Japanese Industry in the American South

by Choong Soon Kim

Overview

Japanese Industry in the American South is an anthropological case study that describes whole industrial cultures found in three Japanese industrial plants in the American South. This book searches for answers to these questions: Why are Japanese industries coming to the American South? To what extent does Japan industrial management in the American South replicate the industrial relations model used in the home plants in Japan? What are the reactions of Americans toward the Japanese expatriates? At the same time, the book looks at the profound impact that the Japanese have had on Southerners.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781136665820
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/18/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	222
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Choong Soon Kim is University Faculty Scholar and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

Table of Contents

Introduction; Chapter 1 The South and Selling of the South; Chapter 2 Southern Incentives and Japanese Investment; Chapter 3 Myth and Reality of Japanese Industry in the South; Chapter 4 Industrial Relations of Japanese Industry; Chapter 5 Response of Southerners to the Japanese Challenges; Chapter 6 The Ethnographer’s View of Japanese Industry in the South;

Editorial Reviews

Kim (anthropology, U. of Tennessee-Martin) examines the cultures in three Japanese industrial plants to investigate why Japanese industries are coming to the southern US, to what extent they replicate the industrial relations used in Japan, and the reactions of Americans toward the Japanese expatriates. He challenges many American assumptions about how much and how little the Japanese know. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"I recommend this book to anyone interested in Japanese business practices . . . well worth the time." — New Asia Review
"The book illuminates important aspects of the much-heralded globalization of business through examining the complicated interaction and mutual adaptation of two different cultures both within several companies and in the broader community... Kim raises significant issues about the role and malleability of culture in business." — Southern Cultures
"Choong Kim's study fascinates by its inside view of the interaction of Japanese industry and Tennessee culture. His case study's relevance ranges from anthropology to total quality management." — James Peacock, Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
"I recommend this book to anyone interested in Japanese business practices. ... it will give the reader a taste of a Korean anthropologist's perspective." — George B. Graen, New Asia Review
"Kim debunks the myths surrounding Japanese firms and Southern workers." — Business Library Review

From the Publisher