Over the past 20 years much has been learnt about Japanese management. Lifetime employment, seniority-based wage and promotions, consensus decision-making, and enterprise unionism are now familiar concepts outside the world of Japanese business. Little is known, however, about how managers actually operate on a day-to-day basis within the Japanese firm. The aim of this book is to fill this gap in our knowledge. Beginning with a historical overview of the development of the Japanese style, the book explores the cultural and economic setting of Japanese management and explains the individual management processes that make up the Japanese approach. Planning, staffing, career development and evaluation, compensation, communication and organizational improvement are looked at in-depth as the author builds up a picture of how Japanese managers operate.