Improving intra‐organizational communication: A lesson from Japanese management

Abstract

Organizational scholars have consistently noted that organizations in Japan generally possess more effective channels of intra‐organizational communication than comparable firms in the United States. This article attempts to explain how the Japanese have managed to create and maintain such effective systems of communication within their organizations. It is the general contention of this essay that Japanese organizations are characterized by effective systems of communication because specific aspects of the Japanese approach to management encourage and facilitate the exchange of information between organizational members.