the case, employees can easily get

demotivated, as they dont get what they expect. Sometimes the decision that

the organization provides can become a great source of underperformance

from an employee (For instance, hiring an introvert person as a sales person).

In this case, employees will find it extremely difficult to meet the expectation

and hence, they will find to provide expected outcome.

For a Japanese organization, this is a critical issue to consider. It is the

universal practice to understand the employee potential and place them in a

job. The Japanese organizations are totally disregarding the ability-job fit

theory and providing the employees the tasks that they cannot even manage.

The end result is tending to be disastrous, as the employees wont be able to

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meet the required standard on their work. For most of the time, they will be

engaged in the attempts to understand the job, rather than working. This will

cause a significant downfall in the productivity and the companies will create

an army of disgruntled workers, who, at an extreme level, may quit the job.

Hence, the companies may face trouble in handling the excess employee

turnover, which can turn out to be costly for an organization.

To some extent, the training and development section of an organization can

solve this problem. Through a proper orientation program, the organization

can present itself and receive feedback from employees regarding their area

of interest and act accordingly. Organizations can also carrier development

program, where they can get to understand the employees need and

potentiality and find the appropriate job for him.

No, this is not a cost effective solution for the organization. Training and

development can partially solve this problem. But the major solution of this

problem lies within the initiatives of the organizations and their ability to

identify employees need.

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Existing arrangement

At this point we are going to analyze the ongoing systems of Japanese

leadership. Also, we are going to discuss the current arrangements that exist

in the Japanese company or organization or industry as a whole. We will also

try to justify the existing arrangements with the Pros and Cons it holds:

There are two types of learning method that exists in the Japanese work

environment. One is the traditional Learning and the other one is the

Modern Learning. As it has been mentioned earlier, traditional learning can

be divided into two beliefs: Confucianism and Egalitarianism. These existing

arrangements are discussed in the following pages:

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Pros

Cons

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Pros:

TRADITIONAL LEARNING:

Confucianism:

Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and

philosophical system developed from the

teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius.

It is a complex system of moral, social, political,

philosophical, and quasi-religious thought that

influenced the culture and history of East Asia. It

might be considered a state religion of some East

Asian countries, because of state promotion of

Confucian philosophies.

Presence of Equality:

One of the biggest

advantageous factors of

Confucianism is the emphasis

on equality. Confucius never

stated whether man was born

good or evil, noting that 'By

nature men are similar; by

practice men are wide apart' -

implying that whether good or

bad, Confucius must have

perceived all men to be born with intrinsic similarities, but that man is

conditioned and inuenced by study and practice. Xunzi's opinion is

that men originally just want what they instinctively want despite

positive or negative results it may bring, so cultivation is needed. In

Mencius' view, all

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men are born to share goodness such as compassion and good heart,

although they may become wicked. The Three Character Classic begins with

"People at birth are naturally good (kind-hearted)", which stems from Mencius'

idea. All the views eventually lead to recognize the importance of human

education and cultivation. There moto of humanity is:

Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you.

Presence of loyalty:

In Confucianism belief their loyalty describes as follows: Loyalty to

one's family came first, then to one's spouse, then to one's ruler, and

lastly to one's friends. Loyalty was also an extension of one's duties to

friends, family, and spouse. Loyalty to one's family came first, then to

one's spouse, then to one's ruler, and lastly to one's friends. Loyalty

was considered one of the greater human virtues. Confucius also

realized that loyalty and filial piety can potentially conflict. For this

reason, we can see in the Japanese work culture, a person works for a

same organization for his

entire life, as the person

demonstrates a strong loyalty

to his organization.

Presence of strong

relationships:

Relationships are central to

Confucianism. Particular

duties arise from one's

particular situation in relation

to others. The individual

stands simultaneously in

several different relationships

with different people: as a

junior in relation to parents

and elders, and as a senior in relation to younger siblings, students,

and others. While juniors are considered in Confucianism to owe their

seniors reverence, seniors also have duties of benevolence and

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Cons:

concern toward juniors. This theme of mutuality is prevalent in East

Asian cultures even to this day. In japan, as the employees work for the

same organization, relationship between the colleagues gets stronger

and better, .which is a crucial factor for attaining a better collective

result

Presence of gender discrimination: Even though the Confucianism

promotes the spirit of equality, this system promotes gender

discrimination. Because of their stereotypical thinking and plans for

every individual, in this belief, the perception

exists in the followers society (Including the

society of Japan), that the women should be in

home all the time and should do household

chores. On the other hand, Men are supposed

to do all the important works. This type of

mentality resulted in mass movement among

women and counter-productive actions within

organizations. This scenario is quite visible in

Japan, as the women are not entrusted with the

leadership role, even if they are competent to

undertake the role

Presence of a less thinking culture: As

people follow certain guidance and leader thus

there is no space for individual thinking. In

modern days

concept, every individual are supposed to have different traits and

abilities as well as specialized preferences. For this the listening culture

became inactive as time passed by and made revolutions out of it. In

the case of Japan, individuals are entitled to follow the orders of their

boss and they are not allowed to think, rather than obliging. We all

know, a society cannot survive, let alone progress, if the free thinking is

not promoted in every aspects of the society.

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Pros:

Egalitarianism:

Egalitarianism is a belief of thought that favors equality of some sort. Its

general premise is that people should be treated as equals on certain

dimensions such as race, religion, ethnicity, political affiliation, economic

status, social status, and cultural heritage. Egalitarian doctrines maintain that

all humans are equal in fundamental worth or social status. In large part, it is a

response to the abuses of statist development and has two distinct definitions

in modern English. It is defined either as a political doctrine that all people

should be treated as equals and have the same political, economic, social,

and civil rights or as a social philosophy

advocating the removal of economic

inequalities among people or the

decentralization of power. An egalitarian

believes that equality reflects the natural state

of humanity. Egalitarianism is the opposite of

elitism.

Ensures equality among people:

Egalitarianism, through its various activities, promotes a sense of

equality in most aspects of Japan, if not all.

It expresses its hatred towards an exceptional man, who, through his own

mental effort, achieves that which others cannot. Egalitarianism demands

the punishment and envy of anyone who is better than someone else at

anything. The promotion of egalitarianism is good for Japanese society in

this sense, that, it eradicates the possibilities of inequality and deprivation

of rights within the Japanese workforce.

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Cons:

Pros:

Impedes the creation of strong personalities: Even though the

presence of egalitarianism viewpoint is assisting in the promotion of a

minimal, standard life for all employees, still there remains a

tremendous disadvantages on this system, as it makes the greater

proportion of people unable to stand tall and speak out for what they

think is right. This is one of the many possible reasons, why the

Japanese workers cannot speak for what they think is right.

MODERN LEARNING:

The modern leadership system is an entirely different approach to Japan,

compare to the ones that existed in Shogun era or the Meiji era. This system

has been introduced in Japan by the founder of Keio University. Yukichi

Fukuzawa. Unlike the previously discussed ancient leadership systems, this

relied on loyalty of employee and the dominance over them, this system

showed its faith over the employee and granted them with empowerment.

This system has been influenced by the western countries like: U.S, U.K and

so on. The pros and cons of this fast growing Japanese leadership and

management system is discussed below:

Intellectual development of

employees: The best thing about this

system is that, it allows the

employees to undertake the

responsibility of decision making. As

the employees become empowered,

they become more mature in their

decision making process and they

feel much more motivated to deliver a

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supreme performance. The whole process, is ensuring one thing The

Japanese employees are becoming matured enough to make their own

decisions, rather than relying on their boss on what to do.

Reduces the power distance and presents the boss more as a

peoples man:

Unlike the ancient times, the modern era does not believe in a

monarchy like position for the boss. This modern leadership learning

method actually ensures that bosses are more like a humble peer,

which reduces the gap between themselves and the employees and

ensure a meaningful outcome.

Seniority is not rewarded: The biggest problem of this system is its

total disregard to the age old Japanese tradition of rewarding the

person for showing loyalty towards the organization. In this way, the

modern system is discouraging the employees of Japan to show their

much needed loyalty and hence, it is pushing Japan towards a culture

where employees will a very low commitment towards their

organization and will become more self-centered.

Emergence of more intensive

adversity: Another biggest problem of the

system is, that it causing adversity among

the company executives for other reason,

than competition. Visionaries of these

modern leadership systems, like Mr.

Okano, Mr. Kawahara faced threat from

the other organizations, when they tried to

implement this modern system.

