| Abstract | |
| Survey Number | H007 |
| Survey Title | Survey on the Utilization of Diverse Human Resources and Streamlining of Product Design, 2004 |
| Depositor | Hiroki Sato (Former Name:Department of Research on the Staffing Industry, Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo) |
| Restriction of Use |
For detailed information, please refer to 'For Data Users' on the SSJDA website.
- Apply to SSJDA. SSJDA's approval is required. |
| Educational Purpose | Only available for research. |
| Period of Data Use Permission | One year |
| Access to Datasets | Download |
| SSJDA Data Analysis | Not available |
| Summary |
Given that manufacturing in Japan is highly competitive, the industry has drawn strength from the occupational skills of human resources manufacturing companies hire and train themselves. However, the 1990s saw a growing trend in manufacturing design of the utilization of external human resources, such as contract workers and temporary workers, who are not directly employed by manufacturing firms. Furthermore, due to changes such as the reduction and suppression of fixed labor costs and the reduced hiring of key personnel, reliance on external human resources has become a permanent trend that has persisted throughout the years. This trend can be said to be giving rise to a change that positions external personnel as the main players in manufacturing design. However, it has been pointed out that the positioning of outside personnel as the main players in manufacturing and design has negatively impacted the competitive base of Japan's manufacturing industry. If there has indeed been a negative impact, it is necessary to clarify its nature and cause and examine how human resources should be utilized to maintain and strengthen the manufacturing industry’s competitive base. In view of this concern, this survey was conducted in an attempt to understand the actual situation of the utilization of external human resources in design departments across the manufacturing industry, as well as the associated problems of such reliance. |
| Data Type | quantitative research: micro data |
| Universe | Product design departments of companies in one of the following manufacturing sub-industries: machinery, electrical equipment, transportation machinery, precision machinery, and other machinery industries |
| Unit of Observation | Organization |
| Sample Size | A sample of 240 offices（316 people）, number of valid response：68, rate of effective return：21.5％ |
| Date of Collection |
2004-07-23 ~ 2004-08-10 2004/07/23 – 08/10 |
| Time Period |
2004 ~ 2004 |
| Spatial Unit | |
| Sampling Procedure | Of 519 companies in the machinery, electrical equipment, transportation machinery, precision machinery, and other machinery industries, 316 persons (up to two persons per company) from 240 companies were selected and sent a questionnaire addressed to the person in charge of the design division (general manager or section chief), based on Diamond Inc.’s Company Handbook for Listed Companies 2004. |
| Mode of Data Collection | Mail survey |
| Investigator | The University of Tokyo, Institute of Social Science, Human Resources Business Research Endowment Research Division |
| DOI | 10.34500/SSJDA.H007 |
| Sponsors (Funds) | |
| Related Publications (by the Investigator) | Please refer to the abstract in Japanese. |
| Related Publications (based on Secondary Analysis) | List of related publications (based on Secondary Analysis) |
| Documentation | 【 Questionnaire 】 |
| Major Survey Items |
(1) Respondent's management department Management style, increase/decrease in indicators related to design work (e.g., incidence of market complaints), sufficiency of the size of the department’s full-time workforce, average monthly overtime hours, percentage of full model changes, duration of design projects (2) Use of support and secondment and contracting and dispatching Status of use of support/seconded workers and outsourced contract/dispatch workers, reasons for not using support/seconded workers and outsourced contract/dispatch workers, purpose of using support/seconded workers and outsourced contract/dispatch workers, number of outsourced contract/dispatch workers, number of companies using these services for more than 3 years, number of companies with capital ties, number of regular employees, support/seconded workers, and outsourced contracting/dispatch workers, number of people in charge of these services, results/consequences of using support/seconded workers and/or outsourced contract/dispatch workers (3) Education and training Duration of education and training and Off-JT for regular employees, support/seconded workers, and contractors and dispatched workers; contract/dispatched worker retention rate; time commitment and degree of difficulty required for support/seconded workers and contract workers to become proficient; criteria for selecting contract/dispatched workers; efforts to make effective use of support/seconded workers and contract workers (4) Division of labor in design and number of workers Division of labor in the design process, efforts to expand the responsibilities and duties that comprise the process (5) Department’s personnel structure Number and ratio of full-time employees, support staff/seconded workers, outsourced /dispatched workers, and non-full-time employees; workforce size (total number of all types of employees); increase/decrease trends in each employee category; maximum/minimum number of employees in the past year (6) Company and sector attributes Number of full-time employees at the firm, change in business performance, year in which the sector was established, products designed by the sector *For details about the survey items, refer to the questionnaire. |
| Date of Release | 2015/01/19 |
| Topics in CESSDA |
Click here for details Employee training Employment Working conditions TRADE, INDUSTRY AND MARKETS |
| Topics in SSJDA | Employment/Labor |
| Version | 1 ： 2015-01-19 |
| Notes for Users | Variable and value labels are written in Japanese. |