The Relationship between People and the Relationships within the Organization

Abstract

Neither in the minds of the workers themselves nor in the operation of the actual factory system in Japan, the relationship between workers and superiors, between workers and companies, cannot be described in a limited and relatively impersonal way which is characteristic of the relationship in big Western factories. An illustration of personal relationships in a Japanese factory has been presented by the answers given by groups of workers to a questionnaire designed to determine their feelings on several things. The statement that "A good foreman views his workers as a father treating his children" was almost unanimously agreed by all groups. It was thought that such a statement would be met with ridicule, or displeasure by American factory workers, but the view of the average Japanese worker (in general) ranged between "approving moderately" and "strongly approving". Without relying too heavily on these responses, they pointed out that there are essential differences regarding the quality of the worker-supervisor relationship.