This text questions the authenticity of the popular image of Japanese personnel and management development, which has been held up as a model in Europe, the US and elsewhere. It uses a comparative approach to address such topics as different systems of selection and recruitment, and contrasting approaches to management control. Japan and Britain provide useful contrasts which highlight the national cultural, sector and organizational factors at play in the performance of managers. Informed by extensive research, the book also provides an understanding of Japanese management and Western practice, and analyzes in depth the totality of processes which shape management practice and employee relationships worldwide.