All firms wrestle with restructuring, involving consolidation of mergers and acquisitions on the one hand, and fragmentation through outsourcing and spin-offs on the other. Through an in-depth investigation into the organizational strategies of Japanese corporate management and union leaders in Japan, Mari Sako explores the issue of 'organizational boundaries' that arises from such restructuring. Examining the strategy and structure of both businesses and trade unions, the book draws upon empirical evidence drawn from interviews conducted at Toyota and Matsushita and their respective unions. It examines their respective strategies in coping with organizational boundaries against the backdrop of changing labor markets, and in the process, challenges widely held notions about Japanese corporate and union structures. Mari Sako goes on to explore the implication of these relationships in other advanced industrial countries for corporate restructuring, jobs, and labor market flexibility.
Author(s): Mari Sako
Year: 2006
Language: English
Pages: 320
Contents......Page 8
Acknowledgements......Page 9
List of Figures......Page 12
List of Tables......Page 13
Introduction......Page 14
1. Strategy, Structure, and Institutions of Management and Labour......Page 21
2. From Factory to Enterprise, from Enterprise to Business Group......Page 46
3. Strategy and Structure at Matsushita Group......Page 69
4. Strategy and Structure at Toyota Group......Page 105
5. Inter-Industry Differences: Criteria for Union Boundary Decisions......Page 141
6. Intra-Industry Differences I: Why Companies Differ......Page 165
7. Intra-Industry Differences II: Why Unions Differ......Page 195
8. Harmonization versus Differentiation, Employment Security versus Labour Flexibility......Page 223
Conclusions......Page 253
Appendix: The Roren Questionnaire Survey......Page 261
References......Page 271
A......Page 284
C......Page 285
D......Page 287
E......Page 288
F......Page 289
H......Page 290
I......Page 291
K......Page 292
L......Page 293
M......Page 294
N......Page 295
P......Page 296
R......Page 297
S......Page 298
T......Page 300
U......Page 302
Y......Page 303
Z......Page 304
