2001 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

Wage and Performance Appraisal Systems of White-Collar employees in Flux : A Japan - United States Comparison

Research Project

Project/Area Number	12630122
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	Business administration
Research Institution	Yokohama National University
Principal Investigator	SHIBATA Hiromichi Yokohama National University, Faculty of Business Administration, Professor, 大学院・国際社会科学研究科, 教授 (10280843)
Project Period (FY)	2000 – 2001
Keywords	Japan / United States / Compensation / Manages / White-Collar Employees / 管理職 / 統合性 / 分離性
Research Abstract	Unionized Japanese and American firms made changes in their wage and performance appraisal systems, especially those of white-collar employees, over the 1990s that were inspired by features of each others' traditional employment system. Although Japanese firms made greater changes in the wage-setting process as compared to American firms, outcomes in Japan changed little. Even with these changes the wage and performance appraisal systems in the two countries retain distinctive characteristics. In the U.S. firms "segregation" between white- and blue-collar employees and high- and low-performers, remains a feature of wage and performance appraisal systems. Meanwhile, the Japanese system maintained its characteristic "integrated" form while undergoing moderate modifications.