Corporate Japan

Paper Summary:

A review of this book which follows the life of a man in the Japanese corporate world. It examines what his functions in a company are and what qualifications he needed to achieve such a position. It goes back to the man's past in order to understand how his potential. In analyzing this man's path of life we get a fuller understanding of the life of corporate Japan.

From the Paper:

"Arai Shinya's Shoshaman: A Tale of Corporate Japan details the life of a middle-aged shoshaman (or salaryman) in a large sogo shosha, a Japanese General Trading Company. Sogo shosha came into existence when Japan began to modernize after World War II. They engage in the whole scope of industry and are considered the backbone of the Japanese economy (Shinya 1991). Shinya captures the management structure and the power struggles that beset a shoshaman on his rise to senior management level. Sogo shosha is a mind-set of its own, locked in tradition, culture and absolute loyalty to the company. The shoshaman is the modern day samurai. He is willing to sacrifice his life so to speak, willing without pause to hold the interests of the company above his own (Shinya 1991). A shoshaman begins his career, after obtaining a degree from a university, in a two year training school, where he rooms and boards with others who are entering the sogo shosha world. Like disciples of a religious faith, they see the sogo shosha as the answer to any of life's questions. Whatever the problem or sacrifice, the answer and reward must surely lie at the end of their life's work, a safe and secure senior position within the company. Their entire mental and emotional attitude, as well as their physical conduct and behavior is a lifelong grooming process for that safe company position. It is taken as seriously and often as fanatically as the promise of life after death in religions. Actually, it could be likened to a cult, a mentality that fears the unknown and feels threatened by any outside beliefs (Shinya 1991)."

More papers on Corporate Japan:

• Book Review # 21306 : "Shoshaman: A Tale of Corporate Japan" by Arai Shinya"
• Research Proposal # 105837 : "Globalization and Corporate Social Responsibility"
• Essay # 47299 : "British Airways in Japan"

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