142 2016, XIX, 2
Ekonomika a managemen
DOI: 10.15240/ ul/001/2016-2-010
In oduc ion
Japanese companies a e conside ed
a benchma k om a ious pe spec i es in he
ealm o business and managemen . Thei
o eign di ec in es men s (FDI) ha e been
conside able o e he las decades in Cen al
Eu ope. Mul ina ional En e p ises (MNEs) a e
by hei na u e p one o c oss-cul u al in e ac ion
(Rozkwi alska, 2010). This is especially
signi i can in he case o Japanese MNEs,
which hea ily ely on he use o expa ia es
o con ol o eign subsidia ies and implemen
o eign manage ial sys ems (Ha zing, 1999).
Ou side o Japan, hos coun y employees
in many Japanese subsidia ies in e ac wi h
Japanese expa ia es and managemen
eloca ion ac i i ies on a daily basis. Such
c oss-cul u al in e ac ion o en c ea es in e -
pe sonal ic ion, con l ic s and o he p oblems.
In he global con ex , hese con l ic s be ween
local employees and expa ia es in subsidia ies
a e ele an , as hey may impai he e i ciency
o he en i e o ganisa ion (Pudelko & Tenze ,
2011). Al hough s udies ocused on compa ison
o Eu opean and Asian cul u es ha e al eady
been published ecen ly, o ins ance Li e al.
(2016) deals wi h he Uni ed Kingdom and
China, o Linde (2015) in es iga es Ge man
expa ia es in Philippines, ecen compa ison
o a Cen al Eu opean coun y wi h Japan is
missing in he li e a u e.
One app oach o explain and analyse hese
con l ic s and he success o manage ial sys ems
is he applica ion o he cul u al di e ences
concep (Ayoko, Hä el, & Callan, 2002; Vaa a,
2003). Ano he s eam o li e a u e deals
wi h he p oblem om a Human Resou ces
Managemen pe spec i e (Pudelko, 2000). To
esol e expa ia ion-speci i c complica ions,
bo h app oaches s ess he impo ance o c oss-
cul u al awa eness aining p og ammes and
o e all suppo and assis ance o expa ia es
(Pudelko & Tenze , 2011). This awa eness
and suppo is o en aguely de i ned and lacks
analysis. E en hough bo h app oaches analyse
he deg ee o accep ance o a ious ools, hey
ocus only on he ools. Less a en ion is paid
o a wide pe spec i e ha possibly se es as
a de i ni i e amewo k o hese ools.
This discussion analyses he e ec
o Czech manage s’ cul u al alues on
he accep ance o he Toyo a P oduc ion
Sys em (TPS), a Japanese manu ac u ing
and manage ial amewo k and philosophy
(Like , 2004) sha ed by mos au omo i e
Japanese subsidia ies in he Czech Republic
and elsewhe e. I also examines he si ua ion
ela i e o he sa is ac ion and deg ee o con l ic
in Japanese MNEs in he Czech Republic
om bo h Czech and Japanese iewpoin s. In
doing so, i de e mines he ou come o Czech
and Japanese employees’ knowledge and
app ecia ion o he Toyo a P oduc ion Sys em
on co po a e pe o mance. Equally, i analyses
he amoun and se e i y o con l ic s be ween
local and expa ia e manage s. Mo eo e ,
i add esses he insu i cien esea ch on
pe o mance in Japanese MNEs in a speci i c
en i onmen as he e exis s li le li e a u e
ha e iews job-sa is ac ion, con l ic , and TPS
aining in he Czech Republic as a cul u ally
speci i c en i onmen (B une -Tho n on &
Bu eš, 2012).
1. Theo e ical Backg ound
This sec ion p esen s gene al amewo ks
de eloped in he a ea o c oss-cul u al
managemen and highligh s hose applied in
his s udy. Consequen ly, he main ideas and
p inciples o he TPS a e in oduced.
1.1 C oss-Cul u al F amewo ks
Hall (1959) in oduced h ee basic componen s
o comp ehend a ious aspec s o cul u es:
THE TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM
– CZECH AND NIPPON CULTURAL
PERSPECTIVES
Richa d B une -Tho n on, Michal Koža, Vladimí Bu eš
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monoch onic and polych onic ime o ien a ion,
p oxemics and high con ex and low con ex
cul u e. Monoch onic desc ibes a cul u e, which
ends o do one hing a a ime sequen ially. They
plan and schedule. In con as , polych onic
cul u es do hings simul aneously, and a e
ocused on an indi idual pe cep ion o ime.
