Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T05:36:41.502Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Maturing of the Japanese Economy: Corporate Social Responsibility Implications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

Richard E. Wokutch  and
Jon M. Shepard
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

This paper examines corporate social responsibility in Japan today within the context of the paradigm of the moral unity of business. Under this paradigm, business is expected to operate under the same set of moral standards operative in other societal institutions. We suggest that a micro moral unity characterizes Japan—business activity is linked to that society’s moral values but only within carefully circumscribed communities of interest. Because of the strains brought on by the maturing of the Japanese economy, the negative consequences of this micro moral unity are now becoming apparent. A new paradigm will be required to address these challenges. A possible foundation for such a paradigm, based on the emerging notion of kyosei (living and working together for the common good), is discussed.

Type
Articles
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 9 , Issue 3 , July 1999 , pp. 527 - 540
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Beck, J. 1986. “Japan as a ‘Rich Country.’” (case). Boston: Harvard Business School.Google Scholar
Blustein, P. 1992. “Japan Gets a Hard Look from Within; Leaders Talk of Softening Unique Style of Capitalism.” The Washington Post. October 18: H1.Google Scholar
Blustein, P. 1994. “In Japan, Learning to Expect Trouble Instead of a Bubble; Long-Term Problems Slow Economic Recovery.” The Washington Post. April 17: H1.Google Scholar
Burgess, J. 1986. “Japanese Proud of Their Homogeneous Society.” The Washington Post. September 27: A1.Google Scholar
Caux Round Table. n.d. “The Caux Round Table: An Introduction.” Minneapolis: Caux Round Table.Google Scholar
Caux Round Table. 1994. “Principles for Business.” Minneapolis: Caux Round Table.Google Scholar
Caux Round Table. 1997. “The Critical Role of the Corporation in a Global Society: A Position Paper of the Caux Round Table.” Minneapolis: Caux Round Table.Google Scholar
Choate, P. 1990. Agents of Influence. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.Google Scholar
Crichton, M. 1992. Rising Sun. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.Google Scholar
Dawkins, W. 1995. “Management: No Heroes, Please—Who Is Inspiring the Japanese?” The Financial Times. July 28: 8.Google Scholar
Dunfee, T. W. and Nagayasu, Y., eds. 1993. Business Ethics: Japan and the Global Economy. Dordrecht: Kluwer.Google Scholar
Economic World. 1992. “Do Japanese Corporate Gifts Have Strings Attached?” February: 6–9.Google Scholar
Freeman, R. E. 1984. Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. Boston: Pitman.Google Scholar
Goodpaster, K. E. 1996. “Bridging East and West in Management Ethics: Kyosei and the Moral Point of View.” Paper presented at the First World Congress on Business, Economics, and Ethics, Tokyo, Japan, July.Google Scholar
Gross, N. 1989. “Charging Japan with Crimes Against the Earth.” Business Week. October 9: 108–112.Google Scholar
Hamilton, D. P. 1996. “Blood Pact: In Japan AIDS Scandal, Many Wonder if Safety Came Second to Trade.” The Wall Street Journal. October 9: A1, A6.Google Scholar
Hamilton, D. P. and Kanabayaski, M. 1994. “Belief Grows that Japan’s Environment Has Been Sacrificed for the Economy.” The Wall Street Journal. May 13: A6.Google Scholar
Holstein, W. and Borrus, A. 1988. “Japan’s Clout in the US.” Business Week. July 11: 64–66.Google Scholar
The Japan Times. 1996. “Key Figures Deny HIV Blame.” July 24: 1, 3.Google Scholar
