So after Monday's little intro to what our class would be like during this term, today we've finally started to discuss,,,YES!haha
The paper Ken handed out was on Social Intelligence and the Biology of Leadership. More than the content of the matter, what intrigued me more was how different workplaces were perceived in America and in Japan. The content of the paper was probably a lot more relevant(obviously) to workplaces in the US mainly for the workers' expectations towards their workplace and general ideology of what a workplace is. In the US, a workplace is considered a flexible environment that is able to bend in many ways in order to make work flow more efficient. However in Japan, a workplace is a more strict, rigid and restricted environment. You have your 'buchos' and 'kachos' who you would never dare to talk over. There is a certain distance among the workers divided by their ranks. This is considered unchangeable because that's just the way it is and always will be. The workers themselves never even try to make a difference. It is almost as if they expect to suffer at their workplace.
Going back to my point, the article is adaptable in the US because general workplaces are constantly moving. Whereas in Japan, we've been stuck in the same ways, conventions for as long as we can remember.
I just wonder if a Japanese Bucho tried the same experiment (smiling in his or her workplace), he or she would not get the same results the article suggested...
or maybe i'm just being a bit too pessimistic.
Hi Shiho,
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great first post, and you have raised an interesting point about cultural differences in interpersonal communication. Japan will be different, obviously. I would suggest suggest the same forces are at play, only expressed in more subtle ways. And some things the Japanese do much better than Westerners, what we call attunement but you call kuki o yomu.
Ken
thank you for your comment:)
Deletethe term 'kuki o yomu' always confuses me. not being able to 'kuki o yomu' sometimes seems like you are inevitably forced to become a social outcast while you're just trying to make a difference.
what is the 'kuki' everyone refers to when they use that term? is it simply a way of understanding the situation or is it much more powerful than that..?
Shiho,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your arguments completely. Although I don't think America's workplace is perfect at any means at all, I do think it is much more flexible than Japan (home offices, result orientated workplaces etc.). Ken mentioned the book "Drive" by Daniel Pink, and I have read the book also. It basically explains how motivation works and how society is based on a flawed system motivation wise. I was reading through the book and felt that although the principles Daniel Pink suggested were interesting and probably effective (giving more freedom to workers), they would simply not work in Japan. As you mentioned, Japan's culture does not allow this kind of freedom. Although traditional Japanese methods are flawed according to Daniel Pink's principles, changing the culture of Japan is very difficult or impossible. It makes me think twice before working in Japan.
Take
thanks for your comment:)
ReplyDeletei'm just curious,,,you mentioned that you dont think america's workplace is perfect at any means, do you think there are any methods that run the japanese workplaces that out due the american ways?