Rega ding space, Hall di ided his dimension
in o ou dis ances: in ima e, pe sonal, social
and public. Va ious cul u es pe cei e space
di e en ly, and wha one cul u e pe cei es
as in ima e may be iewed as social space in
a di e en cul u e.
The Hampden-Tu ne and T ompenna s
(1998) model compa es cul u es h ough se en
bipola dimensions: Uni e salism/Pa icula ism,
Indi idualism/Collec i ism, Neu al/A ec i e,
Di use/Speci i c, Achie emen /Asc ip ion,
A i ude o Time, and A i ude o he En i onmen .
The Ho s ede (1983) Cul u al Dimensions
model, based on a se ies o su eys conduc ed
on IBM employees o iginally iden i i ed ou
dimensions o na ional cul u es: Powe Dis ance,
Unce ain y A oidance, Indi idualism, and
Masculini y-Feminini y. In la e esea ch, wo
addi ional alues ha e been added o his g oup:
Long-Te m s. Sho -Te m O ien a ion and
Indulgence/Res ain . Al hough o en c i icised
he Ho s ede model is equen ly ci ed (B une -
Tho n on & Bu eš, 2012). Resea ch (Be giel,
Be giel, & Upson, 2012; Kohun, Bu čik, &
Sko i a, 2012) indica es ha he alues e ol e
and he e o e do no ep esen cons an s o he
accu a e calcula ion o he dimensions he eby,
ende ing compa isons di i cul .
Based on he Ho s ede model, Kogu and
Singh (1988) de eloped he concep o cul u al
dis ance o exp ess cul u al di e ences and
cha ac e is ics on he choice o ma ke en y
in o eign di ec in es men s. The concep
o cul u al dis ance has been used in a ious
o he s udies such as, he measu emen o
he e i ciency o manage ial ne wo ks (Mane
& S e enson, 2001), knowledge ans e
(Hol b ügge & Be g, 2004), in e nalisa ion
p ocesses o i ms (Cla k & Pugh, 2001), MNE
pe o mance (Gómez-mejia & Palich, 1997), as
well as o gauge he le el o con l ic be ween
Japanese and wes e n companies (Pudelko &
Tenze , 2011). The la ge he cul u al dis ance
be ween wo coun ies sugges s he possibili y
o con l ic s be ween wo na ions wi hin one
en i y, as in he case o a Japanese subsidia y
in he Czech Republic. Al hough he e cu en ly
exis a numbe o me hodologies (Yeganeh,
2011; Ge schewski, 2013). This s udy u ilises
he Ya neh’s (2011) o mula. I accoun s
o cul u al asymme y, bo h nega i e and
posi i e alues; dimensions’ alignmen , does
no agg ega e opposing cul u al dimensions,
and weigh , cul u al dimensions ha e unequal
impo ance, hus ela i e weigh s a e ac o ed.
Yeganeh’s cul u al dis ance o mula o he
Ho s ede dimensions
(1)
whe e CDab ep esen s he cul u al dis ance
be ween coun ies a and b, a iables PDa, PDb
… UAa, UAb ep esen he Ho s ede cul u al
dimensions o each espec i e coun y.
The cul u al dis ance be ween he Czech
Republic and Japan based on Yegahen’s (2011)
o mula and using a da ase acqui ed om
Ha zing (2014) is -67.37. Kogu and Singh’s
dis ance index is 0.9. Figu e 1 compa es
hese esul s wi h o he coun ies. Kogu and
Singh’s dis ance index, X dis ance, indica es
ha he dis ance be ween he Czech Republic
and Japan esembles he cul u al dis ances
be ween he Czech Republic and Hunga y,
Russia, USA, and Aus ia. The Yeganeh’s
index, Y dis ance, demons a es ha o he
coun ies wi h a simila dis ance o he Czech
Republic as Japan a e Poland, Russia and
Spain. Howe e , I aly, Ge man, and F ance
a e coun ies wi h a ela i ely small cul u al
dis ance. The co ela ion be ween he Kogu
and Singh’s o mula and absolu e alues o
Yeganeh’s o mulae is 83.8%. The lines in he
g aph illus a e a heo e ical 100% co ela ion
be ween Yeganeh’s and Kogu and Singh’s
o mulae.
