Scientific Management Movements in Pre-War Japan

Satoshi Sasaki

doi:10.5029/jrbh1984.4.50

Satoshi Sasaki

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JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

1988 Volume 4 Pages 50-76

DOI https://doi.org/10.5029/jrbh1984.4.50

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Published: March 15, 1988 Received: - Available on J-STAGE: June 28, 2010 Accepted: - Advance online publication: - Revised: -
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Date of correction: June 28, 2010 Reason for correction: - Correction: CITATION Details: Right : 1.Juichi Nakase,“Kagakuteki kanriho donyu no Nihonteki toku shitsu”(Introduction of scientific management into Japan-its characteristics),in Toshikazu Imai and Takanobu Yamashita,ed.,Gendai kigyo no kanri kozo(The Management Structure of Modern Industry),Tokyo:Mineruva Shobo,1979;Toshiaki Chokki,“Kagakuteki kanriho no donyu”(Introduction of Scientific Management),in Keiichiro Nakagawa,ed.,Nihon keieishi no kiso chishiki(The Basics of Business History in Japan),Tokyo:Yuhikaku1974;Toshiaki Chokki,“Teira shisutemu no donyu”(Introduction of the Taylor System),in Yasuo Mishima and Shigeaki Yasuoka,ed.,Nihon keieishi o manabu(Studies in Business History in Japan),Vol.II,Tokyo:Yuhikaku,1976; Tetsuro Nakaoka,“Senchu sengo no kagakuteki kanri undo I:Nihon Noritsu Kyokai to Nikka Giren no katsudo ni sotte”(The Wartime and Postwar Scientific Management Movement I:In View of the Activities of the Japanese Management Association and the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers),Keizai zasshi(The Economics Journal),vol.82,no.1,1981;Eisuke Daito,“Industrial Training and Factory Management in Japan,1900-1930,”presented at the Conference on Business History,Tokyo,March20-22,1981.
2.In this article,I will discuss mainly the Japanese Industrial Club and the Japanese Economic Federation,which,among all economic organizations,had a strong influence on the economic and industrial policies of the Japanese government.
3.Okiiye Yamashita,“On the Method of Rolling Stock Repair at the Japanese National Railways,”Proceedings of the World Engineering Congress,vol.XVI,World Engineering Congress,1981.Recently,Eisuke Daito has given a clear and detailed analysis of the same subject.See Eisuke Daito,“Industrial Training,”pp.11-16.
4.Koichiro Imano,“Kure Kaigun Kosyo ni miru kagakuteki kanri no aumi”(4)(Introduction of scientific management into Kure Naval Dockyard),in IE vol.17,no.9,Japanese Management Association,1975,p.91.
5.Takuo Godo,“On Some Experiments in Scientific Management of Machine Shops,”Proceedings of the World Engineering Congress,vol.XXXVIII,1931.
6.Nihon Denki Kabushiki Kaisha,ed.,Nihon Denki Kabushiki Gaisha nanajunen shi(Seventy years of the Nihon Electric Company),Tokyo:Nihon Denki Kabushiki Kaisha,1972,pp.61-67.
7.Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha,ed.,Kengyo kaiko(Remembrances of establishing enterprises),Tokyo:Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha,1951,pp.64-100,339-343,368-370.
8.Kabushiki Kaisha Niigata Tekkojo,ed.,Niigata Tekkojo nanajunen shi(Seventy years of the Niigata Ironworks),Tokyo Kabushiki Kaisha Niigata Tekkojo,1968,pp.55-57,170-171.
9.Shokichi Miyazaki,“Kosaku kikai o tsukutta hitobito sono7:Takeo Toshisuke”(People who created industrial machines,series7:Toshisuke Takeo),Kikai gijutsu(Industrial technology),vol.29,no.6,pp.83-84.
10.Yasukawa Denki Seisakujo,ed.,Yasukawa Denki no yonju nen (Forty years of Yasukawa Electric),Tokyo:Yasukawa Denki Seisakujo,1965,pp.2,53-54.
11.Kabushiki Kaisha Ikegai Tekkojo,ed.Ikegai Tekkojo gojunen shi(Fifty Years of the Ikegai Ironworks),Tokyo:Kabushiki Kaisha Ikegai Tekkojo,1931,pp.15-18.
12.Kurashiki Boseki Kabushiki Kaisha,ed.,Kaiko rokuju go nen(Remembrances of sixty-five years).Tokyo:Kurashiki Boseki Kabushiki Kaisha,1943,pp.278-279.
13.Muto Sanji Zenshu Kankokai,ed.,Muto Sanji Zenshu(Complete works of Sanji Muto),Vol.II.Tokyo:Shinjusha,1964.p.31:Romu Kanri Shiryo Hensankai,ed.,Waga kuni romu kanri shi no ichi yoso:Kanebo ni okeru romu kanri no hensen(An aspect of labor management in Japan:History of labor management at Kanebo).Tokyo:Romu Kanri Shiryo Hensankai,1970,pp.53-60.
