Cultural influence in the Japanese management. An approach to human resource management

A dynamic interaction has been recently taking place between the close and homogenous Japanese culture and other cultures of different backgrounds with the result of severe and traumatic tensions. The reforms of the government have been scarce and inefficient, and the present opening-up of the country is not strong enough. A real and deep structural reform requires a governmental leadership. The Public Administration's bureaucracy is the main obstacle to change and the government does only what the most powerful factions of the DLP allow it to do.;Japanese culture highlights business management but whether this has got a decisive influence on human resource management is still under discussion. This is changing, but to what extent? There is not a unanimous answer although it is clear that the policy of employment-for-life needs to be done away with or at least drastically reduced to the big companies.;Managers, who have never been women, do not act as agents of owners but as referees between the interests of the former and those of the regular employees. Nowadays, women are perfectly capable of following a successful business career, but this is not accepted by their male colleagues. The limit for her aspirations should be at home, where the husband is not willing to share housework so that she can achieve personal fulfillment.;We are witnessing a loss of motivation rooted in the culture and in the educational system, a fact that seems outrageous. The young generation lives a very different situation to the one their parents went through. They have more and travel more. They value their free time and their family.;The present crisis is economic, social and cultural. The country faces a serious process of innovation and social adaptation, problems that will require a solution in the Japanese way, based on Japanese values and not in conflict with Western standards.;New ways for social welfare are being searched for, so that the security offered by fixed jobs or the high salaries will not be enough. Now what is required is a good quality of life within a simple way of life but with quality, in sum, in the Japanese way.