1.2 Toyo a P oduc ion Sys em
The TPS was o iginally c ea ed by a g oup o
enginee s in he 1950s as a se o manu ac u ing
p inciples and ools o he Toyo a Mo o
Company. I was de eloped as a sys em based
on employee implici know-how and common
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144 2016, XIX, 2
Ekonomika a managemen
knowledge. The ules a e based on he p emise
o sha e aci alues wi hin he g oup. Thus, o
unde s and he TPS, acknowledgemen o he
cul u al con ex wi hin he o ganisa ion, and
especially he wo king g oup is c ucial. F om he
manu ac u ing posi ion, he sys em uses a ious
common wi hin p oduc ion en i onmen s, such
as To al Quali y Managemen (Like , F uin, &
Adle , 1999), Kanban-based pull p oduc ion,
5S, Jus -in- ime p oduc ion, and o he s.
Ul ima ely, i s main pu pose is “ o elimina e
h ough imp o emen ac i i ies a ious kinds
o was e lying concealed wi hin a company”
(Monden, 2013). By hemsel es he ools do no
c ea e he TPS backbone bu a e jus one pa
o he whole sys em. A e s udying mo e han
40 Toyo a ac o ies in he USA, Eu ope and
Japan, Spea and Bowen (1999, p. 98) de i ne
hese ou ules:
1. How People Wo k – All wo k should be
speci i ed as o con en , sequence, iming
and ou come.
2. How People Connec – E e y cus ome -
supplie connec ion mus be di ec , and
he e mus be an unambiguous me hod o
ansmi eques s and ecei e esponses.
3. How he P oduc ion Line is Cons uc ed –
The pa hway o e e y p oduc and se ice
mus be simple and di ec .
4. How o Imp o e – Any imp o emen mus
be made in acco dance wi h he scien i i c
me hod, unde he guidance o a eache , a
he lowes possible le el in he o ganisa ion.
These ou ules p o ide a ounda ion
o c ea e, o ganise, and iew wo k. When
compa ed wi h o he ools, hese ules highligh
ha ue implemen a ion o hese ideas is
impossible wi hou a ho ough p ocess aimed
a bo h he ho izon al and e ical s uc u es o
he en e p ise.
O iginally a se o echniques and ools,
TPS g adually de eloped in o a deepe
philosophy known as The Toyo a Way (Like ,
Fig. 1: Plo ed cul u al dis ances
Sou ce: own
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Business Adminis a ion and Managemen
2004). Today, i is a sys em o manu ac u ing
as well as managemen p inciples used in
a ious indus ies ha include manu ac u ing
o medicine. Like (2004) iews he philosophy
as a concep ha consis s o ou main
componen s: Philosophy (Long-Te m Thinking),
P ocess (Elimina e Was e), People and
Pa ne s (Respec , Challenge and G ow Them),
and P oblem Sol ing (Con inuous Imp o emen
and Lea ning).
The Toyo a Way (TW) is shaped by
wo basic pilla s: Con inuous imp o emen
and Respec o people. In u n, hese wo
alue g oups encompass i e key p inciples:
Challenge, Kaizen (imp o emen ), Genchi
Genbu su (go and see), Respec and
Teamwo k (Toyo a, 2003). S udies e eal
ha when empi ically measu ed, hese i e
p inciples a e no s a is ically di e en om
each o he , as hey a e highly in e -co ela ed
a o he measu emen sys em used by Toyo a
o measu e he TW (Jayamaha, Wagne , G igg,
Campbell-Allen, & Ha ie, 2014, p. 2).
Like (2004) p esen s 14 p inciples ha
cons i u e he TW. His pe cep ion is based on
he 4-pilla model. The p inciples summa ised
a e as ollows:
1. Base you managemen decisions on
a long- e m philosophy, e en a he expense
o sho - e m i nancial goals.
2. C ea e a con inuous p ocess l ow o b ing
p oblems o he su ace.
3. Use ‘pull’ sys ems o a oid o e p oduc ion.
4. Le el ou he wo kload (wo k like he
o oise, no he ha e).
5. Build a cul u e o s opping o i x p oblems,
o ob ain quali y he i s ime.
6. S anda dised asks and p ocesses a e he
ounda ion o con inuous imp o emen and
employee empowe men .
7. Use isual con ols so no p oblems a e
hidden.
8. Use only eliable, ho oughly es ed
echnology ha se es you people and
p ocess.
9. G ow leade s who ho oughly unde s and
he wo k, li e he philosophy, and each i
o o he s.
10. De elop excep ional people and eams who
ollow you company’s philosophy.
11. Respec you ex ended ne wo k o pa ne s
and supplie s by challenging hem and
helping hem imp o e.
