Team 1 Japan In 3 sentences: Japan has a population of over 127 million people and its capital and largest city is Tokyo. The country has a parliamentary government and conservative social customs including strict rules around behavior, respect for authority, and traditional gender roles that have been challenging for women in the workplace and society. Expatriates face difficulties including long work hours, cultural adjustments, and repatriation challenges like reverse culture shock and difficult family reintegration.

1. Team 1 Japan
Presented By: Supriya Dawra, Mark Fehrn, Lindsey Lukaszka, Erin
McCormick, Ashley Miller, Rebecca Paluch and Leila Zaritzky

2. Basic Facts
• Capital: Tokyo
• Population: 127,078,679 (2009 est.)
• Currency: Yen
• Government: Parliamentary with constitutional
monarchy
• Prime Minister: Yoshihiko Noda (elected 2011)
• Industries: motor vehicles, consumer electronics,
machine tools, steel, nonferrous metals

3. Customs in the Home
• Table Manners
• Chopsticks
• Slippers
• Bathing

4. Social and Respect Customs
• Bowing
• Interdependence
• Non-verbal
communication
• No tipping

5. Business Practices in Japan
• In Japan you do not question the boss.
• Japanese accept and appreciate inequality
• Usual work is 8hrs, but when your superior is still
working you better leave after them.
• Promotions are based on seniority.

6. Meetings and Negotiations
• Team as opposed to an individual
• Lower ranking individuals usually do the
negotiating
• Decisions are rarely made in meeting
• Group consensus is important

7. Japanese Attitude to Women
• Based on three philosophies:
• Confucianism- “A woman is to
obey her father as daughter,
her husband as wife, and her
son as aged mother.”
• Buddhism- “No salvation for
women.”
• Samurai feudalism: “A women
should look upon her husband
as if he were heaven itself.”

8. Japanese Women at Home
• Roles for mothers and fathers are
segregated.
• Women are responsible for their
family budgets and make
independent decisions about the
education, careers, and life-styles
of their families.
• Women also take the social
blame for problems of family
members.
• Husbands and wives have very
little communication and
conversation, as little as ten to
fifteen minutes per day.

9. Japanese Working Women
• Women are the last hired and
first fired
• Employment advertisements
often specify age and sex.
• Women often work as
uniformed OLs ("office
ladies"). OL jobs are generally,
low-paying clerical and service
positions with duties such as
opening doors, serving tea and
coffee.

10. Discrimination against Women
Workers in Japan
• Women workers in Japan
typically make 30 to 40 percent
less money and receive fewer
benefits like vacation time and
health insurance than their male
counterparts for positions
requiring equal training and
experience.
• Women lose their jobs when the
word is out they are pregnant.
• “Thick glass ceiling." Ko Sasaki for The New York Times.
• Families with non-working wives • Yukako Kurose said she was
receive a tax deduction of $3,000 forced into a dead-end clerical
job after she had a baby

11. Difficulties Women Face in Corporate
Japan
• Promotions sometimes are
based on exams that men
but not women prepare
with special company-
sponsored classes.
• Hard for Japanese women
to advance when employers
expect them to go on heavy
drinking binges.
• Many business meetings
extend past 6:00pm, when
women are expected to be
home.

12. Can Women Be a Catalyst for Japan's
Renewal?
• The country can no longer afford massive gender inequality if it
wants to recover from the devastating earthquake
• The impact of this differential treatment is a significant loss of economic
growth, according to a 2010 economic study by Goldman Sachs If the
gender employment gap could be closed then more than 8 million
additional people would participate in the economy which, the study
argues, would increase Japan's GDP by 15 percent.

13. Management Styles
• “Bottom up” approach with respect to flow of
info
• More supervisory in nature; less “hands on”
• Mainly responsible for creating a dynamic
work environment where team can thrive.
• Expects team to work well together and
communicate often thus creating a highly
successful and efficient work environment.
• Source: www.worldbusinessculture.com

14. Japanese Labor Laws
• Labor standards that are guaranteed in
Japan’s Constitution include:
- Right and obligation to work
- Ban on child labor
- Right of workers to organize, bargain, and
act collectively.
• Source: www.ilo.org

15. Major Labor Laws Defined
• Labor Standards Law (LSL) : mainly regulates
working conditions and safety.
• Trade Union Law (TUL) : Ensures worker’s
have the right to collectively bargain and
organize.
• Labor Relations Adjustment Law (LRAL) :
Covers labor disputes, and any modification to
labor laws.
• Source: www.ilo.org

16. Work – Life Balance Issues
• 2008 inaugural year for work-life initiatives as declared
by the Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare (MHLW)
• Government target objective for workers is 1,800
hours per year; however recent reports show
employees working on average 2,200 hours per year.
• Despite working regular and some overtime hours, not
all time worked was equitably compensated.
• Source: www.bc.edu

17. Expatriation Selection
• Common Misconceptions
– Previous success
– Local language ability
– Previous international experience
– Women will not be interested
• Recommended Considerations
– The Big Five: openness, conscientiousness,
extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism
– Arthur and Bennett: job knowledge, motivation,
relational skills, flexibility, extra cultural openness and
family situation
– Cultural empathy, emotional stability and open-
mindedness