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Imminent training and

development plan

Workshops can be arranged to reduce the power distance

within Japanese employees and their leaders;

Employee development needs:

When the employees maintain a distance from their boss, when they are

supposed to maintain a close connection among them, there exists a power

discrepancy. Maintaining distance clearly indicates a sense of demotivation

among the employees and their diminished enthusiasm towards their work-

this is harmful, not only for the employees as individual, but also for the

Japanese organizations as well.

Directed towards the goal

The target of Japanese organizations, in the interest of time is to successfully

establish a transformational leadership within the organizations of Japan.

However, this type of leadership is not possible, if the leaders cannot make

the employees comfortable and if, the employees feel better off by

maintaining a distance from the employees.

PLAN-1

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Pros:

Training method/s the Japanese organizations can follow:

In house training program:

An in house training program can be arranged for the executives of the

Japanese organizations that can actually teach these executives how to be

co-ordeal with their employees and how they can create a Peoples man

impression among the employees

Employees will be more motivated towards their work

The old school executives will be able to enhance their leadership

skills.

Better communication will be ensured In the organizations

Higher productivity and efficiency will eventually enhance the countrys

overall economy

Leaders or the bosses might think they are losing their authoritative

power

Lower level employees might be mistreated and blamed for small

mistakes

Adequate support might not be available for the employees as their

bosses are conspicuous about their mislead perception.

Executives may find it uncomfortable to find themselves working with

their employee directly

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Japanese companies should improve the communication

process throughout the stages of organizational

arrangement.


Communication problem is a long term problem that has been existing in

japan. As it has been mentioned in the case, Communication is a one sided

issue. For this reason employee may find it difficult to identify the organization

necessity and respond to the needs efficiently. This includes the leader of the

organization as well. Without proper feedback, he will be at lost, in making

decision.


Communication plays the key role in establishing a two way decision making

system of the organization. Every verdict should be assumed by the

management solidly involving leaders as much as possible. Management also

should make decisions on what type of module will be used in order to

incorporate strategies with planning. The combined effort can eventually lead

to a better decision for the organization.

PLAN-2

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Pros:


In house training program:

An in house training program with the well-equipped communication facility

can assist both the executives and the employees to develop their

communication skill, which is a necessity in the context of the organization.

The mutual understanding gets improved.

The development of communication can significantly assist in

improving the rigid hierarchical structure of Japanese company.

The problems at hand can be swiftly responded by the organization.

Power distance problem can be cured through this solution.

Organizations can gain competitive advantage.

Arrangement of equipment can be costly.

The whole system may fail to bear a result if

cross cultural differences exist.

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In-house training programs can be used by the leaders for

their self-development


Japanese organizations can arrange several in-house training programs for

handling pressure for their leaders that can develop their skills to manage

multiple tasks and responsibilities at a time. Throughout these training and

development skills, leaders can understand and make their self-assessment;

hence, they prepare themselves for a better, changing environment, rather

than quitting.


By sacking a trained and experienced employee for the sake of embracing the

change, the organizations can bring forward a tremendous disaster on

themselves. Finding a suitable replacement for these employees can become

costly too. This solution can allow the organizations to embrace the change,

without compromising the experience.

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Pros:


Needs identification training for the leader:

Leaders can be trained to correctly identify the training through a proper out

house training program that may allow them to understand the changing

environment and the necessity for them to change.

Effective leadership will be ensured for the organizations

Better quality of work will be ensured

Turnover rates will fall down

Organizational productivity will increase.

Leaders will be able to add extra value in the organization through his

skill.

Causes the leader to diversify from his own work.

One training program may not be able to completely change the

experiences of lifetime.

Changes may further degrade the leaders performance.

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Initiatives can be taken to make employees more flexible to

work outside the office.


Many Japanese employees are still adhering to their age old policy of working

in the same organization from the beginning to the end. In this way, they are

becoming well aware about their organization and its operations. But these

employees will be in a deep trouble, when they are sent in distant nations as a

foreign representative. They will find it extremely difficult to cope up with the

environment outside their office. This can eventually lead to performance

degradation.


Like any other developed countries, Japan as a

nation intends to maximize its GDP. In this era of

globalization, many Japanese organizations are

establishing factories abroad and earning foreign

revenue. In this way, Japanese organizations are

contributing in their nations goal. However, there is

a possibility, that these organizations can

underperform, as the employees from Japan are not

flexible enough to cope up with the changing

environment, especially the senior ones.