12. Go and see o you sel o ho oughly
unde s and he si ua ion.
13. Make decisions slowly by consensus,
ho oughly conside ing all op ions;
implemen decisions apidly.
14. Become a lea ning o ganisa ion h ough
elen less e l ec ion and con inuous
imp o emen .
2. P oblem Fo mula ion
The inc eased numbe o Japanese subsidia ies
in he Czech Republic indica es he impo ance
o hese companies o he Czech economy.
Thei pe o mance is based no only on
a mac o-en i onmen and in e na ional s a egy
o he o ganisa ion, bu on he e i ciency o
local ope a ions. Thus, i is c ucial o analyse
me hods o mi iga e possible ic ion and o
imp o e managemen e i cacy. The au ho s
ocus on wo main p oblem a eas.
The i s conside a ion is he cul u al i o
alues wi hin he Toyo a P oduc ion Sys em
and he cul u al alues o Czech manage s
esponsible o he implemen a ion o hese
managemen and manu ac u ing echniques
oge he wi h he Japanese expa ia es. The
TPS is o en used as a synonym o “lean
p oduc ion” (Fujimo o, 1999) and many
companies unde s and i as a p ocess o
imp o e pe o mance. The e exis Toyo a
Ins i u es in he USA and Thailand, whe ein
he ules and alues o he TW a e augh in
explici ashion. Such enues do exis in he
Czech en i onmen . The e o e, he i s se o
ques ions his s udy add esses is:
P io o implemen a ion, wi hou well-
de i ned TPS aining, does a na u al i o
alues inhe en o Czech manage s and
alues exis ?
Wi hou su i cien aining, is TPS
applicable wi hin a Czech wo k
en i onmen ?
The second a ea o esea ch is he ques ion
o usabili y o he TPS knowledge in e ms o
pe o mance imp o emen . Resea ch iden i i es
basic app oaches o imp o e he o e all
pe o mance o c oss-cul u al managemen :
cul u al awa eness, in e cul u al e ec i eness,
expe imen al o cogni i e c oss-cul u al
aining and language-managemen . The
c oss-cul u al aining does no au oma ically
p o ide success ul ou comes. I is o en
concluded wi hin an insu i cien ime- ame, o
in an inadequa e manne . The equi emen o
a success ul language-managemen s a egy
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146 2016, XIX, 2
Ekonomika a managemen
is a long- e m o ien ed e o . In he case o
Japanese companies wi h a la ge a io o
Japanese-only speake s, his e o is igno ed,
and in mos cases, he o i cial wo king language
is Japanese (Ha zing & Pudelko, 2013).
TPS could po en ially combine hese
wo app oaches, and se e as a “common
language” o bo h sides wi hin a c oss-cul u al
con l ic . In doing so, hus os e c oss-cul u al
awa eness, smoo hen daily ope a ions and
es ablish a basic pla o m o communica ion,
p oblem sol ing and he se ing o p io i ies.
On one side o he c oss-cul u al con l ic is he
local manage s’ posi ion. The local manage
becomes us a ed due o he cen alised
decision-making and lack o unde s anding.
The o he side o he con l ic consis s o he
Japanese expa ia es, who s uggle o exp ess
he easons o he beha iou o en ci ing
cul u al o language di e ences. Thus, he
second esea ch ques ion:
Do he ules and p inciples o TPS p o ide
a basic pla o m o comp ehension
be ween wo cul u es, and he e o e
imp o e he sa is ac ion o employees
and lowe he amoun o con l ic s?
Subsequen ly, h ee wo king hypo heses
a e es ed:
H1. Values inhe en o Japanese mana gemen
a e close o he alues p oposed by he
TPS han he alues inhe en o Czech
managemen .
H2. I a company has Czech managemen
ained in he a ea o TPS, he company
enjoys a lesse deg ee o con l ic be ween
Czech and Japanese managemen .
H3. I a company has Czech managemen
ained in he a ea o TPS, he company
ealises a highe le el o Czech employee
job sa is ac ion.
3. Me hodology
The p esen ed s udy is in ended o be in
conco dance wi h o he c oss-cul u al s udies.
