Performance-Based Systems, KPIs... There's a Reason for Workplace Frustrations! 'Management Knowledge You Can't Afford to Ignore' by University of Tokyo Professor Released June 16

Takahashi Shoten Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Toshima-ku, Tokyo; President: Minaari Shimizu) released 'Management Knowledge You Can't Afford to Ignore' (author: Nobuo Takahashi) on June 16, 2026 (Tuesday), available nationwide at bookstores and online retailers.

Are you dismissing workplace frustrations as 'people problems' or 'blaming the era'? Performance-based systems, unmotivated young employees, indecisive meetings, evaluation systems that exist in name only—there are reasons behind the discomfort you feel at work.

This book is a narrative in which an emeritus professor from the University of Tokyo explains, from a management science perspective, how the root of the daily frustrations many business professionals feel lies within the very structure of organizations, offering fresh perspectives for solutions.

Rather than flaunting difficult theories like game theory, organizational theory, or decision theory, this book brings them down to earth with practical insights—'this is why things turn out this way in the field'—transforming management science into wisdom you can use starting tomorrow.

What organizations truly need is for people involved to reach genuine understanding and move forward. This book offers a new perspective for those exhausted by the endless search for the 'right answer.'

Seeing Management Science Through Dialogue

A mid-level manager striving to improve his organization meets a university professor, and through dialogue, they unravel one by one the discomforts and challenges occurring in the workplace.

'The Great Sin of Performance-Based Systems,' 'Why Employees' 'Going Through the Motions' Can Save an Organization,' and 'The Truth That the Reward for Work Is the Next Opportunity.'

Numerous insights from management science are transformed into practical knowledge applicable in the workplace starting tomorrow.

Whether you're a manager, a young employee, or in senior leadership—anyone who has ever struggled within an organization will find this book helpful. This is a practical introduction to management science designed to help you gain the intelligence and mental space to think, 'Maybe this was the right way after all.'

[Table of Contents]

Prologue: In a Corner of Ueno Station

Chapter 1: On Management

The Great Sin of Performance-Based Systems / Training Alone Doesn't Develop People / Hire Young People as Regular Employees / Big Responsibilities Don't Go to Those Who Can't Even Organize a Group Date, etc.

Chapter 2: On Decision-Making

Decision-Making and Game Theory / Understanding Game Theory Basics Through Rock-Paper-Scissors / Two Types of Decision-Making / Why Objective Evaluation Is Impossible, etc.

Chapter 3: On Organizations

The Prisoner's Dilemma / 'Despair' in Theory vs. 'Hope' in Reality / 'Coordination' in the Ultimate Workplace: The Battlefield, etc.

Chapter 4: On Motivation

Working People / Expectancy Theory Can't Be Expected / Monetary Rewards Are a Myth / The Relationship Between Satisfaction and Productivity / Motivation Is the Strongest Force, etc.

Epilogue: A Summer Morning

(Author) Nobuo Takahashi

Professor, Department of Management, Faculty of Business Administration, Tokyo University of Science; Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo

Born in Otaru City, Hokkaido in 1957; Graduated from the Faculty of Commerce, Otaru University of Commerce in 1980; Withdrew from the Graduate School of Social Engineering, University of Tsukuba in 1984; Assistant, Faculty of Liberal Arts, University of Tokyo (Statistics); Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics, Tohoku University (General Management) in 1987; Doctor of Philosophy (University of Tsukuba); Associate Professor, Faculty of Liberal Arts, University of Tokyo (Statistics and Management Policy Science) in 1991; Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo (Management) in 1994; Associate Professor, Graduate School of Economics, University of Tokyo (Management) in 1996; Professor, Graduate School of Economics, University of Tokyo in 1998; Current position since 2023

[Major Publications]

Design of Adaptive Organizations: Models and Empirical Research. Springer-Verlag (Winner of the Komiya Prize from the Japan Academy of Management) / The Study of Lukewarm Management (Winner of the Management Science Literature Award) / Decision Theory Within Organizations / Revitalizing Management—The Age of Strategy, the Age of Organization / Capable Employees 'Go Through the Motions' / The Principles of Decision-Making in Japanese Corporations / Railway Management and Financing (Winner of the Kotsu Shoin Prize) / The Illusion of Performance-Based Systems: Toward the Revival of the Japanese Seniority System / The Strategy of 'Nurturing Management': The Path Beyond Performance-Based Systems / Organizational Power: Possessing, Weaving, Polishing, Connecting / Companies That Fail: Why Do Corporations Collapse? / Shell: Escaping the Poverty Trap of Management / Thinking with Management Science

[Bibliographic Information]

'Management Knowledge You Can't Afford to Ignore'

Price: ¥1,760 (tax included) / 224 pages / A5 size / ISBN 978-4-471-21064-9