Competencies, Higher Education and Career in Japan and the Netherlands - Higher Education Dynamics 2007 edition

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Table of Contents: Part One: Background, - Introduction: Jim Allen, Yuki Inenaga, Rolf van der Velden and Keiichi Yoshimoto, - Policies on the transition from higher education to employment since the 1990s: Naoyuki Ogata, Egbert de Weert and Keiichi Yoshimoto, - Part Two: Higher education experiences, - Competencies acquired at university and required in the workplace: Naoyuki Ogata, - University and college differences in the returns to education in Japan and the Netherlands: Rolf van der Velden, Peet van de Loo and Christoph Meng, - University education and its relevance to working life: Selection, education and career effects: Keiichi Yoshimoto and Hiroshi Yamada, - Part Three: Transition and Professional Careers, - On the use and generation of knowledge economy competencies: Paul Ghijsen and Christoph Meng, - Influence of diversified employment on the initial career of higher education graduates: Reiko Kosugi, - Career and mobility in Japan and the Netherlands: A comparative study of early-career patterns of recently graduated employees: Peter Muhlau, - Part Four: Values and Work Orientations:, - Japanese and Dutch graduates orientations and job satisfaction: Sendy Farag and Jim Allen, - Individualism and collectivism: The differential impact of job competencies and characteristics on wages and employee well-being in Japan and the Netherlands: Christophe Boone, Christoph Meng and Rolf van der Velden, - Does higher education provide opportunities for career development of men and women?: Yuki Inenaga, - Part Five: Final reflections, - The relationships between higher education and employment in Japan and the Netherlands: A view from outside: UlrPublisher Marketing: Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Jim Allen*, Yuki Inenaga**, Rolf van der Velden* and Keiichi Yoshimoto*** * University of Maastricht ** University of Tsukuba *** Kyushu University 1. 1 Objectives and Background 1. 1. 1 The Focus of This Book It is well known that Japan and the Netherlands have enjoyed friendly relations for more than 400 years. Despite this fact, neither country has had much influence on the other in terms of society, culture, or institutional arrangements in the educational system and the labour market. These aspects remain essentially unique to each country. As a result, Japan and the Netherlands, the two countries at the focus of this book, form an intriguing contrast of culture, education system and labour market organisation. For decades Japan has attracted the attention of countless scholars attempting to come to grips, first of all with the enormous success of the post-war Japanese economy, and subsequently with its faltering progress since the early 1990s. In contrast to most western capitalist countries, the Japanese economy is characterised by a strong degree of centralised planning and cooperation between economic and political elites, in which favoured corporations and industries have been deliberately fostered. The higher education system has been largely academic in its focus, and strong links between higher education institutions and companies have helped ensure a smooth and rapid transition by graduates from higher education to employment.

Contributor Bio:  Allen, Jim Jim Allen has been a soldier, a sailor, an ASE Certified Master Auto Tech and an off-highway driving instructor. He's been writing for 4x4 magazines since the early 1980s and is the author of seven books on four-wheeling or technical topics. He's also a small-time farmer in the boondocks of Northwest Ohio.