The e o e, ins ead o plain analy ical s a is ical
da a p ocessing ha would no gua an ee
con o mi y in he gi en i eld o s udy, well-
es ablished c oss-cul u al me ics and
app oaches a e applied. Thus, he p esen ed
s udy ep esen s a mixed esea ch app oach
ha akes ad an age o bo h quan i a i e and
quali a i e aspec s o a esea ch design. The
hypo heses a e es ed using su ey da a. The
main ques ions a e cons uc ed o desc ibe
he esponden s’ alues ela i e o he TPS
pilla s and p inciples. A copy is ound in he
Appendix. TW pilla s and Like ’s 14 p inciples
a e hen compa ed and analysed. Ou o Like ’s
14 p inciples, six a e iden i i ed as echnical: 2,
3, 4, 5, 7 and 12. They ha e no been aken
in o accoun du ing he c ea ion o he su ey.
Two p inciples a e ca ego ised as co po a e
s a egy: 11 and 14. The emaining six p inciples
a e me ged oge he wi h obse a ions om
Spea and Bowen (1999). As a esul , i e
di e en alues a e iden i i ed as Long- e m
o ien a ion in hinking; Inno a ion pe cep ion;
Human Resou ces de elopmen ; Respec o
ules; and Respec o supe iso s.
The sel -assis ed ques ionnai e (SAQ)
consis s o 19 sho ques ions ela ed o cul u al
alues and nine speci i c o he esponden .
To quan i y he esponden ’s alues, seman ic
di e en ial scales, 5-scale Like scales and
single nume ic alue i elds a e used. Recen
esea ch demons a es ha a ious ypes
o scales p oduce di e en esul s (F ibo g,
Ma inussen, & Rosen inge, 2006). Excep
o he name o he company, posi ion and
commen s, op ional i elds used only o
s a is ical pu poses, none o he quali a i e da a
is collec ed. All ques ions used in he SAQs a e
buil in h ee languages, English, Czech, and
Japanese. Acciden al sampling and snowball
sampling me hods a e he p ima y echniques.
P io o dis ibu ion, which ook place in he
mid o 2014, a pilo - un was conduc ed. One
company wi h i e Czech and i e Japanese
manage s was con ac ed wi h he SAQ
dis ibu ed h ough he Human Resou ces
depa men . Following he ial, no majo
changes we e equi ed o he ques ionnai e.
The su ey was dis ibu ed using h ee
sepa a e channels scanned i les sen and
collec ed h ough email; online su ey h ough
a specialised pla o m; and physical dis ibu ion
o p in ed su eys. Email ecipien s we e
in o med on he su ey pu pose and p o ided
wi h wo URL links, one o he Czech and one o
he Japanese e sions.
Al hough dis ibu ion ep esen ed se en y-
nine en e p ise con ac s, mo e han one hi d o
esponden s, 35%, n = 45, did no e eal hei
co po a e name. A dis ibu ion lis is included in
he appendix. The su ey a ge ed bo h Czech
and Japanese manage s, which includes, plan ,
quali y, p oduc ion p ocess, main enance and
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Business Adminis a ion and Managemen
imp o emen manage s. Ou o one hund ed
wen y-nine esponses, 108 we e ele an ,
a eply a e o 82.9%. Al oge he , 45 esponses
we e ecei ed om Czech manage s and 63
esponses om hei Japanese coun e pa s.
Senio i y wi hin he en e p ise p esen s 7.2
yea s o Czech esponden s and 5.8 yea s o
he Japanese.
4. Resul s
4.1 Value-Rela ed Ques ions
Da a collec ed associa ed wi h he en ele an
ques ions we e summa ised wi h a e ages
o each espec i e alue calcula ed. Figu e
2 indica es he di e ence o each na ionali y
be ween i s a e age alue and he middle alue
used in he 5-poin Like scales and he 5-poin
seman ic di e en ial scales. The x-axis displays
he numbe o ques ions ha measu e he
esponden s’ alues: sec ion 1 wi h ques ions
1–6 and sec ion wo wi h ques ions 7–10. The
le y-axis indica es he a e age alues o
espec i e ques ion and na ion wi h da k g ey
o Czech and ligh g ey o Japanese.
This illus a ion displays he di e ence
be ween he wo g oups. Ques ions 1, 2, 5, 7,
8, and 9 de ia e mos om he medium alue.
Ques ions 3, 4, 6, and 10 a e he closes o
he medium. The la ges di e ences a e wi h
ques ions 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 10. Ques ions
one h ough six a e seman ic di e en ial scales,
ques ions se en h ough en a e 5-poin Like
scales.
4.2 Sa is ac ion-Rela ed Resul s
Bo h g oups a e sa is i ed wi h he numbe o
wo k-hou s. The o e all di e ence is d = 0.29.
