Recruitment and Selection: Comparative Management (Recruitment and Selection Process) Between American-Style and Japanese-Style
SECTION 1
INTRODUCTION
One of the quotes that Lovelock and Wirtz (2007) had compiled in the latest edition of Services Marketing: People, Technology and Strategy is regarding people as assets by Jim Collins. He said:
The old adage, “People are your most important asset,” is wrong. The right people are your most important asset.
Although Lovelock and Wirtz’s Services Marketing refer ‘people’ (one of the 7Ps) as those in front-line positions, this quote can also be pointed out to any individual in the organisation. In other word, ‘people’ can also refer to employees of an organisation, and based on Collins’s quote, having the right people is most crucial. This requires a hiring process that is not only effective, but beneficial to the organisation.
With that said, many organisations have different hiring processes, still, it can be generalised based on the organisations’ countries of origins. Among the popular ones are management practices from two of the world’s largest economies by nominal GDP: the United States of America (hereinafter the US) and Japan (Wikipedia, 2007). Both these countries are often being compared in many aspects, especially in business, because multinational companies such as General Motors and Microsoft from the US, and Toyota and Sony from Japan have been successful through their contrasting styles of management, as they originate from different corners of the world – the US in the west and Japan in the East.
Thus, the purpose of this study is to form a comparative human resource management system, particularly the recruitment and selection process, between American-style and Japanese-style management. The research begins with the identification of the research question and the importance of performing this study. This is followed by the presentation of previous related studies of the comparison, and is concluded with analyses of each key points based on the related studies.
INTRODUCTION
One of the quotes that Lovelock and Wirtz (2007) had compiled in the latest edition of Services Marketing: People, Technology and Strategy is regarding people as assets by Jim Collins. He said:
The old adage, “People are your most important asset,” is wrong. The right people are your most important asset.
Although Lovelock and Wirtz’s Services Marketing refer ‘people’ (one of the 7Ps) as those in front-line positions, this quote can also be pointed out to any individual in the organisation. In other word, ‘people’ can also refer to employees of an organisation, and based on Collins’s quote, having the right people is most crucial. This requires a hiring process that is not only effective, but beneficial to the organisation.
With that said, many organisations have different hiring processes, still, it can be generalised based on the organisations’ countries of origins. Among the popular ones are management practices from two of the world’s largest economies by nominal GDP: the United States of America (hereinafter the US) and Japan (Wikipedia, 2007). Both these countries are often being compared in many aspects, especially in business, because multinational companies such as General Motors and Microsoft from the US, and Toyota and Sony from Japan have been successful through their contrasting styles of management, as they originate from different corners of the world – the US in the west and Japan in the East.
Thus, the purpose of this study is to form a comparative human resource management system, particularly the recruitment and selection process, between American-style and Japanese-style management. The research begins with the identification of the research question and the importance of performing this study. This is followed by the presentation of previous related studies of the comparison, and is concluded with analyses of each key points based on the related studies.