14.Toyo Boseki Kabushiki Kaisha,ed.,Toyo Boseki nanaju nen shi(Seventy years of Toyo Boseki).Tokyo:Toyo Boseki Kabushiki Kaisha,1953,pp.179-201.
15.Nisshin Boseki Kabushiki Kaisha,ed.,Nisshin Boseki rokuju nen shi(Sixty years of Nisshin Boseki).Tokyo:Nisshin Boseki Kabushiki Kaisha,1959,pp.361-369.
16.Beginning in1920,Sanji Muto advocated“spiritual operation.”It is not clear whether he had heard about F.W.Taylor's“spiritual revolution,”but his ideas included the following:1)Superiors inspire their subordinates by“spiritualizing”their own thoughts and deeds;2)If“spiritualization”is complete,a noble“Kanebo temperament”will be born;3)Supervision and control should betempered;4)Subordinates may report on superiors'“unspiritual conduct.”Romu Kanri Shiryo Hensankai,Waga kuni romu,p.55.
17.Noshomusho Komukyoku,ed.,Shokogyo ni kansuru shisetsu(Commercial and industrial policies).Tokyo:Noshomusho,1916,pp.110-111.
18.Ibid.,p.11.
19.Concerning the number of trainees who went abroad,see the reports in Ibid.,pp.161-165.Arthur Shadwell,Industrial Efficiency:a comparative study of industrial life in England,Germany and America,London,1913.
20.In 1919,Arthur Shadwell's Industrial Efficiency:a comparative study of industrial life in England,Germany and America,London,1913,was translated by Umehiko Minakami,the part-time employee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce,and published by Kokusai Jihosha as Obei kogyo noritsu:Ei Bei Doku kokuminsei to no kankei.K.Hathaway's article was also translated partly as“Kojo kanri ni tsuite”in Noshomusho Komukyoku,ed.,Kogyo chosa iho,vol.I,no.1(1923),pp.297-314.
21.Noshomusho Komukyoku,ed.,Shuyo orimono no kogyo noritsu ni kansuru chosa(Research concerning industrial efficiency in representative textile production),1921.
22.Ibid.,p.5.
23.Ibid.,pp.5-8.
24.Noshomusho Komukyoku,ed.,“Habutae kojo ni okeru seisan noritsu oyobi sonshitsu jikan ni kansuru chosa”(Research concerning productivity and time loss at Habutae silk factories),Kogyo chosa iho,vol.V,no.3(1927).
25.The content of this research was:1)productivity per hour and per day;2)time loss;3)relationship between temperature/humidity and work efficiency;4)relationship between the change of light intensity and work efficiency;5)workers'fatigue level.
26.Ibid.,pp.115-115.
27.Ibid.,p.116.
28.Shokosho Komukyoku Kogyoka,ed.,“Kakushu orimono kojo ni okeru seisan noritsu chosa hokoku”(Research on productivity at various weaving factories),Kogyo chosa iho,vol.5,no.3(1927).
29.Ibid.,p.19.
30.The research content was:Section,I,Metal materials;Section II,Non-metal materials;Section III,Electrical machines and instru ments;Section IV,Other machines and instruments in general.See Eisuke Nagata,“Kogyohin kikaku toitsu jigyo no gaiyo”(Outline of policies to standardize industrial products),Kogyo chosa iho,vol I,no.1(1923),pp.13-17.Nagata was an engineer and official of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce.
31.The International Federation of the National Standardizing Association was founded in 1928.
32.The research was divided into the following areas:1)trading;2)finance;3)industry(general policies);4)industry(special industries);5)transportation.See:Nihon Kogyo Kurabu Ju-ichi Nen Kai,ed.,Ei Bei homon jitsugyodan nisshi(Business groups's journal during its trip to England and America),1926,pp.20-26.Headed by Takuma Dan,the managing director of the Mitsui&Company,the group was composed of 23 members,all of whom were leading figures in Japan's business world at that time.Among them was Yukinori Hoshino,who was the first Japanese translator of F.W.Taylor's works.
33.Ibid.,p.612.
34.The opinion contained the following ten sections:1)Merger and rearrangement of business;2)Improvement of the Chamber of Commerce;3)Cultivation of business morality;4)Strengthening of the Sino-Japanese relationship;5)Promotion of vocational education;6)Training of able personnel;7)Service to public undertakings;8)Study of factory management;9)True meaning of“labor-management cooperation”; and10)Repletion of communication network.(Ibid.,pp.582-590).
35.Ibid.,pp.588-589.