Al hough Czech companies ha e a s anda d
8-hou long wo k day, many Japanese wo ke s
emain a wo k longe . O i cial s a is ics s a e ha
he a e age annual wo k- ime in Japan is 1,785
hou s, which is lowe han he Czech (OECD,
2014). This indica o howe e , conside s pa -
ime wo ke s ha includes 24.5% in 2006, mo e
han se en imes ha o he Czech Republic.
I is he e o e, di i cul o use his absolu e
numbe o compa ison. Acco ding o Fukuda
(2012), 28% o Japanese employees wo k
mo e han i y hou s pe week. This ende s
Japan in second place p eceded by Sou h
Ko ea (45%). The eason o his beha iou
is mo e complica ed han conscien iousness.
Ma sden (1999, p. 165–166) p oposes ha
his beha iou e l ec s he s ess on quali y, job
o a ion and skill de elopmen .
Bo h cul u al g oups exp ess sa is ac ion
wi h he mone a y ewa d (d = 0.42). Compa ed
wi h he numbe o wo k-hou s, Czech
manage s appea mo e sa is i ed wi h hei
sala ies. Japanese manage s indica e he
Fig. 2: Di e ences be ween a e age and middle alues
Sou ce: own
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148 2016, XIX, 2
Ekonomika a managemen
same le el o sa is ac ion as in he p e ious
ques ion. Al hough compensa ion s a egies
di e by company, Japanese expa s ecei e on
a e age a emune a ion package ha consis s
o a ious bonuses equal o 2.8 imes he sala y
o hos coun y employees a he same g ade
and posi ion (Wong & Hend y, 1999).
The e is dissa is ac ion wi h aining and
educa ion. The esul is mos no able wi h
Japanese manage s, wi h a mean alue o 3.02,
0.55 highe han hei Czech coun e pa s. The
ole o Japanese expa s in o eign coun ies is
o en wo- old (Delios & Bjo kman, 2000). The
p ima y ole is o con ol he ac i i ies o he
subsidia y o align wi h he goals o head o i ce.
The second is o unc ion as a knowledge base
o local employees. Se ing as a knowledge
sou ce lowe s he numbe o oppo uni ies o
u he o mal expa educa ion. As a esul , hey
i nd hemsel es unp epa ed o new challenges
when ab oad.
O e all, he le el o sa is ac ion o Czech
manage s is highe . This does no necessa ily
signi y ha Japanese wo ke s a e less sa is i ed
in o eign assignmen s han a home. Though
i is mos likely possible ha he wo kload,
in e pe sonal ela ionships and o e all
wo king condi ions in o eign coun ies a e
mo e demanding, he su ey did no explo e
he possible di e ences be ween Czech and
Japanese en i onmen s. Ne e heless, wha
may be concluded is ha he pe cep ion o
wo king condi ions be ween he wo g oups is
di e en .
4.3 Con l ic s-Rela ed Resul s
Ques ions we e cons uc ed wi h a 5-poin
Like scale wi hin a ange o 1 o “absolu ely
ue” and 5 o “absolu ely no ue”. The i s
ques ion measu es he numbe o con l ic s
be ween he esponden and he managemen
o he o he cul u e. The di e ence be ween he
wo g oups is la ge (d = 1.34).
The second ques ion measu es he same
issues as he p e ious bu wi h one di e ence.
I enqui es as o he gene al s a e o ela ions
be ween Japanese and Czech managemen .
The i ndings indica e ha Czech manage s
es ima e he ensions be ween he wo g oups
o be la ge han in-g oup con l ic s (d = 1.06).
The hi d ques ion measu es he di e ence
in con l ic pe cep ion. Japanese manage s
pe cei e he deg ee o con l ic s be ween hem
and he Czech ope a o s o be g ea e han he
Czech pe cep ion (d = 1.24).
One o he many de i ni ions o cul u e
desc ibes i as “ he me hod o sol ing p oblems”
(Schein, 1985). Acco ding o he esul s o he
ou h ques ion, Japanese manage s iew
p oblem esolu ion wi h he o he cul u e as
mo e e ec i e, han hei Czech colleagues
(d = 0.68).
4.4 Tes ing o Hypo heses
H1: Values inhe en o Japanese managemen
a e close o he alues p oposed by he TPS
han he alues inhe en o Czech managemen .
Ou o he en ques ions ha measu e
alues iden i i ed as ela i e o TPS, ou we e
iden i i ed in con adic ion o expec a ions.
