The difference between the Japanese and the Americans, in particular, is that the Japanese put tremendous emphasis on the individual worker, his attitude, his loyalty, his passion for quality, technology and productivity, and above all, his service to the customer both in terms of product quality as well as after sales service.
The whole business, whether in the realms of planning, budgeting, production,
marketing, etc. must have inherent human content. For example, product quality must be such that it must exceed the customers' expectations. The technology they developed are meant to produce products and services which would meet the demands (and not simply the needs) of the customers. When both these approaches are combined, they provide the competitive edge or the niche which is difficult to surpass. It all boils down to the question of attitude and not simply the techniques.
The west, on the other hand, has been so engrossed in personal accomplishments through their technological innovations as well as through their creative management techniques and ideas on leadership. In both cases the human element lies in the minds of the innovator, the producer, the manager for their own satisfaction rather than for the satisfaction of the consumers or the customers. Again, this is also the question of attitude, but an erroneous one.