Public relations practice in Japan: an exploratory study.(Japanese public relations professionals surveyed on management styles)

Lynne M. Sallot (*)

Abstract

Ninety-four (62%) survey responses in the Japanese language from 151 corporate public relations professionals in Japan were analyzed to investigate how Japanese management styles have changed since the recent economic recession, and how present management styles have impacted public relations practice in Japan. Findings suggest today's Japanese management styles are not a static system unaffected by the economic pressures, and that current public relations practices in Japan align more closely with mixed models of public relations practiced in Western societies. [C] 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

When Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management (1) was published in 1992, attributes grounding "Excellence Theory" were derived from four "streams" of literature. These "streams" cited in the book included the Peters and Waterman stream, named after the authors of several books on excellence in management, along with similar writings by others; literature on innovative and entrepreneurial organizations; and literature on Total Quality Management (TQM). The fourth stream of influence was Japanese management literature.

It is the Japanese stream that provides the focus for this study. Given economic pressures in Japan in the past decade, the purpose of this study is to ascertain whether Japanese management styles and, by extension--whether public relations practice in Japan--have changed since the publication of the Excellence book.

1.1. Japanese management theory and excellence theory