International Comparative Study on the Orientation of Company Welfare under the Globalization

• Project/Area Number: 17530293
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Business administration
• Research Institution: Sapporo University
• Principal Investigator: KOYAMA Osamu Sapporo University, DEPARTMENT, TITLE OF POSITION Sapporo University, Business Administration., Professor, 経営学部, 教授 (80162080)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): MYUNG Tae-sook Sapporo University, Business Administration, Professor, 経営学部, 教授 (70305879)
• Project Period (FY): 2005 – 2006
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2006)
• Budget Amount: ¥3,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,600,000); Fiscal Year 2006: ¥700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000); Fiscal Year 2005: ¥2,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,900,000)
• Keywords: globalization / company welfare / Japanese management model / HRM by Japanese style / result-ism by Japanese style / Northern European style of welfare state / HRM by Chinese style / HRM by South Korean style / グローバル化

Research Abstract

In this research, three researches were done to approach to international comparative study on the orientation of company welfare under the globalization. First, research by questionnaire titled 'Questionnaire on Company Welfare in the New era.' Second, some company visits were done to hear on the actual situations of human resource management and company welfare of Japanese firms after in the mid 1990s. Third, company visits to overseas branch and factory of Japanese firms in several countries, in China, South Korea, France, Sweden and Finland were done.
Through this research by questionnaire and company visits, some characteristics were seen like below. First, in Japan after in the mid 1990s, human resource management(HRM) of this country were oriented toward HRM by ability-ism or result-ism in one hand, company welfare schemes were not so slimed down in another hand. It is the reason why Japanese firms maintain company welfare schemes under the four purposes mainly to maintain and im prove work motivation, to stabilize the life of employee, to activate the work force and to execute social responsibility as company citizen. These purposes are oriented toward to enrich widely the social functions firms. Secondly, in East Asian countries, different situations on the HRM and company welfare schemes are seen. South Korean firms have company welfare schemes similar to Japanese firms. Another hand, China has generally four or five schemes of company welfare, but still under the developing situation. Third, in western and northern European countries, discharge of workers is regulated strictly by labor law and precedents. So, there is life-time employment longer than that in the Japanese firms, and above, company welfare schemes are executed generally.
In the point of view of international comparative study, company welfare in the Japanese firms would be rate high place, but working conditions have instability through the big-ban of labor market and the big change of HRM of Japanese style. In this course, new phenomena so-called 'Discriminated society' is pointed in Japan.
The final objectives of this research project are oriented to present some totalized models of HRM and company welfare. So, in this paper, some results obtained through questionnaire and hearing would be reported.