The willingness of the Japanese people to work longer hours also derives from the tradition of an agricultural race. In the farming society, particularly in the earlier days, working from dawn to late evening in the rice paddy and the fields was commonplace. The pattern remained unchanged for centuries. The people enjoyed staying in the fields while taking intermittent rests and chatting with each other. This work habit has been inherited by the modern Japanese businessman. The density of work is far different from that of Western workers, who concentrate on the work like lions, filling their empty stomachs one day and spending the next three days on an easy, sleepy vacation in the forests.
Company Expenses for Sociable Leadership
The statement that "a good kacho or bucho looks upon his subordinates as a father does his children" would receive almost unanimous agreement among Japanese employees, though it might meet with strong distaste in America and Europe. Such a superior-subordinate relationship fosters teamwork by offering workers paternalistic guidance in accomplishing the work.
The paternalistic organization obviously requires a considerable degree of close understanding between manager and subordinate, because in the seniority-based promotion system job competence is not a main factor and does not necessarily figure into the leadership equation. Japanese managers are not expected to be tough, forceful, and dynamic like their Western counterparts. Rather, the quality of a leader is usually evaluated in terms of his warmth and sensitivity. The manager inspires admiration and confidence among his subordinates more through his paternalistic behavior than through the sharpness of his professional views or his vigorous guidance on the job. What the Westerner might consider a desirably strong leadership quality—say, the ability to get the job done quickly—would cause resentment in Japan. Consensus through consultation is the norm for a Japanese leader.
Subordinates are lifetime members of a clan-type organization, and they expect to be treated as junior associates or even younger brothers rather than as mere underlings who prepare the groundwork for the seniors. In turn, the manager prefers subordinates who are loyal, obedient, and submissive, because the work of the section or the department and its progress are dependent in large measure on personal and noneconomic factors. The close superior-subordinate relationship plays a large part in the quality of group work.
To enhance this relationship, the manager occasionally invites his subordinates to a bar or tavern. There, they relax in an informal atmosphere and enjoy intimate conversation over drinks. Through this informal exchange of views, they cultivate mutual understanding, and through his hierarchical treat (the superior pays the bill) the manager strengthens his leadership. This is commonplace in the "orc-tract" society. In return for the manager's favor (on) subordinates have a psychological debt to work harder to repay the on on the job.
However, frequent treats would place a considerable financial burden on the manager, even though they strengthened his standing. So the company—the paternalistic guardian—has come to sponsor a leader's official sociabilities.
There are no reliable statistics on drinks at company expense, but from the results of some limited questionnaire surveys, I would like to summarize the current trend:
• Approximately 70 percent of all kacho are officially allotted a social expense account by the company. (All bucho have such an expense budget.)
• The remaining 30 percent of kacho receive no allowance for social activities. But of this percentage, (1) some kacho are given an allotment for the section as a whole (the budget for the section is at the kacho's discretion), and (2) some kacho have an unofficial expense budget granted by tacit consent.
The monthly allotments for social expenses, and the percentage of managers in each category, are listed below:
As needed 20%
¥200,000-500,000 15%
¥ 100,000-200,000 20%
¥ 50,000-100,000 9%
¥ 30,000- 50,000 12%
Less than ¥30,000 12%
Confidential 9%
More than ¥ 1 million 3%
(The reader may convert these amounts into dollars roughly at the rate of ¥220 to $1, or whatever is currently appropriate.)
The above-listed amounts include all sorts of social expenses, but it is well known that kacho spend some portion of the allotment to enhance the superior-subordinate relationship. Those who enjoy an active social life at company expense are called shayozoku (the company-expense tribe). At taverns and bars they engage in amusing conversation with business associates and with the bar hostesses, who skillfully flatter their male egos and provide an exclusive atmosphere for them. The press recently reported that in 1980 the total expenditure of shayozoku was around ¥ 290 billion.
Ringi Conference for Consensus
Yokini hakarae is a samurai expression used exclusively by clan lords in the Tokugawa era. It means "Do with it as you see fit," or "Process it to the best of your knowledge and capability." As the expression suggests, a good lord never tried to stick his nose into small administrative matters. He took part only in decision making of utmost importance concerning the management of his fief, and left everything else to his subordinate samurai, saying, "Yokini hakarae."
This feudal pattern has given rise to the Japanese bottom-up administration, called the ringi system. Ringi literally means a circulation conference, and well over 90% of all large Japanese companies and many small ones follow this decision-making pattern. Government agencies also follow it. The system is based on the principle that any corporate decision should be made by a consensus of members concerned, instead of being made in dictatorial fashion. Important proposals relating to business management are drafted by the person responsible for the subject at the bottom of the organizational pyramid. By frequently consulting his immediate superior, he drafts the ringi paper—a sort of buck slip known as ringisho—which is then circulated upward and horizontally among all sections or departments concerned.
Each person who receives the ringisho is expected to study the proposal and affix his seal (hanko) to it as a sign that he has seen the document and does not actively oppose it. A person who intends to oppose or revise the proposal usually telephones the originator and expresses his disagreement. His negative reaction may be taken up in other conferences and may kill the proposal. To avoid such a negative reaction during circulation of the ringisho, the originator lays the groundwork beforehand in an effort to obtain the verbal agreement of those concerned. If this preparatory groundwork (nemawashi) is not done carefully, somebody may try to block the proposal by pigeonholing the ringisho for a while or someone may show his objection by affixing his seal upside down. Others may pass the buck by stamping their seal sideways, which signifies that they do not wish to be held responsible for the proposal.
Nemawashi is gardener's jargon in Japan. Literally, it means binding and protecting the roots of a tree before transplanting it. When the tree is chosen for transplanting, the gardener first digs around it, cutting off the smaller roots in the ground and trimming the branches to maintain a balance between roots and branches. Then the tree is dug out and the root ball is wrapped with a straw mat. The uprooted tree is then placed in the shade for a few days in order to let it adjust its physical conditions for the coming trip to the new soil. Only afterward is the tree transplanted in a new location. Similarly, in a business organization, a "subject tree" should be planted only after a careful nemawashi has been done. Only then does the proposal have a chance of getting through.