2004 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
The Reconstruction of the Japanese Business Ethics
| Project/Area Number |
15530272
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Business administration
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| Research Institution | Waseda University |
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Principal Investigator |
KOBAYASHI Shunji Waseda University, Faculty of Commerce, Professor, 商学学術院・商学部, 教授 (00063701)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TANAKA Hiroji Ritsukyo University, Graduate School of Econmics, Professor, 大学院・経済学研究科, 教授 (50350301)
YAMAGUCH Yoshiaki Tokyo fuji University, Faculty of Management, Professor, 経営学部, 教授 (00200634)
SENDO Ayako Shonan Junior College, Department of Business, Assistant Professor, 商経学科, 助教授 (60277754)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2004
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| Keywords | Business Ethics / Edo Era / Gender Study / Whistle Blower / ステークホルダー |
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| Research Abstract |
The main origin of business ethics in Japan can be found in the Bushido of the Feudalistic Tokugawa Era. The Bushido ideology exerted profound influence on the mentality and behavior of the merchant. It was considered that. Merchants should act like the Samurai. For example, employees' loyalty to the owner of the shop was considered as having highest priority. The employers were patriarch and the human rights of employees were often ignored. On the other hand paternalistic way of management treated employees as quasi-family members and guaranteed them long term employment. We should learn the merit of the paternalistic management to be competitive on the global market. We made a questionnaire to survey as to the present ethical climate of corporations. We got 79 returns. The important finding is that about 80% of respondents support the whistle blowing. They answered that if they found the illegal act in the office, they would whistle blow the corporations which employ them.
The treatment of women employees has not shown progressed as compared with the case of U.S.A. Based on this survey we can safely conclude that the business ethics in Japan has been improved, but business persons somewhat make light of the human right and that so-called "money is all" attitude prevails in Japan. Hence we must perhaps learn from the ethics of the Edo period where employees were regarded as an important asset. The marketing strategy of Omi merchants can still be regarded as a good model to business persons today. They took care of the sellers, buyers and the community as important stakeholders. They ware the forerunners in regards as corporate social responsibility.
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