Inside a Japanese Transplant

Modern Japanese management practices were investigated by a hidden participant/observation work experience in a Japanese automobile transplant over a 6-month period. Evidence of worker resistance emerged in the form of sabotage, protest, agitation, and confrontation. Results of these observations provide insight concerning individual versus collective action and spontaneous versus planned resistance. These findings question the successful transference of the Japanese model. The data failed to support the contention that participation schemes increase worker control. Finally, on the basis of the present study, the assumption that decentralized authority structures increase worker autonomy must be questioned.