Summary and Analysis of Japanese, Korean and China Business Essay

Summary and Analysis of Japanese, Korean and China Business - Essay Example Horizontal KGBs are either ex-Zaibatsu (Mitsubishi, Mitsui), or bank-led (Sanwa, Fuyo). Vertical KGBs are divided into supplier and distribution: the former supply parts and components, whereas the latter operate as a distribution channel. There are also general trading companies (sogo shosha), which specialize in exports and imports and serve relevant intermediaries for foreign trade. Japanese enterprises exhibit and rely on unique management styles. Lifetime employment, seniority wages, and no lay-offs during recession are fairly regarded as the main and most advantageous features of the Japanese management style. Keiretsu companies can easily relocate their workforce from one unit to another, whereas bonuses play a cultural and historical role in profit sharing. As a result, Japan enjoys flexibility of labor compensation and has everything needed to reduce unemployment. Most Japanese enterprises start at the very bottom of the business ladder, gradually expand to become medium and large corporations and, eventually, win the world. Low prices and domestic markets are the two management priorities for start-ups. Management efficiency, technological improvements, huge R&D investments and managerial efficiency are the main drivers of business development in Japan. Lean production systems, division of labor, JIT philosophies, and economies of scale are all important sources of competitiveness. Kaizen is the basic system of quality control in Japan, which works through series of small improvements. Total Quality Control implies that employee participate in quality management. The success of Japanese firms is in (a) cost advantage; (b) long-term planning; (c) financial strategies; and (d) continuous striving to achieve high quality at a low cost. Until the beginning of the 1950s, the system and drivers of Foreign Direct Investments in Japan had been inward-looking and