Japanese Companies

Unpublished

Having never worked full-time anywhere except a Japanese company means that no objective comparison is possible. However, there are some observations to be made, which the reader can take or leave as he/she wants. Perhaps these observations apply to any company, but stand out as being part of the Japanese corporate environment - from the writer's perspective anyway.

(1) Relationships are all important: At times it seems as if human relationships are the oiled gears that keep the company moving. To some degree, this is probably true at any company, but even more so at the Japanese company. Going beyond simply maintaining the cordial professional office relationships, the Japanese will play golf together, sing karaoke together, and so on, as part of delicately balanced wheel that must keep turning on the basis of knowing and being able to trust your colleagues. Often, overseas subsidiaries of Japanese companies have a central group of Japanese personnel that are essentially the key players maintaining the operating connection with the Japan headquarters. In this environment, it is critical that the group players know each other well and have a good understanding of each others' abilities, including personality strengths and weaknesses. Thus the golf tours, dinners, and parties, which are partially on a personal level but also part of increasing the understanding of the other group members you are working with. The majority of these groups are limited to the Japanese male manager personnel, occasionally including their spouses. It is rare for non-Japanese male personnel to participate in these groups, and when it occurs, it is more likely the exception than the rule and limited as to the level of participation.

(2) Ambiguity is the rule: Rather than being direct and clear about issues, sometimes it is most convenient to be ambigious, particularly if more information can be gained by remaining ambigious for a while. It's also safer for the individuals involved since no one individual can be blamed if something goes wrong or fails. So the word "kentoo-chuu" ("under study") is often used rather than a direct "yes" or "no".

(3) "Go ni ire...": The phrase "go ni ire, go ni shitagai" is equivalent to "when in Rome, do as the Romans do", and that is true of overseas Japanese subsidiaries to an extent. The "core group" of Japanese personnel is probably hand-picked for their exposure to and experience with overseas cultures. So this group, while still maintaining some Japanese customs, generally strives to uphold the customs and behaviors of the country they are located in, more so than would be the case in Japan. This tendency seems to be stronger in larger, manufacturing companies. Smaller, service-oriented companies often bring the Japanese customs with them to their overseas subsidiaries, and sometimes get in trouble for it too, as is evidenced by lawsuits filed against some Japanese trading companies in the U.S.

(4) Forget about ALL OF THE ABOVE: If there is one lesson to be learned after living five years in Japan, it's that every stereotype will eventually be made null and void by exceptions. Nice, tidy stereotypes can be formed after about two years of experience with a culture. However, starting in about the third or fourth year, exceptions to the rule begin to make it impossible to maintain a static stereotype. The author has been privileged to experience some of these exceptions and looks forward to the progressive collapse of all the stereotypes that would seek to limit understanding to the static level.

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