Kaku, R. n.d. Kyosei—A Concept that Will Lead the 21st Century. Tokyo: Canon, Inc.Google Scholar
Kanabayaski, M. 1992. “Japan Becomes Major Importer of Asian Labor.” The Wall Street Journal. March 9: 25A.Google Scholar
Kazuo, K. 1991. The Economics of Work in Japan. Tokyo: Toyo Keizai Inc.Google Scholar
Konrad, A. R. 1982. “Business Managers and Moral Sanctuaries.” Journal of Business Ethics 1: 195–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKean, M. 1981. Environmental Protest and Citizen Politics in Japan. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Miller, A.; Lee, C.; and Tsiantar, D. 1989. “Charity Begins Abroad: Japan Uses Giving to Buy America’s Good Will.” Newsweek. August 21: 41.Google Scholar
Ouchi, W. 1981. Theory Z: How Americans Can Meet the Japanese Challenge. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Pascale, R. and Athos, A. 1981. The Art of Japanese Management: Applications for American Executives. New York: Warner Books.Google Scholar
Prestowitz, C. 1989. Trading Places: How We Are Giving our Future to Japan and How to Reclaim It. New York: Basic Books, Inc.Google Scholar
Reitman, V. 1996. “Cramming for the Exotic US Workplace: Sex-Harassment Case Spurs Sensitivity Seminars in Japan.” The Wall Street Journal. July 9: A15.Google Scholar
Reitman, V. and Schuman, M. 1996. “Men’s Club: Japanese and Korean Companies Rarely Look Outside for People to Run Their Overseas Operations. Some Think It’s Time to Change.” The Wall Street Journal. September 26: A17.Google Scholar
Rowan, H. 1992. “Japanese Business May Be Ready for Strategic Switch.” The Washington Post. September 9: H1.Google Scholar
Saito, R. 1996. “Sex Harassment in Japan Remains a Cloaked Issue.” The Japan Times. July 30: 3.Google Scholar
Sapsford, J. 1996. “Sumitomo Debacle Reflects a Titanic Struggle.” The Wall Street Journal. June 17: A11.Google Scholar
Sapsford, J. and Shirouyu, N. 1995. “Scandal-Ridden Executives in Japan May Lose Face But Not Their Shirts.” The Wall Street Journal. October 19: A19.Google Scholar
Schonberger, R. 1982. Japanese Manufacturing Techniques. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Shapiro, M. 1988. “Old Black Stereotypes Find New Lives in Japan.” The Washington Post. July 22: A18.Google Scholar
Shepard, J. M.; Shepard, J.; Wimbush, J. C.; and Stephens, C. U. 1995. “The Place of Ethics in Business: Shifting Paradigms?” Business Ethics Quarterly 5: 577–601.Google Scholar
Shimada, H. 1980. The Japanese Employment System. Japan Industrial Relations Series 6. Tokyo: Japan Institute of Labour.Google Scholar
Steiner, G. A., and Steiner, J. F. 1996. Business, Government, and Society. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
The Wall Street Journal. 1990. “Japan and Foreign Labor.” October 16: A23.Google Scholar
The Wall Street Journal. 1991. “Foreign Residents of Japan.” December 17: A5.Google Scholar
Williams, J. 1992. “West Meets East.” The Washington Post Magazine. January 5: 13–28.Google Scholar
Wokutch, R. 1990. “Corporate Social Responsibility Japanese Style.” Academy of Management Executive 4: 56–74.Google Scholar
Wokutch, R. 1992a. “Myths of the Japanese Factory.” Journal of Commerce. August 26: 10A.Google Scholar
Wokutch, R. 1992b. Worker Protection, Japanese Style: Occupational Safety and Health in the Auto Industry. Ithaca: ILR Press, Cornell University.Google Scholar
Wokutch, R. and McLaughlin, J. 1992. “The US and Japanese Work Injury and Illness Experience.” Monthly Labor Review. April: 3–11.Google Scholar
Yamagiwa, H. 1996. “Accidents Add to Illegals’ Plight.” The Japan Times. June 14: 3.Google Scholar
Yamaji, K. 1996. “A Global Perspective of Ethics in Business: Entrepreneurial Spirit and Business Ethics.” Paper presented at the First World Congress on Business, Economics, and Ethics, Tokyo, Japan, July.Google Scholar