The lists of words that express the features and tendency of Japan and Western countries.
- Western countries: superhuman effort style, forcibility, big change, short life, high risk high return
- Japan: harmonic effort style, adjustability, small change, low risk low return
Western leaders’ features
Because people in Western countries have strong individual assertion and big expectation to companies they work, they need to show their strong leadership.
The reason why western leaders can look to be full of confidence even if they are hatred and sarcastic is because doing so is the best way to compete with rivals in severe market situation.
A western leader is required to push his/her requirements to people forcibly in some cases, who also needs to have ability of forcibility in addition to taking good care of and motivating people.
Western leaders are resigned very soon if they don’t make some expected changes from the moment they assume the head of the companies. So leader changing decision in western countries is made far more speedy than in Japan.
Therefore, a person who assumed newly head position show how advantageous what they are doing to people is widely and swiftly. For that reason, bold reforms happen easily in companies here and there.
However, leaders run risks of causing a big loss to the company when those bold reforms are overdone. If a leader make a wrong decision, their management carrier are put a period at a moment.
A brand of looser to defeated leaders is not easily erased from their carrier. No companies show their interest in hiring those losers. They always take huge responsibilities and risks.
Japanese leaders’ features
In Japan, mild-mannered and calm persons are chosen as leaders. Japanese team members are educated to place importance on “sense of comradeship” and “corporation”. They obey leaders indication and hardly dissent to company’s requirements.
Therefore, comapred to western leaders, Japanese leaders have low awareness of a swift reform of a company without resistance.
In other words, Japanese leaders make a decision to fawn upon members’s consensus. Of course, we Japanese have a case to be forced to make a decision for bold reforms to change the organization. However, compared to European countries, it is way more peaceful to decide by majority.
Choosing a leader who dislike friction between employees and a employer means being fearful of big reforms and renovations. A leader needs to be flexible to every single changes to face up squarely to emergency crises. One of the factors that Japanese companies can’t make rapid growth is overwhelming fewness of “strong decision” by leaders.