18. Training for Expatriates and Families
• Time to learn language and culture
• Transportation
• English services
• Should not stop upon deployment
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/

19. Professional Interactions
• Business cards
• Emotional stability
• Body language
• Long hours
• Outsiders vs. insiders
• Career path

20. Support of the Employee and Family
• Language classes on site
• Social Network
• Get to know the city
• Job opportunities for the Spouse
• Going Back home
http://www.internations.org/japan-expats/americans

21. Compensation
• Home country living standards
• Allowances
– Relocation
– Food
– Education
• Spousal Assistance

22. Expatriate Failure
• Definition
• Family adjustment
– Differences in living arrangements
• Problem with responsibilities

23. Repatriation

24. Job-related Factors
• Career Anxiety
Post-assignment employment
Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Changes at home
• Work Adjustment
Employment Relationship
Re-Entry Position
Devaluing the overseas experience

25. Job-related Factors
• Coping with new role demands
Role: set of behaviors that are assigned to a
particular position
• Loss of Status and Pay
Kingpin effect

26. MNE Objectives
• Staff Availability
Boundaryless careers
• Return on Investment
Difficulties of measuring ROI
• Knowledge Transfer
One way
Under utilized once at home

27. Social Factors
• Reverse Culture Shock
• Social Networking
• Family Adjustment
• Repatriation Plans

28. Reverse Culture Shock
• Reverse culture shock is the unexpected
difficulty readjusting to one’s home country
• Individual Changes
 Values, beliefs, behavior
 Standard of living
• Environmental Changes
 Technology, economic conditions, social norms

29. Social Networks
• Unrealized expectations
• Difficulty re-establishing social networks
 Example: Japanese expatriates labeled “kokusaijin”
• Feelings of isolation

30. Family Issues
• Dual-career spouse
Long furlough
Difficulty re-entering workforce
• Children
Education
“Fitting in” with peers

31. Repatriation Programs
• Assign a mentor
 Eliminates “out of sight, out of mind” feeling
 Sets realistic expectations
• Provide counseling for entire family
 Career
 Cultural
 Education
• Grant an adjustment period
 Vacation
 Reduced workload

32. Current Affairs
• 6 Month Anniversary of Earthquake and
Tsunami
• Economical Position
• Impact on Expatriate activity
– Gaijin -> flyjin

33. Reference List
• Acuff, F. L. (1993). How to negotiate anything with anyone anywhere around the world. New
York: American Management Association.
• Andors, A. (2010, March). Happy returns. HRMagazine, pp. 61-63.
• Axtell, R. E., & Fornwald, M. (1998). Gestures: The do's and taboos of body language around
the world. New York: Wiley.
• Brookfield Global Relocation Services. (2011). Global Relocation Trends 2011 Survey Report.
USA
• Common Customs of Japan. (n.d.). Retrieved September 8, 2011, from Teaching in Asia:
www.jobmonkey.com
• Dowling, P.J., Festing, M., Engle, Sr. A.D. (2009) International Human Resources
Management. Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning
• Hill, Charles W. L. "Chapter 16: Global Human Resources Management." Global Business
Today. 5e ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2008. 508-30. Print.
• Hurn, B. J. (1999). Repatriation - the toughest assignment of all. Industrial and Commercial
Training, 224-228.
• Japan - Language, Culture, Customs, and Etiquette. (n.d.). Retrieved September 8, 2011, from
Kwintessentail: http://www.kwintessential.co.uk
• Mochizuki, T. (2011, September 9). Japan Economy Worse Than Reported. The Wall Street
Journal. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com.flagship.luc.edu/docview/888071168?
accountid=12163
• Mol, S., Born, M., Willemsen, M., & Van, D. M. H. (January 01, 2005). Predicting Expatriate
Job Performance for Selection Purposes. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 36, 5, 590-620.
• Morrison, T., & Conaway, W. A. (2006). Kiss, bow, or shake hands: The bestselling guide to
doing business in more than 60 countries. Avon, Mass: Adams Media.

34. Reference List
• Noe, Raymond A. "Chapter 10: Special Issues in Training and Employee Development."
Employee Training and Development. 4th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2008. 357-95.
Print.
• Perraud, P. (n.d.). Repatriating with family. Retrieved September 09, 2011, from FAWCO
Alumnae USA: http://www.fausa.org
• Peltokorpi, V. (September 01, 2008). Cross-cultural adjustment of expatriates in Japan. The
International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19, 9, 1588-1606.
• Sandstrom, G., Pearson, D. (2011, March 16). Expat Workers Continue Japan Exodus. The Wall
Street Journal. Retrieved from:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703899704576204461491208284.html
• Sanchata, M. (201, March 23). Expatriates Tiptoe Back to the Office. The Wall Street Journal.
Retrieved from:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704461304576216301249128570.html
• Wright, T. (2008, May 27). 10 customs you must know before a trip to Japan. Retrieved
September 8, 2011, from Matador Abroad: www.matadornetwork.com
• www.japan-guide.com
• www.worldbusinessculture.com
• www.ilo.org
• www.bc.edu
• http://www.howto.co.uk/abroad/japanese-people/the_cultural_values_of_japan/
• http://factsanddetails.com/japan.php?itemid=624&catid=18