Few union leaders dare to spoil such an excellent opportunity by opposing the company unreasonably. Only a very small percentage of leaders have actively opposed their companies. They are the ones who have erred on the escalator up, or who grieve on a lower escalator because they are unable to reach their destination.
In Japan, the union's extremely soft attitude toward company demands is called goyo kumiai (a kept union, or a company union). The word goyo has its roots in the Tokugawa era, when the peasants, artisans, and merchants had to make a quick response to meet the demand (goyo) of the lord or his subordinate samurai. A popular scene in the samurai movies of today is a policeman carrying a lantern, painted with the letters goyo, chasing a criminal and trying to make him surrender by shouting, "Goyo! Goyo!"
Goyo is a demand from the upper echelons, but it is not restricted to a business sense. There are also expressions like goyo tei (an imperial villa), goyo shonin (a merchant under government p'flponage), goyo shimbun (a government-controlled press), goyo terebi (a government-controlled television broadcast), and goyo kiki (an order taker).
Competition at Employment Entrance
In Japan, a man begins his career with a company immediately after graduating from school, and the lifetime employment system requires him to stay with the company for 30 years or more. Therefore, entrance into a certain firm is the crucial beginning point of his career and really determines his life. Nothing could be more important for him, since it is an irreversible step. Indeed, even his marriage is likely to be determined by his social status— where he is employed.
On the other hand, it is also of serious importance for the company to hire fresh members each year on a permanent basis. Once workers have been hired, management cannot discharge them easily, so any errors in personnel selection take a considerable toll in organizational efficiency. It is estimated that ¥220 million (nearly $ 1 million) is spent on each employee during his stay with a company.
Almost all Japanese firms recruit new graduates in April of each year, because students leave school in March. Japanese management usually hires inexperienced workers, estimating individual potential on a long-term basis, whereas management in the West will recruit experienced workers for certain jobs.
Here is an example of the usual process in Japan: A company starts sending out its introductory brochure as early as January or February of, say, 1982 to the short list of students to be graduated from first-rate universities the following year. The brochure is intended to attract these undergraduates when hiring takes place in October and November for April of 1983. Only the brightest students are the target at this time of year. The undergraduates select their first and second choices, and perhaps third choices too. In accordance with the rules of the Ministry of Labor, from October 1 onward, students may make formal inquiry visits to firms. The companies can then officially start their recruitment for the coming year.
Further selection tests and interviews are scheduled for November, but excellent candidates are usually interviewed unofficially and secretly reserved by the companies before October. Such preliminary contact or active recruitment before October 1 is called aotagari (cropping while the rice field is still green) and is strictly banned by the Ministry of Labor. There have been times in the past when aotagari became rather fierce, interfering with the student's studies and creating havoc in the labor market. Any company that violates the recruitment rule by engaging in aotagari is publicized by the Ministry of Labor as a social punishment. Such a company is likely to lose its reputation and be handicapped for future recruitment.
Nonetheless, some companies do engage in aotagari behind the scenes by having employees who are alumni of the best schools lure the brightest students over drinks and talk. Those candidates who make every company's mouth water are, of course, the top-notch students from a sharply limited number of universities who have won a victory over the notorious "examination hell." This group, which includes future high-ranking civil servants, comprises about 3 to 4 percent of the 300,000 new graduates each year. *
Approximately 250 firms are listed in the first stock market of Kabuto-cho (the Wall Street of Tokyo). These companies, which are considered large-scale, reliable businesses, scramble for the top-class students each year. The capability of every personnel manager is evaluated by the number of acquisitions he makes from this top-notch group. The companies acquiring none are not few. Students are polled by the press each year on the popularity of large firms, and 100 companies are listed in order of popularity in the leading newspapers. All the companies are eager to be listed in the higher ranks, so they can gain popularity and thus obtain better candidates for employment.
(*)
"In 1982 the Ministry of Labor relinquished its control over aotagari because the practice had become so widespread behind the scenes. Ministry officials left the situation to a gentlemen's agreement between universities and the industrial society.
What is the marketability of new graduates in Japan? As shown in Figure '6, the top-class students are in the "seller's market." Below them is a layer of students in the "marginal market." There are not enough top-notch graduates to fill the requirements of the large firms, so those in the marginal layer have a chance to obtain the remaining openings. Students in the next layer, the "relative buyer's market," rarely get jobs in the large firms. However, they do have a slim chance, through nepotism and other paternalistic means.
For instance, the executive of a manufacturing firm might hire the son of a friend or relative if asked to do so. The friend or relative, in turn, may someday repay the on of the executive by arranging a position of some importance in another firm for a son or a nephew of the executive. Thus the son of a former president of an oil company can be employed by a large trading company even if he is in the "relative buyer's market." This happens quite often in the "on-tract" society, where personal relationships are so important. The practice may seem to contradict the philosophy behind lifetime employment, but it is not necessarily the case. First of all, this paternalistic type of employment ensures the loyalty and subservience of the employee, and potential problems are controlled to a large extent in advance. Second, a good personal connection bridges two companies and may enhance the business.
Those students at the bottom layer of the pyramid are in the "absolute buyer's market." They usually have to apply to smaller firms, where neither lifetime employment nor the seniority system really functions properly. They have to work hard, at lower salaries and for longer hours, because their companies are much more vulnerable to bankruptcy than the larger firms. These are the workers who have to depend on their own ability and performance. Accordingly, turnover is rather high in smaller companies.