Work, Mobility, and Participation

One of the two or three most significant comparative studies in sociology in the past decade. . . . It is of great importance for people working not only in the study of Japan, but also in the general study of comparative cultures and industrial systems. It is a book that ought to be read by all social scientists as a model of comparative analysis and by all who are interested in the nature of contemporary societies.—Joseph R. Gusfield   A comparative study of American and Japanese industry, focusing on job mobility, the relationship between employer and employee in the decision-making process, and the work ethic. The analysis is based on case studies of labor conditions in Detroit and Yokohama. Cole stresses the influence of differing social, political and economic conditions on the workplace in the two countries. He closes with a listing of labor practice areas in which the U.S. might learn from the Japanese.—Choice   With this volume Robert E. Cole makes another important contribution to our understanding of Japanese organizational behavior. It is surely a timely work, as many in the West are attempting to identify the sources of Japan’s economic success…. It should be required reading for those interested in the Japanese society as well as for those who are concerned with the problem of commitment and participation.—Journal of Economic History   Trends, traditions, and activities are emphasized in this comparative study…. A variety of data…. Contributes to the comprehensiveness of the study. The explanations of methodology are clear and the author’s skillful integration of a broad array of related research is elegant as well as scholarly.—Library Journal   This book is well crafted. The theses are carefully developed, the data are diligently analyzed, and the interpretations are conservatively drawn. It is of special value for its presentation of works done by Japanese sociologists, as well as its refinements and extensions to earlier works done by James Abegglen, Ronald Dore, Ezra Vogel, and Robert Cole himself.—Sociology