36.Nihon Keizai Rengokai,Dai yon kai hokoku(The fourth report).1926,pp.83-84;Nihon Kogyo Kurabu,Kaiho dai juichi go(Bulletin,no.11),1926,pp.163-164.
37.The applicants were:Japanese Economic Federation,Japanese Industrial Club,Koseikai,Mitsui Mining Company,Association of the Imperial Railways,Zen'ichi Takiya,Nagoya Chamber of Commerce,Sumitomo Bank,Yokohama Industrial Association,and Chokuro Kadono of the Okura&Co.
38.Nihon Kogyo Kurabu,Kaiho II,p.163.
39.The conference was held from October14to16,1925.Eleven countries including Belgium,England,America and Italy attended.Addressed were the problems of applying scientific management to general affairs,production,sales,office work,public undertakings and agriculture.The participants' reports were published as“Congres International de l'Organisation Scientifique du Travail.”See Nihon Keizai Rengokai,Dai yon kai,p.85.
40.Teijiro Ueda,Kokusai keizai kaigi to sono mondai(International conferences and their problems).Tokyo:Dobunkan,1927,pp.18-32.Kokusai Renmei Kyokai,ed.,Kokusai keizai kaigi no giketsu (Resolutions of the International Economic Conference).Tokyo:Kokusai Renmei Kyokai,1928,pp.6-8.
41.Koseikai,ed.,Kosei(Industrial policies).May1926,p.45.
42.Ibid.
43.Kokusai Rengo Kyokai,Kokusai keizai,pp.118-119.
44.Nihon Keizai Rengokai&Nihon Kogyo Kurabu,eds.,Kokusai keizai kaigi sanretsu san daihyo shotai bansan sekijo sokkiroku(Stenographic record of the dinner given in honor of the three representatives who attended the International Economic Conference).1927,p.16.
45.Nihon Kogyo Kurabu nai Bankoku Kogyo Kaigi Jimusho,ed.,Bankoku kogyo kaigi hokoku(Proceedings of the World Engineering Congress).Tokyo:Nihon Kogyo Kurabu nai Bankoku Kogyo Kaigi Jimusho,1931,p.29.
46.The telegram read:(Ibid.p.1)
47.On May 22,1925,the Chief of the Industrial Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry(the Ministry of Commerce and Agriculture was renamed in April,1925)sent a letter to the Japanese Industrial Club requesting that it submit an opinion on opening an international conference in Japan.On June6,after deliberation by its board members,the Japanese Industrial Club replied that such a conference would“provide an opportune moment to advertise the present conditions of Japanese industry,receive knowledge from the other countries of the world,deepen mutual understanding with foreign visitors while exchanging good wishes with them,help Japanese industry gather momentum for development,and foster friendly relations with foreign countries.See Nihon Kogyo Kurabu,Kaiho II,1916,p.166.
48.The Engineering Association consisted of the following12bodies:Nihon Kogyokai,Nihon Tekkogyokai,Doboku Gakkai,Kahei Gakkai,Zosen Kyokai,Kogyo Gakkai,Eisei Kogyo Kyokai,Denki Gakkai,Denshin Denwa Gakkai,Kikai Gakkai,and Shomei Gakkai.Masao Kamo,Professor of Tokyo Imperial University,was the representative of the Kikai Gakkai(Mechanical Association).
49.For the outline of the first meeting of the preparatory committee,see Bankoku Kogyo Kaigi Junbi Iinkai,ed.Bankoku Kogyo Kaigi Junbi Iinkai giji sokkiroku(Stenographic record of the proceedings of the preparatory committee for the World Engineering Congress).Tokyo:Bankoku Kogyo Kaigi Junbi Iinkai,1927.
50.Osakafu,Osakashi,Osaka Shoko Kaigisho,eds.,Sangyo Gorika ni kansuru koenshu(Lectures on industrial rationalization),1929,p.2.
51.Ibid.Also see:Kobe Shoko Kaigisho,ed.,Bankoku Kogyo Kaigi kinen koenroku(Lectures commemorating the World Engineering Congress),1929.
52.Nikkan Kogyo Shimbunsha,Bankoku Kogyo Kaigi Sekai Doryoku Kaigi zen kiroku(Complete record of the World Engineering Congress and the World Power Conference),1930,p.50.
53.Nihon Kogyo Kurabu,ed.,Nihon Kogyo Kurabu niju-go nen shi(25years of the Japanese Industrial Club),1943,vol.I,p.98.
54.See Rinji Sangyo Gorikyoku monjo(Archives of the Ad Hoc Industrial Rationalization Bureau),1932.
55.Nihon Noritsu Kyokai,ed.,Keiei to tomoni:Nihon Noritsu Kyokai konsarutingu gijutsu yonju nen(History of management:40years of the consulting technology of the Japanese Management Association).Tokyo:Nihon Noritsu Kyokai,1982,p.25.
56.Ibid.,pp.27-29.
57.Nihon Shoko Kaigisho,ed.Sangyo gorika(Industrial rationalization),1931,vol.3,p.91.

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