Thomas RohlenThinkers

Comparison is, when referring to whole nations, a tool requiring a nimbleness of thought on the part of the reader.

The Contract is, in Japan, grounded not in vagueness but in implicitness. People know what is expected of them and they know how to perform it not out of some kind of uncertainty, but rather because of indirect transmission.

Cultural comparison is an act that requires nimbleness of thought on the part of the reader, for to point to cultural inclinations is not to suggest unanimity.

The Group is, in Japan, not merely concerned with supervision or some other technical consideration but with organizing activities into small face-to-face groups, to enjoy this kind of environment, and to work most efficiently in it.

Japanese society is marked by a coincidence of strict, vertical systems of order and high degrees of lower-level autonomy.

The Labor union is, in Japan, an institution which largely identifies with the firm.

Structure is elastic arrangements based on the principles of hierarchy and horizontality.

Surface is, in Japan, of such importance that there is no more powerful symbol of the perfected inner life than that of outward composure. . . . To be neat, proper, and orderly whether in housekeeping, factory routines, personal.