There is an increasing need, because of continuous globalisation, to learn
systematically from those management practices regarded as the most
successful, no matter where in the world they originated (see, e.g., Levitt,
1983). Not only are specific companies being investigated when analysing
competitive advantages; in addition, country-specific management models are
increasingly selected and their strengths and weaknesses compared with one another
(see, e.g., Porter, 1990; Garten, 1993; Thurow, 1993). This comparative study aims to
promote a better understanding of how management practices of some major
economies differ and what this entails for the possibilities of learning from one
another.
More specifically, this study examines the HR systems of the USA, Japan and
Germany. These three countries are considered in the context of this analysis to be
of particular interest because not only do they constitute the three most important
economic powers in the world and the leading economies of the triad North
America, Asia and Europe, they are also considered prototypes of the three foremost
variants of capitalism: the free-market economy of Anglo-Saxon countries (USA);
the social market economy of continental Europe (Germany); and thegovernment-guided market economy of East Asia (Japan). Garten (1993) argues that
the business systems of these three countries differ in various respects, e.g. in the role
of the government within the national economy; the attitude towards industrial and
financial concentration; the relations between industry and the banking sector; and
the attention they pay to manpower training. He concludes, however: ‘Nowhere is
the difference between the philosophies of the Big Three better illustrated than in
their approaches to human resource development’ (1993: 128). One might therefore
assume that companies from each of these major economies apply distinct and
potentially successful HR practices from which, at least in...