Comparison of human resource management methods between the United States and Japan

No matter in theory or in practice, there are two main modes of human resource management: oriental mode and western mode. The west is dominated by the United States, and the east is dominated by Japan.

There are many theories and schools of human resource management in the United States, but their foundation and roots are all American culture, which determines that these theories and schools have many similarities.

First of all, whether in the embryonic development process or when human resource management becomes an independent discipline, the center that runs through human resources is profit, that is, money. In fact, this is the essence of capitalism, and it is also the most important driving force for capitalist social and economic development and enterprise survival. An American economist summed it up in vivid words. The greatest learning in America is how to put money from other people's pockets into your own pockets. There are no eternal friends, only eternal interests become the knowledge of dealing with human resources.

Secondly, from the development of human resources in the United States, people in human resources have gone through the stages of "mechanical man", "economic man driven by pure interests", "social man with various needs" and "organizer" under various modern new theories. Although they have deepened their understanding and made progress in practice, they still believe that people are not "natural persons" but various forms.

Third, the starting point of human resources in the United States is the individual, advocating individual struggle, which is far from the most important cooperative spirit of collectivism, group interests and peace in eastern culture. As a typical representative of American human resources and a direct product of MBA, they have been cultivated as a habit of thinking from the perspective of the company's top management as early as school, with little emphasis on cooperation between people. When most MBAs leave school, they have already formed such a consciousness: in this law of the jungle world, only personal achievements are crucial, and everything else is insignificant. In the 1980s, MBA students changed careers in order to get ahead and seek personal gain, which made them notorious and called themselves the "self-first generation". In the last issue of 1984, Newsweek said: "They are a notorious generation because they are constantly trying to renovate their designs to find excitement." Abraham Lenique, a psychoanalyst and professor at Harvard University, said, "In the past, people didn't care about themselves as young people do now. This generation is addicted to narcissism and never wants to adapt to the environment. Like most students in Harvard Business School, they are always scheming, playing tricks from time to time, and showing no sense of belonging and belief in the same thing. "

Therefore, all levels and fields of American human resource management system, whether it is human resource development, planning, recruitment, selection and evaluation, or performance evaluation, control and management, are all interest-centered. If non-profit factors such as cultural differences, self-esteem and self-realization are taken into account, the ultimate goal is to maximize profits. From the perspective of natural humanity and the overall development of human culture, although American human resource management theory has its extremely effective and great side, it has an inherently narrow and short-sighted side rooted in American economic culture or American fast food culture, which is not enough to represent the future trend of the world and the direction of human development.

In the early 1980s, Americans themselves were aware of these practical problems. Len Caust, the 49th graduate of Harvard Business School, said: "We can prove that you can make money by producing quality products; You can also make money by producing inferior products. " So American managers are indifferent to quality.

Fortune magazine described their reaction to quality control expert Deming as: "Fuck off! Deming, we are making money. " It is under the influence of this mercenary talent view that Deming, who will be regarded as a god by the Japanese in the future, had to go to Japan with his quality control theory to bear fruit.

At this time, among the 500 large enterprises in the United States, only three general managers were human resource managers, and most of the others were from finance and marketing. This money-based human resource management eventually led to the decline in the quality of American products and the decline in its status in the United States and internationally. 1980 or so, American management has been publicly attacked by all walks of life. 198 1 year The New York Times made a special report on the decline of the international reputation of American management. At the same time, there is an upsurge of learning Japanese management methods in the United States. Americans believe that since Japan's products and economy have developed better than the United States, "since we have gone the wrong way, the Japanese must be right."

Third, the origin of human resource management in Japan

When Chiang Kai-shek was young, he went to Japan to study. No matter on the train, tram or ferry, he always sees the Japanese studying Wang Yangming's Biography of the Ming Dynasty in China with rapt attention. After reading a paragraph, he closes his eyes and sits still, wholeheartedly grasping its meaning. Even soldiers learn Yangming studies and implement Wang Yangming's philosophy of "conscience" and "unity of knowledge and action" in life and practice. Liang Qichao, a master of modern Chinese studies, came to Japan and was surprised that Wang Yangming's Biography and Zhu's Recent Thoughts were so popular in Japan. In fact, this is that no matter what Japan experiences, it can rebuild its cultural and psychological foundation spiritually and economically.

It can be traced back to a long history that the Japanese studied Japanese culture. It was the Tang Dynasty that learned and introduced Japanese culture on a large scale. Since then, cultural exchanges between China and China have been inseparable. In modern times, Zhu Shunshui, an old man in China at the end of the Ming Dynasty, was unwilling to defect to serve the Qing Dynasty and came to Japan across the ocean. It coincided with the founding of the Tokugawa shogunate, and he reused and introduced Confucianism, which enabled Tokugawa Ieyasu to practice what Confucius said: "A scholar should be unswerving and have a long way to go" and achieved the world. Established the Japanese tradition of taking China Confucianism as the rule of governing the country and putting it into practice. However, during the Tokugawa shogunate, Zhu's theory was regarded as orthodox, and Wang Yangming's theory was regarded as orthodox from the end of Tokugawa. This tradition was regarded as the "imperial teacher" by the most famous sinologists in Japan at present.

