Occupational health nurses are specialist personnel responsible for medical care in companies and serve a company as well as individual employees in the workplace. The responsibility of an occupational health nurse is to work with and coordinate among various people working with employees regardless of the kind of work done. However, more than half of the 242 occupational health nurses surveyed in the 2001 investigation by the Japanese Nursing Association actually felt gaps in their needs, expected roles and evaluations when compared to people in other related kinds of work. Compared to general workers, occupational health nurses have narrower career experiences because of their specialty – that is to say, they have fewer opportunities to receive on the job training (O.J.T.) outside of medical techniques. Alternatively, some occupational health nurses are in company management positions. We examined the occupational health nurses in management positions and analyzed their job experiences and skill formation process they used to acquire the management capability that fits each organization.

Using secondary analysis of career research of forty occupational health nurses we found two distinct career patterns for occupational health nurses: the single-company pattern and the transitory worker pattern. We comparatively analyzed the similarities and differences in the two patterns based on spoken interviews with ten occupational health nurses serving as managers. As a result, we were able to clarify the career path of specialists within the internal labor market and specialists within the external labor market. We found that occupational health nurses with the capacity to serve as managers developed capabilities other than their specialty through O.J.T. experience. They were able to do this because they had relationships with various people in other kinds of work or related positions. We also found that such personnel were able to acquire the same successful career even the external labor market.

Comparing with the other developed countries, the gender wage differential is greater in Japan. One of the reasons is the promotion differentials between male and female that is called “the glass ceiling effect”. Using Keio Household Panel Survey data for 2004-2008 and Quantile regression model, the paper explored whether there is glass ceiling effect in Japan. In addition, the paper examined the glass ceiling effect by firm size in Japan.

The main conclusions are as follows. First, in all firms (small firms, middle-sized firms and large firms), comparing with the lower wage quantiles, the gender wage differential becomes widen toward the top of the wage distribution. It is shown that there is the glass ceiling effect in Japan.

Second, in the small firms, comparing the higher wage quantiles, the gender wage differential is greater at the lower wage quantiles. On the other hand, in the middle-sized firms and the large firms, comparing the lower wage quantiles, the gender wage differential is greater at the higher wage quantiles. It is found that there are differences of the glass ceiling effect by firm size.

Third, at the lower wage quantiles, the gender wage differential in Japan is litter than the other developed countries. On the other hand, at the higher wage quantiles, the gender wage differential in Japan is greater than the other developed countries. It is found that the gender wage differential in Japan increases throughout the wage distribution and accelerate in the upper. It is shown that the glass ceiling effect in Japan is remarkable than the other developed countries.

Professionals in the professional organization were a collection of individuals who came together to draw on common resources and support services but otherwise wanted to be left alone. However, the need for collaboration arose from the marketplace. Collaboration among these professionals was very much desirable, but there was a downside to it. If the professionals adapted too much to the organization, they would lose their specialized roles and power. Some of the management consulting firms, as an example of a new type of professional organization, were practicing collaboration-oriented human resource management (HRM), and the autonomous consultants were working in a collaborative manner. The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of collaboration-oriented HRM on the degree of professionalism of the individual who was working at the organization. A total of 145 consultants from seven management consulting firms completed a questionnaire concerning the relationship between the degree of HRM practices and their own professionalism. With regard to the results, factor analysis and a reliability test detected two interpretable factors of the HRM: “ the systems emphasizing qualitative appraisal” and “ the systems enhancing team recognition,” and four factors of professionalism: “autonomy,” “belief in public service,” “belief in self-regulation,” and “using the professional organization as a major referent.” Then a multiple regression analysis revealed that “the systems emphasizing qualitative appraisal” was the determinant of “professionalism” as a whole and “belief in public service,” and that “the systems enhancing team recognition” was one of the “belief in self-regulation.” Thus, the HRM practices made individuals engaged in a collaborative working style more professional, which then might result in greater organizational effectiveness.

This paper investigates the skill-transfer system in the context of the “municipal meister.”The institution of municipal meisters was established by a public organization; the aim is to facilitate the transfer of skill among highly skilled technicians and craftsman, with the goal of authorizing them. On the assumption that this institution would eventually develop “communities of practice,”we discuss whether this is an effective system for the transfer of skill.

In this study, 12 cases of the municipal meister system were investigated, and we analyzed the characteristics of the active cases. The result revealed that non-active cases did not evolve into developing communities of practice. In particular, some meisters entirely lacked opportunities to communicate between them. In contrast, some active cases encouraged communication between the meisters as well as between them and society. Additionally, in these cases, positive actions geared toward skill transfer were observed. The active cases manifested some features of communities of practice, which we considered to be the criteria of success.

Finally, we discuss the success factors of municipal meisters in developing communities of practice, and suggest some theoretical and practical implications.