Abstract
This study aims to identify, based on a questionnaire survey conducted on personnel managers in the Japanese pharmaceutical industry, the systems that have been and are being introduced for Human Resource Management (HRM) in Japanese companies. Special emphasis is placed on understanding how HRM reform has progressed and what are the basic objectives of such reform.
Analysis revealed a commonly observed HRM development pattern that begins with Seniority Pay, and moves to a Personnel Grade System and Job Ability Pay, Management by Objectives, and finally to Annual Salary. All companies are positioned in this development pattern depending on the type of HRM system that was most recently introduced in the company. It is also observed that even if a certain new HRM system is introduced in a company, it does not necessarily mean that other systems that have been adopted by the company are abolished. Therefore, different HRM systems coexist and are employed in combination.
Further statistical analysis proves that difficulty in measuring employees'job performance leads the companies to the development of new evaluation methods such as Management by Objectives. This implies that the main purposes of recent reforms of personnel systems in Japanese companies are not only to measure employees' job performance more precisely but also to increase the imparity and fairness in appraisal with employees' consent.
Companies treat Job Pay and Work Pay independently of the sequential pattern of HRM introduction. It appears rather that these pay systems are aimed to improve the efficiency of management sectors that are currently faced with the problem of an excess workforce and are dealing with it by applying a stricter job evaluation.
