Busn427 Week 1 Case Study

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Case Analysis: Chapter 3 Closing Case – Week 1 – Summary: This case study was a very interesting look into Panasonic’s hiring practices, and how they differed in the past from today. The case study starts out by providing a description of how Panasonic traditionally took care of its workers, including providing housing and a guaranteed retirement bonus. This allows many workers to stay for life. As time went on, however, younger workers weren’t so keen on the lifetime work idea, and were much happier with higher wages at the times, and less rewards in the future. Finally, Panasonic went through some rough times, namely in the 1990’s and 2009. These rough times led the company to abandon its old beliefs of worker loyalty, and it closed factories and laid many people off. 1) What were the triggers of cultural change in Japan during the 1990s? How is cultural change starting to affect traditional values in Japan? There were multiple factors that led to the cultural change in the 1990’s. There was a defined lack of commitment to traditional Japanese values, partially because westernization ideals were starting to creep over, and the idea that there were endless ways to make money. People of this era did not want to a mere “salaryman” who was tied to a company for life. They wanted the freedom of making their own decisions and have the challenge to strive to make higher wages. Our lecture makes note of “differences in cultures”, and this was very clear in Japan during the 1990’s. The workers in western countries were enjoying economic freedoms, and the ability to make as much as they could – which worked its way into the younger generation in Japan who wanted the same. 2) How might Japan’s changing culture influence the way Japanese businesses operate in the future? What are the potential implications of such changes for the Japanese economy?

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