, carry forward, so that Yangming studies in Japan, especially in the economic and political circles, China Confucian classics, especially Wang Yangming's works, become necessary books for political and economic leaders to study in depth.

Fourthly, the characteristics of Japanese human resource management.

First, the way to learn from the mentor.

Based on China culture's respect for teachers and friends and his personal experience, An Tian Kangfu founded the "Japan National Teachers and Friends Association" in 1949, with more than 10,000 leaders from Japan's political and economic circles attending it, which was an important town for establishing Japanese management thoughts and promoting China culture after the war. The reason why Angang wants to set up a "Teachers' Friendship Association" is because its significance and purpose come from Confucius' The Analects. "The Analects of Confucius" said: "A threesome must have a teacher, choose the good one and follow it, and change the bad one." ; "The Analects of Confucius Yan Yuan" said: "A gentleman makes friends by writing and helps others by benevolence." ; The Analects of Confucius said: "Those who benefit have three friends, who are friendly, clear and straightforward." . The book "Ceng Zi" also puts forward a way of employing people that has been proved by thousands of years of history: "Take teachers as kings, friends as tyrants, and disciples as death." The Teachers' Association of Angang is also worthy of the name, because Angang Zhengdu himself is the highest mentor of Japanese prime ministers since the post-war Prime Minister Ji Tianmao. Even before Prime Minister Nakasone's visit to the United States, he should personally listen to Angang's teachings. Under the advocacy of Akihito Abe, Japanese political and economic circles have formed a fashion of "learning from each other", encouraging each other and learning from each other, which has evolved into a cultural and spiritual construction that complements and drives Japan's economic construction. This is a fact that ordinary people who study the Japanese economy tend to overlook.

Second, the guiding ideology of the unity of justice and benefit.

The unity of justice and benefit is the idea that Japanese business circles combine China's classical Confucian classics with modern industry and commerce, and it is also the guiding ideology that Japanese business circles abide by. In the words of Shibusawa Eiichi, a famous entrepreneur during the Meiji Restoration and a practitioner of the theory of "unity of righteousness and benefit", "There is an abacus in the Analects, and there is an Analects in the abacus".

Regarding the relationship between righteousness and benefit, it is clearly stated in "University" that "virtue is the foundation and wealth is the purpose." The Analects of Confucius also said, "A gentleman's business is based on Tao."

Whether it is an individual or a company, it is just for profit, and it is impossible to achieve long-term stability. On the other hand, Yasuo Yasuo often quotes the Analects of Confucius, "a gentleman is righteous and a villain is beneficial." And "do it for the benefit and complain more." Two sentences clarify the theory of unity of justice and benefit.

Western capitalist societies tend to be egoistic, hedonistic and pursue material life, while historical materialism attributes the motive force of historical development to economic factors, which is also prejudice. Economy and morality, righteousness and benefit, that is, spiritual civilization and material civilization advocated by our country, are harmonious and complementary.

Guan Zhong of China during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period said: "The granary is real and then the etiquette is known; Only when you have enough to eat and drink can you know the honor and disgrace. " The economic development of Europe, America, Japan and Southeast Asia also proves this point. When the per capita national income reached 2000 dollars, there would be a major watershed in economic growth, because as long as it exceeded this level, the goals pursued by people would undergo major changes. At this time, the material pursuit has reached a certain limit, while the spiritual pursuit is becoming more and more important.

Fromm, a famous American psychologist, also found this phenomenon through a large number of experiments, that is, under certain conditions, the increase or decrease of salary has little effect on the quality of work performance.

This is the case in bsp Japan. When the national income reached this level, the phenomenon that people from all over the world and local governments came to Tokyo to set up factories suddenly decreased. The reason is that people's values and outlook on life have changed, and job opportunities and wages are no longer the most important considerations. Therefore, for enterprises, righteousness and benefit cannot be neglected.

However, not only in Europe, America and Japan, but also in China in history, there is a tendency to value profit over righteousness. Gu Fang Yamada of the Japanese Edo era pointed out sharply: "People who are good at controlling what is happening in the world stand outside things and are indomitable. Nowadays, wealth managers are well informed! "

Only by surpassing profits can we grasp profits.

He said, "The humble man is poor. His room is like a hanging rock. There is dust in it, but he looks down on it and stands aside." And wealth has come! Apart from wealth, what most people want is just a few ounces of gold, but after years of filth, they can't get it, are hungry and sleepy, and are eager for death, and they are also among the wealth. "In modern times, the theory of unification of justice and benefit advocated by Japanese business circles was highly summarized and summarized by Zheng Fang, Daping.