Japanese large cap companies make decisions based upon the group consensus.
The Japanese decision making process is quit a long, but there are several positive outcomes;
- sufficient understanding of the contents of the decision with the reasons among the attended people and the related organizations
- fast and smooth implementation with the high understanding and commitment among attended people to the process
In many cases, the written proposal are circulated among related people and the rerated organizations respecting hierarchy courses.
During the circulating process (called “Kairan” System or/and “Ringi” System), the minor suggestions or/and comments and personal seal of all the related people are added on the documents. the individual seal means “agreed”. The responsibility is spread out among all the people giving their individual seals on the documents.
During the Kairan, at the same time or before, the owner or/and the owner’s organization will start informal consensus building activities (“Nemawashi” root development) to make rough proposal and to get supports. The Nemawashi will minimize the risk of the disagreements in the official meeting.
Once the decision is made, the implementation is very fast with the sufficient understanding and the commitment on the decision among all the related organizations for the implementation.