PLAN-4

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Pros:


Adaptability training:

Adoptability is something that leaders need to attain in order to get the pure

knowledge of global alterations. Training in adoptability in terms of technology

and cultural aspects of different business client is crucial for the Japanese

employees, especially, leaders.

Knowledge regarding both the local and global industry will increase

Flexible working condition will enhance the leaders or employees

potential toward the organization

It will allow Japanese organization to enhance their reputation in the

world.

Employees can fail to do a

competitor analysis, for not having

this skill.

Too much of flexibility can cause

employees lose focus on what

exactly they are employed for.

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Japanese corporations require structured progression

planning so that they can create plenty amount of

opportunities for upcoming frontrunners in the distant

future.


Responding to the demand of 21st century, Japan is diverting from its

traditional seniority based leadership selection to a merit based leadership

selection. In this case, the employees who are the potential leaders require a

proper training and development for their possible leadership roles. If the

Japanese employees are properly trained for their possible upcoming role,

they can certainly provide the performance that the owners and the

shareholders expect from them.


The training program is definitely related towards the most important goal

among the entire organizations goal, that is, to maximize the shareholders

profit. If the potential leaders are well nurtured and provided with proper

training and development, it enhances the decision making and the operations

of the organization. Hence, it will allow the Japanese organizations to move

towards a better future and overall, it will allow the Japanese economy to

thrive.

PLAN-5

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Pros:


Basic leadership training program:

The potential leaders can enjoy this privilege, where, they can get the chance

to have a carrier development consultation, receive leadership buildup

training. At the end of the training program, they might even get tested. Based

on this outcome, leaders may get selected.

The decision making capability of potential leaders get enhanced.

Japanese organizations can get the privilege to recruit an experienced

and capable person, instead of a senior with little progress.

The organizations can ensure efficient usage of manpower with a move

like this.

Very costly training program.

It is a time consuming process.

The whole initiative can fail, if the

employees are not competent enough.

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Employee development programs can be designed in

collaboration with successful business leaders.


Traditionally, the Japanese employers maintain a high expectation from their

employees. But unfortunately, these employees may find it very hard to meet

the desired performance. This can lead them towards stress and sometimes,

a series of unfortunate events like-Death from overwork. For this incident

and many other similar incidents, the organizations can seek for the support

of successful business leaders and develop a perfect training program, that

can set an employee with a right attitude.


Hassle free daily business activity is a desire for any business that desires to

stay in the market for an indefinite period of time. Unfortunately for companies

in Japan, this desire can suffer a major setback, for the death related to stress

from work. Incidents not only cause financial losses for the organization, but

also in terms of reputation as well. Besides, a well-developed training program

can also enhance the organization efficiency as well.

PLAN-6

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Pros:


In-house training with the successful businessman:

In this case, the successful Japanese businessmen, who can render their

knowledge, can be invited to join as a guest speaker and evaluator. In this

way, Japanese organizations can take the assistance of leaders, like: Masaki

Okano, Hisahi Kawahara to make their training program more efficient.

Higher productivity and efficiency will eventually enhance the

countrys overall economy

Organizations will ensure better training program for the employees.

Successful businessmens involvement adds value to the

organization.

Better communication will be ensured In the organizations.

Arranging this kind of program can be costly.

It can also be very difficult to organize.

Organizations may take the risk of exposing themselves to a fellow

competitor.

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PROPOSED TRAINING AND

DEVELOPMENT REALIZATION

1. Japanese companies should introduce teamwork

training in order to avoid power distance relationship

between leaders and followers and establish team

oriented decisions.

FIRST PHASE:

PRIORITIZING NEEDS OF EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT:

o JAPANESE COMPANIES SHOULD SELECT THE RIGHT PERSON WHO NEED THE

TRAINING:

To create self-display center, Japanese companies need to train its leaders

first. The sales head and operations manager and the project manager need

this type of training. The meeting is called for the top management and though

Japanese companies has an incorrect and simplistic view about the business

processes, senior managers should be trained to improving their persuading

quality in order to change the view of top management committee.

