Ronald Dore - Böcker

In this book, a team of distinguished scholars seeks to explain and understand aspects of the firm in the Japanese economic system, and to explain the corporate success of Japan. The book is interdisciplinary, uses theoretical and empirical work, and has contributions from the fields of institutional economics, organizational theory, economic history, and sociology. Major themes are the recognition of business practices and the recognition of the diversity of experience within Japan, for example, analysing small or medium-sized firms separately from large companies. Several contributors deal with the transferability or adaptability of the Japanese experience to the Nordic or Anglo-American context. The book is held together by a strong introductory chapter by the editors.Contributors: M. Aoki, R. Dore, R. Freeman, K. Koike, R. Cole, M. Sako, B. Asanuma, D. E. Westney, D. Okimoto, Y. Nishi, D. H. Whittaker, H. Itoh, T. Hoshi, P. Sheard, T. Okazaki

Masahiko Aoki and Ronald Dore have edited an authoritative account of the Japanese firm and the sources of its success, including contributions from some of the best, and best known, scholars in the field.The book represents an attempt to explain and understand aspects of the firm in the Japanese economic system, and to explain the corporate success of Japan. It is interdisciplinary in approach, containing both theoretical and empirical work, and has contributions from the fields of labour economics, comparative institutional analysis, information economics, finance, organizational theory, economic history, political science, and sociology.Chapters range from contemporary descriptions--of training (in overseas subsidiaries as well as Japan), of R&D structures, of product development practices, of finance and corporate governance, of trading relations, especially between small and large firms--to an historical overview of the evolution of Japanese management in the wartime planned economy. The book also situates Japan in the literature of economic analysis and in the on-going debate about trade-offs between equality and efficiency.The contemporary media would have us believe that the Japanese system of management--characterized by lifetime employment, emphasis on long-term, slow consensual decision-making, heavy investments in training, R&D, and quality, close inter-enterprise ties, and short rations for shareholders--is in crisis and about to change fundamentally. This book will enable the reader to decide just how solid the foundations of the Japanese enterprise system are, and to identify the rationale that lies behind it.

This is a book about Washington Consensus capitalism and the controversies its encroachment causes in Japan and Germany. Many people in both those countries share the assumptions dominant today in Britain and America-that managers should be intent solely on creating shareholder value and that shareholders' financial logic alone should determine who buys what company on the stock exchange. That way efficiency (and hence global welfare) will be maximized.The Japanese and German advocates of full-bloodied market capitalism are not having it all their own way, however. In both countries there are articulate defenders of what they consider to be a better way of life, informed by a more human, more social-solidary, set of values. Dore traces the fascinating debates which ensue on corporate governance, on worker rights, on supplier relations, on cartels and anti-trust, on pensions and welfare. He also analyses actual changes in economic behaviour-an essential means of sorting out a lot of the muddle and double-talk not just in the internal debates themselves, but even more in the foreign reporting of them.These accounts of the battle for the national soul in Japan and Germany constitute one of the finest contributions to the 'diversity of capitalism' debate. Dore's account should be read by anyone who is interested to know whether, for all the talk of globalization, that diversity is going to survive.

This is a book about Washington Consensus capitalism and the controversies its encroachment causes in Japan and Germany. Many people in both those countries share the assumptions dominant today in Britain and America-that managers should be intent solely on creating shareholder value and that shareholders' financial logic alone should determine who buys what company on the stock exchange. That way efficiency (and hence global welfare) will be maximized.The Japanese and German advocates of full-bloodied market capitalism are not having it all their own way, however. In both countries there are articulate defenders of what they consider to be a better way of life, informed by a more human, more social-solidary, set of values. Dore traces the fascinating debates which ensue on corporate governance, on worker rights, on supplier relations, on cartels and anti-trust, on pensions and welfare. He also analyses actual changes in economic behaviour-an essential means of sorting out a lot of the muddle and double-talk not just in the internal debates themselves, but even more in the foreign reporting of them.These accounts of the battle for the national soul in Japan and Germany constitute one of the finest contributions to the 'diversity of capitalism' debate. Dore's account should be read by anyone who is interested to know whether, for all the talk of globalization, that diversity is going to survive.

