Industrial Harmony in Modern Japan: The Invention of a Tradition. (book reviews)

Business History, July, 1992 by Morris-Suzuki, Tessa

During the past couple of decades the Japanese model of industrial relations has attracted intense international interest. Japan's industrial success has often been attributed to corporate paternalism, the lifetime employment system and other supposedly unique features of Japanese management; and these features in turn have often been seen as reflecting the survival of Confucian traditions in modern Japanese society.

Recently, however, this culturalist interpretation of Japanese management has come in for some well-aimed criticism. Kinzley's study is a useful contribution to the newer ...