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SECOND PHASE:

ALLOCATING RESOURCES FOR TRAINING:

o JAPANESE COMPANIES NEEDS TO DIVIDE THE EMPLOYEES INTO GROUPS

AND PROVIDE THE T&D ACCORDING TO THE REQUIREMENT:

The Leaders in groups should be provided with specific training and

development programs according to the needs. The Leaders are required to

have different types of inefficiencies in different tasks within a same

department. The senior management is required to have training and

development program in order to change the outdated business plan and

implement according to the plan that is the need of day to day business and

market needs.

o TRAINEE CAN PROVIDE TRAINING TO THE LEADERS INTERNALLY:

In addition the ideology would be like training the trainer. If a top executive is

sent abroad for training, he could come back to his country and transmit his

learning to subordinates saving the company training cost for more than one

Leader. The other Leaders work under the trainee who came back to home

country must have a learning attitude in order to implement this training plan.

Each and every leader must be eager to learn from the opinion leader who

has just returned from abroad after getting the latest training methods.

o INCREASED MARKETABILITY AND PROFITABILITY:

After conducting to make experience of abroad for training in popular and

famous training institutes and universities, the trainers are also increasing

their marketability and the markets demand for quality and latest training. So,

for the

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top management this type of schooling in foreign countries also helps them to

become the best that they can be and fulfill their self-actualization motivator.

These foreign training programs could also be done online through virtual

instructors but these are not as effective as the first hand experiences. This is

much cheaper way out but it lacks the method of matching the implementation

of the training program with the cultural background of China.

o TIME FRAME:

It will take 2 months time to make sure the analytical fragmentation of the

plan. The span of the training process should have to be 3 6 months and a

continuous process of having so.

o EVALUATION:

In this type of continuous training of the Leaders, feedback will be provided by

the training institutions. But when he will teach the same things to other junior

Leaders, the senior trainee must be able to give the feedback to the junior

trainees. Top executives that go abroad for many training are usually very

knowledgeable and diverse, but most importantly they have experience.

When all these characteristics of a foreign trained executive blend together, it

gives the trainer the ability to pinpoint lickings in performance of even the best

Leaders. Therefore it is very important that the foreign trained top executives

evaluate the Leaders working not only below them but also make an

organization wide evaluation of Leaders performance.

While foreign trained top executive will be evaluating the subordinates

performance through performance appraisals, there must be a controlling

mechanism for tracking and evaluating the performance of the top executives

or in the case of Alchemy, the partners training and development.

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THIRD PHASE:

JAPANESE COMPANIES SHOULD INTEGRATE SURVIVING PROGRAMS INTO

WORKING PLANS:

o TRAINING VALIDITY:

The current job of the Leaders should

be enough concerned about the

training validity that is the training

program should be enough outdated

that it will help the leaders work in a

long run.

o TRANSFER VALIDITY:

The training and development

program should possess transfer

validity so that the selected leaders

those are trained can help their peers to

provide the same training programs by themselves.

o INTRA ORGANIZATIONAL VALIDITY:

Leaders development is performed in order to develop the leaders and make

them effective and efficient in future. Career planning is provided for the

Leaders in order to perform the task in the other organizations in the future.

The training program that is delivered should have intra organizational validity

for the leaders development.

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o INTER ORGANIZATIONAL VALIDITY:

The trainers as well as the management should be aware of that training that

is provided is valid within the organization. The training is given department

wise so it must be valid and suitable for the specific department of the specific

organization.

Basically Japanese companies may do one thing that will put an extra value

towards it, as the top executives are getting the training out of it, so if there

are any factors that could enrich the issues in more fascinating way then the

methodology would be more lucrative. When these top executives are getting

trained, the company could put an extra task to the mechanism- making

research project on global expansion of the company to those countries

where it is not situated.

2. Japanese companies should develop the

communication process throughout the levels of

organizational structure.

FIRST PHASE:


o SELECTING THE COMMUNICATION MODULE

Communication plays the key role in establishing two way decision making

process of the organization. Every decision should be undertaken by the

management unanimously involving leaders as much as possible.

Management also should make decisions on what type of module will be used

in order to incorporate strategies with planning. Leaders must ensure the

proper channels of communication as this will be the key in making

judgments.