The Japanese way of work is notoriously ‘different’. But is it Japan or Britain which is the odd man out? When originally published this was the first book to explore the real differences, through a point-by-point comparison of two Japanese factories with two British ones making similar products. In the first half of the book this comparison is pursued in systematic detail and clear illustration of the attitudes and assumptions which underlie what the author calls the ‘market-oriented’ system of Britain and the ‘organization-oriented’ system of Japan. One chapter shows how the employment institutions of the two countries fit into their political, family and educational institutions – an exercise in functionalist sociology which dominates t he later chapters and makes a major contribution to the discussion of development and of the ‘convergence’ of different systems.

Japanese cultural life had reached a low ebb at the beginning of the Tokugawa period. The Japanese society which emerged when Tokugawa Ieyasu had completed the process of pacifying warring baronies was neither literary, nor hardly literate. The rulers were warriors and the people they ruled were largely illiterate. The Japan of 1868 was a very different society: practically every samurai was literate and it was a world in which books abounded. The transformation which had occurred in these two and a half centuries was an essential precondition for the success of the policy which the leaders of the Meiji Restoration were to adopt. An in-depth survey of the development and education during the period, this book remains one of the key analyses of the effects of Tokugawa educators and education on modern day Japan.

The Japanese way of work is notoriously ‘different’. But is it Japan or Britain which is the odd man out? When originally published this was the first book to explore the real differences, through a point-by-point comparison of two Japanese factories with two British ones making similar products. In the first half of the book this comparison is pursued in systematic detail and clear illustration of the attitudes and assumptions which underlie what the author calls the ‘market-oriented’ system of Britain and the ‘organization-oriented’ system of Japan. One chapter shows how the employment institutions of the two countries fit into their political, family and educational institutions – an exercise in functionalist sociology which dominates t he later chapters and makes a major contribution to the discussion of development and of the ‘convergence’ of different systems.

How does globalization change national economies and politics? Are rising levels of trade, capital flows, new communication technologies, and deregulation forcing all societies to converge toward the same structures of production and distribution? Suzanne Berger and Ronald Dore have brought together a distinguished group of experts to consider how the international economy shapes and transforms domestic structures.Drawing from experience in the United States, Europe, and Asia, the contributors ask whether competition, imitation, diffusion of best practice, trade, and financial flows are reducing national diversities. The authors seek to understand whether the sources of national political autonomy are undermined by changes in the international system. Can distinctive varieties of capitalism that incorporate unique and valued institutions for achieving social welfare survive in a global economy?The contributions to the volume present a challenge to conventional views on the extent and scope of globalization as well as to predictions of the imminent disappearance of the nation-state's leverage over the economy.

How does globalization change national economies and politics? Are rising levels of trade, capital flows, new communication technologies, and deregulation forcing all societies to converge toward the same structures of production and distribution? Suzanne Berger and Ronald Dore have brought together a distinguished group of experts to consider how the international economy shapes and transforms domestic structures.Drawing from experience in the United States, Europe, and Asia, the contributors ask whether competition, imitation, diffusion of best practice, trade, and financial flows are reducing national diversities. The authors seek to understand whether the sources of national political autonomy are undermined by changes in the international system. Can distinctive varieties of capitalism that incorporate unique and valued institutions for achieving social welfare survive in a global economy?The contributions to the volume present a challenge to conventional views on the extent and scope of globalization as well as to predictions of the imminent disappearance of the nation-state's leverage over the economy.