This sugges s ha Czech manage s exhibi ed
cha ac e is ics close o alues expec ed o
Japanese manage s. Fou ques ions me
expec a ions, and wo ques ions p oduced
unanimous esul s. Table 1 summa ises he
di e ences o each measu ed a iable, and
esul s o ques ions connec ed wi h hese
a iables. Thus, he hypo hesis H1 is e u ed.
A posi i e in ege indica es ha he
di e ence is in acco dance wi h expec a ions.
A nega i e, ha he di e ence con adic s
expec a ions. Ze o indica es ha he di e ence
Fi s ques ion Second ques ion Sum
Long e m -0.38 0.29 -0.09
Inno a ion pe cep ion 0.30 -0.33 -0.03
Supe iso espec -0.42 0.22 -0.20
HR de elopmen -0.24 0.00 -0.24
Rules espec 0.11 0.00 0.11
Sou ce: own
Tab. 1: O e iew o measu ed alues and a iables
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149
2, XIX, 2016
Business Adminis a ion and Managemen
is insigni i can . The sum o ou ou o he
i e a iables is nega i e as well as he o al
sum o all a iables (-0.45). This does no
necessa ily sugges ha he hypo hesis is
unambiguously denied. To do so, he a iables
would need espec i e weigh ing based on
mul iple obse a ions in mul iple en i onmen s.
The ac ual ele ance o hese a iables o TPS
is unknown as no o he quan i ying esea ch
has been conduc ed. Hence i is impossible o
clea ly answe his issue. None heless, o each
measu ed a iable, he e exis con adic ions.
H2: I he company suppo s TPS aining
o Czech managemen , he company enjoys
a lesse deg ee o con l ic be ween Czech and
Japanese managemen .
To assess he second hypo hesis, TPS-
ela ed aining o each employee is di ided
in o h ee g oups. G oup “0” consis s o
employees ha did no ecei e any o mal
o in o mal aining. Employees in g oup “1”
ha e no ed ha hey ecei ed some aining.
To measu e he deg ee o con l ic , esul s o
he i s con l ic - ela ed ques ion we e used:
he e exis many con l ic s be ween you and
managemen o o he han you own na ion.
Findings a e ound in able 2.
As he able indica es, he e exis s minimal
di e ence in he amoun o con l ic be ween
Czech manage s wi h o wi hou o mal TPS
aining (0.11). The di e ence be ween Czech
manage s wi h o wi hou in o mal aining
is la ge (0.27). In he case o Japanese
manage s, he di e ences a e 0.29 o o mal
aining and 0.44 o in o mal aining. Thus, he
hypo hesis H2 is e u ed.
I appea s ha wi h inc eased aining, he
deg ee o con l ic ises, he lowe he numbe ,
he highe he pe cep ion o con l ic .
O i cial TPS aining Non-o i cial TPS aining
Le el
o aining
Czech (n) Japanese (n) Czech (n) Japanese (n)
04.03 32 2.76 46 4.18 17 2.86 37
13.92 13 2.47 17 3.89 28 2.42 26
Sou ce: own
Fo mal TPS aining In o mal TPS aining
Wo k hou s Czech Japanese Czech Japanese
02.22 2.78 2.06 2.59
12.69 2.29 2.54 2.73
T aining Czech Japanese Czech Japanese
02.22 2.76 2.41 2.68
12.23 2.35 2.11 2.62
Sala y Czech Japanese Czech Japanese
02.66 3.11 2.71 2.95
12.00 2.76 2.32 3.12
O e all Czech Japanese Czech Japanese
02.13 2.50 2.24 2.35
12.08 2.29 2.04 2.58
Sou ce: own
Tab. 2: A e age con l ic s di ided by le el o TPS aining
Tab. 3: A e age job sa is ac ion by le el o TPS aining
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150 2016, XIX, 2
Ekonomika a managemen
H3: I a company p omo es Czech
managemen aining on he TPS, he company
ealises a highe le el o Czech managemen
job sa is ac ion.
Hypo hesis H3 was assessed in a simila
manne as hypo hesis H2. Fi s , wo g oups o
he TPS- ela ed aining we e iden i i ed wi h “0”
o no aining and “1” o a leas some aining.
Based on hese g oups, sa is ac ion o all ou
sub-ques ions was a e aged sepa a ely: Wo k
hou s, Sala y, T aining and O e all Sa is ac ion.
A lowe numbe signi i es highe sa is ac ion and
ice e sa. Resul s a e summa ised in able 3.