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SECOND PHASE:


The idea of providing communication training revolves around proper

communication facilities. Any group conference facility and media selection

would be sufficed for making the training into action.

o TO GET FEEDBACK ON THE TRAINING:

After implementing proper Leaders training the whole organization will face

the instant success of being a step ahead of their competition. In order to do

that the department heads must be trained methodically. For this type of

situation when the top executives of training Japanese companies are looking

to be trained amid their busy schedule, organizational goals can be easily

accomplished. The project proposal should be persuading and should provide

all the data related to the project. The computer based training can give the executive access to a huge

database of cases that he can study for refreshing his own knowledge in all

fields. The advancement of Information Technology has created the

opportunity for the trainees to purchase training courses online and do the

whole course online as well. Organizations must be completely clear about

what they want from training, and what skills gaps are to be filled.

o TIME FRAME FOR THE TRAINING:

To field the plan it will take maximum 12 months time to initiate it. The span of

time will depend upon the evaluation criterion of the related objectives

mentioned upon the objectives. If the measurement could be converted in

solidity it would be a plan of 2 years, then the outcome might arrival.

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THIRD PHASE:


WORKING PLANS:

o INTRA ORGANIZATIONAL VALIDITY:

Leaders development is performed in order to develop the leaders and make

them effective and efficient in future. Career planning is provided for the

Leaders in order to perform the task in the other organizations in the future.

The training program that is delivered should have intra organizational validity

for the Leaders development.

o TRANSFER VALIDITY:

The training and development program should possess transfer validity so

that the selected leaders those are trained can help their peers to provide the

same training programs by themselves.


The current job of the leaders should be enough concerned about the training

validity that is the training program should be enough outdated that it will help

the Leaders work in a long run.

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3. Leaders must be alerted or informed through an in-

house schooling session about the ongoing training

process designed for their subordinates and must

receive critical feedbacks from them as well.

FIRST PHASE:


o SELECT THE LEADERS WHO NEED THE TRAINING:

The first thing of train up the leaders is their

competency should be measured first by

conducting interviews, surveys through

questionnaire, discussing with them personally.

According to the tasks and previous

performance, trainers should deliver training

program which may help them in their current as

well as future job.

Japanese companies need to cater those

potentialities to excel and gain a competitive

advantage over its competitors, so Japanese

companies have to stop downsizing and dispose the idea of downsizing the

Leaders, instead they should focus on training for those leaders and make

them work.

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SECOND PHASE:


o SENDING THE LEADERS FOR OUT-HOUSE TRAINING, WORKSHOPS AND

SEMINARS

In order to train a Leader from the operations department, the company does

not have to go for external training programs which can be very expensive.

Rather, they could select the most potential and able Leaders and then give

coaching to him to develop him for the duties that he might have to face when

sharing the responsibilities. However, in order to do that the department

heads must be trained methodically. It gives the executive access to a huge

database of cases that he can study for refreshing his own knowledge in all

fields. The advancement of Information Technology has created the

opportunity for the trainees to purchase training courses online and do the

whole course online as well. Organizations must be completely clear about

what they want from training, and what skills gaps are to be filled. Supporting

the big mistakes might be the biggest threat of having it in minor rationales to

be avoided.

THIRD PHASE:


WORKING PLANS:


The organisation has to form a team which will be designing and

implementing the training and development program. The team divides the

leaders into groups and designs program according to their needs. It sets the

duration, timing and the specific training program for a certain number of

leaders and implements according to the design. For example, sales team are

provided with training that improves their skills, helps them to increase and

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improve their sale quality and perform their best. Again, leaders in marketing,

finance, management information system are also provided with relevant

training and development program to improve their performance in their

current and future job.

o TRANSFER VALIDITY: One of the most important phases in the

training and development program is

analysing the impact of the program on the

trainee. In this case, the team and the

supervisor evaluate the performance and

their improvement of the trainees. They call

for informal and formal interview to the

Leaders and analyse whether the training

program was beneficiary to them or not.

They try to find out the performance of the

Leaders after the training is up to the

expected level or not. According to the

findings, the team as well as the supervisor

take further steps in human resource

management and development.

o INTER ORGANIZATIONAL VALIDITY: Leaders should be trained in a way that they would be efficient in making

financing and investing decisions within the organization considering the

limited budget and time. The trainers as well as the management should be

aware of that training that is provided is valid within the organization. The

training is given department wise so it must be valid and suitable for the

specific department of the specific organization.

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