ENT OF THE ADVANTAGES OF A PARTICULAR COURSE OF ACTION WITH YOUR COMPANYIT MAY SEEM TO YOU THAT IT TAKES FOREVER TO GET A DECISION, BUT ONCE THAT DECISION HASBEEN MADE THAT JAPANESE COMPANY WILL MOVE VERY RAPIDLY INDEED TO IMPLEMENT IT, ANDTHE SPEED OF THIS PROCESS MAY ASTOUND YOU. MOST WESTERNERS HAVE HEARD OF THE "PATERNALISM" THAT EXISTS IN JAPANESE COMPANIES. ITMAY BE USEFUL TO EXPLAIN ITS ORIGINS, PARTICULARLY AS YOU MAY BE APPROACHING A NUMBEROF DIFFERENT LEVELS OF MANAGEMENT WITHIN THE SAME JAPANESE COMPANY OR GROUP OFCOMPANIES, AND SOME OF THESE "PATERNALISTIC" ATTITUDES WILL UNDOUBTEDLY BETRANSFERRED-AS PART OF A MANAGEMENT ATTITUDE-TO WHATEVER JAPANESE COLLABORATIVEPROGRAM IS EXECUTED WITH YOUR COMPANY IN THE U.S. PATERNALISM HAS ITS ROOTS IN THE OYABUN-KOBUN RELATIONSHIP IN THE TIGHTLY CONSTRICTEDSOCIETY OF JAPAN. IT'S NOT SIMPLY A CASE OF A FEUDAL LORD EXPECTING OBEDIENCE FROM AVASSAL, BUT IT'S ALSO A CASE OF THE OBLIGATIONS WHICH THE FEUDAL LORD UNDERTAKES ONBEHALF OF THE VASSAL, THAT IS TO SAY, TO SEE TO HIS ECONOMIC WELL-BEING, PHYSICALPROTECTION, ETC. IT'S A LOYALTY BETWEEN PEOPLE THAT GOES BOTH WAYS. PART OF THE CEMENT THAT BINDS JAPANESE SOCIETY TOGETHER IS THE INCREDIBLY INTERLOCKINGSYSTEM OF OBLIGATIONS VARIOUSLY CALLED ON AND GIRI. THESE INVOLVE THE DOING OF MUTUALFAVORS BETWEEN PEOPLE THAT MUST BE REPAID WITH MATHEMATICAL EQUIVALENCE. WHENPATERNALISM IS MIXED WITH THE OYABUN-KOBUN RELATIONSHIP, AND THIS SYSTEM OF ON-GIRIOBLIGATIONS IS LAID ON TOP, WE HAVE AN UNBELIEVABLY COMPLEX INTERWEAVING THATRELATES TO ABOUT EVERY LEVEL OF LIFE IN JAPAN. BECAUSE THE SOCIETY IS SO TIGHTLYSTRICTURED, A CODIFIED SYSTEM OF MUTUAL OBLIGATIONS WAS NECESSARY. THESE OBLIGATIONSEXTEND NOT ONLY BETWEEN PERSONS BUT BETWEEN SMALL COMPANIES AND LARGE COMPANIES,BETWEEN CORPORATIONS AND THE VARIOUS MINISTRIES OF THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT AND THEFEELING THAT INDIVIDUALS OR CORPORATIONS HAVE TOWARD JAPAN AS A WHOLE. PART OF THISATTITUDE IS WHAT H...
