Organizational scholars have consistently noted that organizations in Japan generally possess more effective systems of communication than U.S. firms. This article explains how the Japanese approach to management encourages and facilitates the exchange of information between organizational members. (PD)

Consensus is important in the making of a policy decision. If a decision is reached without consensus, morale and unit satisfaction may both suffer. With genuine consensus, a unit tends to willingly support and implement the new policy. After analyzing how observed small groups had actually reached consensus, the following ten techniques were…