Prompted by increasing evidence of the world’s shift to the right, not least among the industrialised nations, here is a cri de coeur from almost the last survivor from the post-war crop of European sociologists and scholars of Japanese Studies. After six decades following developments in Japanese society, economy and culture and as a well-known ‘leftie’ – he describes the evolution of his cognitive and evaluative/emotional perceptions of Japan, and explains why he can no longer be described as a Japanophile. To which are added essays on more general issues of the day, such as events in the Ukraine, Iran and Israel. The key words are indeed ‘cantankerous’ (because he is greatly exercised by the ‘conspiracies of silence’ embedded in the culture of modern political and public life); ‘musings’ (because this is not so much a single-focus monograph, rather a collection of spontaneous, but deeply-considered reflections on matters of the moment) and ‘disillusioned’ (both by Japan’s reversion to chauvinistic nationalism, and because, as a youth, he hoped for and expected an enhancement of the role of reason in international affairs.) This will be of special interest to all who know or have accessed the author’s vast literary output relating to Japan; but it also has considerably wider relevance among those who are in any way connected with contemporary society, politics and economics and wish to confront the ‘conspiracy of silence’ within our interdependent world.

An account of motives and motivations behind Japan's accomplishments, this work emphasizes the role of a Confucian impetus.First published in 1987, this title is part of the Bloomsbury Academic Collections series.

Professor Ronald Dore examines how, despite the Japanese 'flagrantly flouting all received principles of capitalist rationality', they are able to adjust so successfully to the challenge of shifting world economic conditions. First published in 1986, this title is part of the Bloomsbury Academic Collections series.

The land reform carried out in Japan during the period of American Occupation is often spoken of as one of the most successful of the post-war reforms. It was certainly one of the most thorough going redistributions of land which the world has seen. A third of the total area of arable land changed hands, and nearly a third of the total population of the country was affected. Socially, the land reform accelerated the decay in feudal institutions, rendering the lot of the Japanese farmer considerably better than it once was.First published in 1984, this title is part of the Bloomsbury Academic Collections series.

Ronald Dore's enquiring mind, rigorous reasoning and comparative methodology have greatly enhanced our understanding of Japan. His insights from Japan have been deployed to generate fresh perspectives on Britain and other industrialized and developing countries. This careful selection of writings reflects his underlying concern with what light the study of Japan sheds on theoretical generalizations about how societies evolve and how economies work. Social Evolution, Economic Development and Culture brings together Ronald Dore's key writings for the first time, making his work accessible across a wide range of social science disciplines. It produces a distinctive perspective with four interlinking themes - technology-driven social evolution, late development, culture and polemics. These are highly topical in the current context of rapid technological innovation and socio-economic change, globalization and accompanying policy choices.The book provides a rich empirical and conceptual source for those interested in technology, socio-economic evolution and culture, and the ways in which they interact. Researchers, teachers and students in the fields of evolutionary economics, economic development, comparative education, institutional economics, political economy and economic and classical sociology (as well as Japanese studies) will find this volume invaluable reading.

Ronald Dore's enquiring mind, rigorous reasoning and comparative methodology have greatly enhanced our understanding of Japan. His insights from Japan have been deployed to generate fresh perspectives on Britain and other industrialized and developing countries. This careful selection of writings reflects his underlying concern with what light the study of Japan sheds on theoretical generalizations about how societies evolve and how economies work. Social Evolution, Economic Development and Culture brings together Ronald Dore's key writings for the first time, making his work accessible across a wide range of social science disciplines. It produces a distinctive perspective with four interlinking themes - technology-driven social evolution, late development, culture and polemics. These are highly topical in the current context of rapid technological innovation and socio-economic change, globalization and accompanying policy choices.The book provides a rich empirical and conceptual source for those interested in technology, socio-economic evolution and culture, and the ways in which they interact. Researchers, teachers and students in the fields of evolutionary economics, economic development, comparative education, institutional economics, political economy and economic and classical sociology (as well as Japanese studies) will find this volume invaluable reading.