Czech manage s wi h o mal o in o mal
TPS aining display lowe sa is ac ion wi h
he leng h o wo k hou s. Fo mal TPS aining
does no appea o ha e any impac on he le el
o sa is ac ion ela ed o aining. Howe e ,
Czech manage s who expe ienced in o mal
TPS a e highe sa is ac ion le els. Manage s
wi h bo h o mal and in o mal aining indica e
a highe sa is ac ion wi h sala y. O e all
sa is ac ion le els o Czech manage s speci y
a weak posi i e co ela ion in ha manage s
wi h any ype o aining a e mo e sa is i ed
han manage s wi hou . Ne e heless, he
hypo hesis H3 is e u ed.
Al hough Japanese manage s exhibi
simila ends wi hin he sa is ac ion subg oups,
he esul s a e di e en . Fo example, Japanese
employees wi h o mal aining indica e
highe sa is ac ion wi h wo k hou s. Japanese
employees wi h in o mal aining demons a e
an opposi e end. Fo mal aining associa es
wi h highe sa is ac ion le els wi h aining,
sala y, and inclusi e app o al. On he o he
hand, employees wi h in o mal aining exhibi
an indi e ence o aining sa is ac ion, as well
as a lowe sa is ac ion in bo h sala y and o e all
con en men .
5. Discussion
5.1 Values
Resul s o ques ion 1 e eal a di e ence
be ween he wo g oups (d = 0.33). In addi ion,
he alues con adic he expec a ions se by he
li e a u e e iew. Acco ding o Ho s ede (2010),
Japan’s highe unce ain y index, 92 compa ed
wi h 74 o he Czech Republic, implies ha
Japanese manage s ha e a endency o
a oid isk and p e e o u ilise well-es ablished
me hods and echnologies. I is easible ha
Japanese manage s see he impo ance o
new echnology as some hing mo e c ucial in
he con ex o o eign subsidia ies as a means
o imp o e s uc u e and ules wi hin an
o ganisa ion (Ca don & Ma shall, 2008).
The esul s o he second ques ion a e
consis en wi h he li e a u e e iew (Like ,
2004). The Czech manage s’ a e age is 1.87;
Japanese manage s’ a e age is 2.17, hus
highe by 0.31, and he e o e mo e inclined
owa ds he second s a emen . In he ins ance
ha a p ocess does no p oduce he expec ed
esul s, Czech esponden s end o inno a e o
modi y he p ocess and adjus he pa ame e s.
Al e na i ely, hei Japanese coun e pa s
deploy known solu ions unde he p emise ha
changes equi e ime o ake e ec .
Czech manage s sco e highe alues han
he Japanese esponden s (d = 0.23), ha in
u n signi i es ha he esponsibili y o possible
misunde s andings esides wi h he supe iso .
This esul con i ms p e ious esea ch ha
he Japanese o m a socie y wi h s ong
e ical connec ions. In he wo k en i onmen ,
supe io s a e iewed as men o s (senpai),
who pa e nalis ically ca e o he younge
inexpe ienced employee (Lincoln, Ke bo, &
Wi enhagen, 1995, p. 428).
Responses associa ed wi h he ou h
ques ion accoun o a di e ence less han 0.03
poin s. Howe e , he a iance o his ques ion
was he highes among all alue- ela ed
ques ions wi h 1.35 compa ed o an a e age
a iance o 0.93. Goal-se ing depends on he
employee’s posi ion and subsequen ly di e s
o a manual wo ke and a manage . The e o e,
expec a ions a e ela ed o he ole and le el o
esponsibili ies necessi a ed by he ac ual job.
Wi h espec o he i h ques ion, Czech
manage s sco e highe han hei Japanese
coun e pa s, 3.80 o 3.56 espec i ely. I
indica es ha i is mo e impo an o hi e and
de elop manage s om in e nal esou ces
han ex e nal. This i nding con adic s
expec a ions. Con a y o he Czech Republic,
Japan is a coo dina ed ma ke economy wi h
pa icipa i e labou ela ions, skill o ma ion
based on in ensi e aining and a s ong in e nal
labou ma ke (Olco , 2009, p. 19). Mo eo e ,
Japan is epudia ed o i s “implici code o
es ain on he pa o la ge i ms in he hi ing
o employees, pa icula ly skilled ones, om
o he i ms” (Olco , 2009, p. 97).
In he six h ques ion, Czech manage s
allied highe han hei Japanese coun e pa s
wi h 3.30 e sus 2.87, a di e ence o 0.43.
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