

Corporate cultures in Japan - jbm
http://www.japansubculture.com/2010/05/shafuu-101-choosing-a-company-for-the-new-generation/

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jbm
Charisma-kei businesses are common; I had a client that was clearly such.

The president of the company was constantly spying on all his programmers, and
often switched the strategic direction in order to conform to the latest
trends that he spotted on Digg. No one was paid more than about USD25k/year,
despite having a huge office in Akihabara and backing from a large angel
investor in Korea. (There was no business equity or anything like that for the
workers, and no housing assistance either)

That isn't really a big deal; just another failing IT company with no
direction. However, the "Japanese Charisma Kei" twist is that 25% of the
company gross was given to a fundamentalist church the president belonged to,
and that he continuously recruited people to join his cult. My gf, who I met
there, had joined and subsequently left that church because she thought they
were insane. The President let church members come to the office and hassle
her about going back to that church without remorse. (She eventually left the
company to work at a bank.)

All of this changed when I joined the company, mainly because they had a new
director that was appointed by the angel investor. I can't say it changed much
for the better. You see, the director believed he was receiving direct
communications from aliens about zero-point energy and that it was his mission
to create a new civilization based on that knowledge. He also refused to take
baths (he used a peroxide solution to wipe his body with instead). As far as
employees went, he frowned on the use of doctors (preferring instead to tell
them to learn the secrets of "Ki healing").

I stopped working with them after 6 months. I have never regretted it.

(As an aside, I don't have any problem with people's personal religious
beliefs or the fervor with which they practice it; it was the personality cult
and the organized harassment in a place of business that was completely
bizarre and far beyond anything I have ever encountered in Canada or the US)

-edited for terrible grammar. Ugh.

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mattm
> No one was paid more than about USD25k/month

I'm assuming that should be per year?

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jbm
Doh! Thanks, fixed :)

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jac_no_k
As an American living in Japan for an American firm, it's always a culture
shock when I talk to other dad's at my kids school events. If I find the
person I'm talking to is working for a "Militant" + "Work == Life" company, I
need to shut up, lest I shatter the illusion of the security of lifetime
employment. It's also a bit strange when I run into people that have worked
for the same firm I'm in right now and left because it was too "Liberal".

Japan is just not changing fast enough and is going to be left behind by the
more aggressive, mobile, and "liberal" workforce and companies. Traditional
Japanese companies are like the dinosaurs, not able to adapt to change.
Darwinism at work.

~~~
jbm
Here here.

I also previously worked at Fujitsu's mobile division and can attest to that.

They still have an entire floor dedicated to developing for Symbian. Their
main translator is hamstrung by rules that indicate they must re-use old
(incorrect) translations so that there is no loss in "language continuity"
between phones.

It isn't the fault of my immediate superiors there; both were open,
intelligent and hard-working. It is middle and upper middle management. They
are relics from the bubble era ( subject to less stringent entry conditions)
and were promoted 3 or 4 levels above their competence. The fact is, their
underlings are of significantly higher quality. (My superior was one person
picked out of 500; as opposed to her superior, who was chosen out of a group
of 5 or 6)

Fujitsu's previous president was thrown out of the company on trumped-up
charges about being aligned with the Yakuza
(<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8606515.stm>). Why? Because he tried to
spin off parts of the company that had been losing money for years.

I loved my coworkers there and part of me wishes I could be working with them
today. Unfortunately, they won't adapt until an entire generation is in their
grave.

~~~
Groxx
"Hear, hear"

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hear,_hear>

(semi-apologies, incorrect cultural idioms are a pet peeve of mine)

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jbm
Sorry about that, I'm a bit embarassed because I feel the exact same way
(particularly about misuses of "I couldn't care less")

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ekanes
Honest question, how is "I couldn't care less" usually mis-used? Using a made-
up example, it's often said like this, "I couldn't care _less_ how much you
like XYZ, I don't want blah blah blah."

The person is saying that they don't care at all. As in, they couldn't care
less... seems right to me! Just curious how it's typically mis-used.

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mistermann
A lot of people say "I could care less"

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ekanes
Ah, of course. I misunderstood the grandparent. Thanks.

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friendstock
I did 2 internships at Sony in Japan... work relationships were professional
(not personal), and the managers were very polite to the subordinates. Looking
at this chart, I realize now how atypical this is for Japanese companies!

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patio11
_Looking at this chart, I realize now how atypical this is for Japanese
companies!_

It is atypical for a _certain segment_ of Japanese companies. Its a big
country, with all kinds of folks in it, much like America. I get worried when
folks assume that the stereotypical salaryman life is universal in Japan --
compare it to Japanese people assuming that all American companies are like
Google. (Incidentally, I have met people with that misconception.)

Anecdotally, my previous employers were solidly within the ambit of a
corporation on the top left of that chart, and managers were instructed to
(and to my experience generally did) address employees "consistent with
professional etiquette and the traditional expectations of polite society."

~~~
friendstock
Yes good point. I guess I meant comparing Sony with the other electronics
makers like panasonic or hitachi.

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elai
How much is apple a charisma-kei company? The media and some customer segments
treat it like that, but I wonder how it is as an actual employee?

------
known
Japanese culture is a type of _cult_

