Continuities and Changes in Social Systems of Production: The Cases of Japan, Germany, and the United States

Abstract

In twentieth-century capitalism, there have been several changes in perceptions about the relative effectiveness of specific management styles and work organizations (Boyer, 1991; Chandler, 1962, 1977, 1990; Piore and Sabel, 1984; Sabel, 1982). Changes in technology, relative prices, and consumer preferences have been instrumental in altering the perception as to why one form of management style and work practice is superior and should supplant existing forms (North, 1990). Economic actors not only defend specific forms of management and work practices as means of achieving particular economic outcomes and performances (Marglin, 1991), but they also attempt to borrow from other societies what they consider to be “best practices.”