Men under pressure: representations of the `salaryman' and his organization in Japanese manga

In this article we analyse representations of the Japanese salaryman and Japanese organization in Japanese manga, or graphic novels, during the turbulent decades from the mid-1980s to the present day. We argue that manga presents salarymen protagonists in a sympathetic yet not uncritical light, and that it displays support for and criticism of both the Japanese and American organizational models. We describe how these manga offer important critical challenges from the world of popular culture to the direction of change in Japanese business organizations since the 1980s. In addition, we suggest that the manga may also provide salarymen with opportunities for critically re-evaluating their own working situations and for developing methods for surviving and thriving under the pressures of working within contemporary Japanese business organizations

Sociologists and "the Japanese model": a passing enthusiasm?

This article critiques the construction of `the Japanese model' of employment relations by sociologists in English language sociological research monographs, organization textbooks and introductory general textbooks. It demonstrates how marked differences emerged across the different genres and relates them to the different purposes of researchers and textbook writers.The article examines three particular puzzles. First, why did general textbooks adopt `the Japanese model' in the 1990s when media commentaries were announcing the demise of the Japanese model in Japan? Second, why did the 1990s textbooks use 1980s organization textbooks rather than research monographs for their sources? Third, why are general textbooks ready to distance themselves from the model in 2006 when researchers confirm continuing vitality in the Japanese model in large Japanese companies? Answering these questions reveals how sociological knowledge of Japanese employment has been generated, disseminated and used in research, teaching and policy debates

Farewell to the salaryman? The changing roles and work of middle managers in Japan

The 1990s and 2000s witnessed significant organizational change in Japanese firms and accompanying readjustments to the employment system. Such changes potentially have major implications for middle managers, or salarymen, in Japanese corporations. A survey of human resource managers and middle managers in eight medium sized Japanese organizations pointed to fairly significant, if not radical, change. This did, indeed, impact upon middle managers in those organizations. While the middle managers felt reasonably secure in their jobs, the nature of their jobs had reportedly changed, with a greater range of tasks, work intensification, longer hours, greater stress, more accountability, and a worsening work–life balance

Mind the gap : The role of mindfulness in adapting to increasing risk and climate change

It is becoming clear that increasingly complex global challenges cannot simply be solved by new technology or governments alone. We also need to develop new social practices and encourage a broader cultural shift towards sustainability. Against this background, this paper explores the role of mindfulness in adapting to increasing risk and climate change. Based on a literature review, it assesses current research on ‘mindful climate adaptation’, and explores how individual mindfulness is linked to climate adaptation. While in practice mindfulness-based approaches to climate adaptation have gained widespread recognition (e.g., by the United Nations), the results show that related research is scarce and fragmented. There is almost no research into the role of mindfulness in climate adaptation. At the same time, new scientific domains are opening up in cognate fields that illuminate the mindfulness–adaptation nexus from certain perspectives. These fields include: (1) disaster management; (2) individual well-being; (3) organisational management; (4) environmental behaviour; (5) social justice; and (6) knowledge production. As new concepts and approaches emerge, they require critical construct validation and empirical testing. The importance of further investigation is supported by a complementary empirical study, which shows that individual mindfulness disposition coincides with increased motivation to take (or support) climate adaptation actions. The paper concludes that mindfulness has the potential to facilitate adaptation at all scales (through cognitive, managerial, structural, ontological, and epistemological change processes) and should, therefore, become a core element in climate and associated sustainability research. Finally, it sketches the conceptual trajectories of the mindfulness–adaptation nexus and presents a pioneering, comprehensive framework for ‘mindful climate adaptation’