Diversity Management in Some Japanese Companies – A New Way to Strengthen Japanese Enterpises’ Competitiveness

Abstract

The article analyses the situation of enhancing diversity in human resources in some Japanese enterprises implementing diversity management. In 2012, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry officially launched Diversity Management Selection 100-Collection of Best Practices. In particular, Diversity Management is a strategy for enterprises to utilize their human resources required for building competitive advantages in a market environment or a technology structure. This research finds that the concept of diversity in human resources of Japanese enterprises is quite diverse but mainly revolves around four main aspects: gender (female labor), age (senior labor), disability (people with disabilities), nationality (foreign labor). Secondly, in terms of diversification of employees, the Japanese enterprises focus on following priority order: female workers, disabled workers, elderly workers, and foreign workers. This is reflected in the number of programs promoting each type of worker as well as the number of businesses committed to creating favorable conditions for workers in Japan. Thirdly, increasing diversity in human resources not only changes corporate culture but also enhances corporate image domestically and globally. Therefore, diversity management is a new way to strengthen Japanese enterprises' competitiveness.