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Running head: KELLY’S ASSIGNMENT IN JAPAN 1

Kelly’s Assignment in Japan

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KELLY’S ASSIGNMENT IN JAPAN 2

Kelly’s Assignment in Japan

There is a massive disparity in culture between the United States and Japan. The

assimilation process from the American culture to that of the Japanese and vice versa takes time

and effort. In the case of Kelly, her husband and their children had very little time to adjust to the

new culture, and from the case study, it can be deduced that they were having a tough time

adapting. The sudden change in the environment caused plenty of problems for the family and

her job. The Japanese culture, for instance, is more formal compared to that of the United States

(Brewster et al., 2016). The organizations and social aspects are governed by hierarchies that are

upheld by everyone in society. This is somewhat different from American culture, which is

characterized by social freedom and civil liberties.

There was a clear communication breakdown between Kelly and her subordinates in the

company. Her potential clients also exhibited the same. Kelly did not speak Japanese, which was

a problem for some of the employees. The Japanese employees understand some bit of English

but were uncomfortable speaking it. The other cultural difference faced by Kelly was the

disparity in gender roles between the two countries. Unlike the United States, where gender

equality is guaranteed, in Japan, women hold subordinate positions to men in all aspects of life.

There are very few female politicians and CEO’s in Japan, as most of the leadership and

management positions are accorded to men (Brewster et al., 2016). In Kelly’s case, for instance,

her management position was not received warmly by the Japanese employees and the potential

clients she was expected to bring in. Both groups had a problem with having a woman dictate

terms to them despite her qualifications and experience. In both cases, she was the senior-most

official of the company, but the employees and the potential clients looked at Peter, her assistant

for the answer to all the questions they had. She failed to sign the contract with the potential

KELLY’S ASSIGNMENT IN JAPAN 3

clients despite the quality of her project because she was a woman. To the Japanese, sending a

woman to such a significant deal was viewed as disrespect and lack of appreciation for their

potential value to the company.

Kelly’s children Sam and Lisa had an equally difficult time adjusting to the new culture.

Although the school they attended was expected to teach in both Japanese and English, the

students had no interest in learning English. The children, therefore, felt left out at school in both

social and academic spheres of life. The language barrier between Kelly’s children and the

school fraternity greatly affected Lisa AND Sam. In their previous school back in the United

States, they were appreciated and accepted by both teachers and fellow students. The changes

from the United States culture to that of the Japanese affected their life tremendously due to their

inability to adapt to the new changes in their lives. Kelly’s husband also had a hard time getting

employment in Japan due to the disparity in language and qualifications for job opportunities.

The house they lived in was rather expensive and could hardly be afforded by one source of

income. This increased the uncertainty in their home.

Kelly and her family are in the second stage of culture shock, which is frustration (Zheng,

2016). The considerable differences in culture and the numerous hurdles they have experienced

took a toll on the whole family. The children are continually arguing and asking to move back to

the United States. Kelly has failed to sign a new contract for a new client, while Joe, Kelly’s

husband, is still unemployed. All these factors, coupled together, makes Kelly feel like her life is

a complete mess. She begins to doubt whether moving to Japan was the right idea or not.

When Kelly was offered the Tokyo positions, several aspects should have been done

differently to make her life and that of her family less strenuous during the transition into

KELLY’S ASSIGNMENT IN JAPAN 4

Japanese culture. Kelly’s boss should have given her plenty advance notice for her transfer to

Japan. This time would have been used by Kelly’s family to familiarize themselves with the

Japanese culture through research and consultant with the Japanese in the country. Other groups

of Americans who had successfully settled and transitioned in Japan could provide plenty of

insight into her family in advance (Debroux, 2017). This would have made them conversant with

the new culture and the essential aspects of it. Learning the language would have been the first in

their agenda; this would have made communication for all the family members easier in their

respective institutions.

If I were Kelly, I would take a step back and reevaluate my options. First, I would begin

by learning the language and encouraging the whole family to participate. This would be the first

step towards assimilations into Japanese culture. The family would start attending social and

cultural events to familiarize themselves with the country’s culture through interactions with the

locals. Then I would hire male assistants with intensive knowledge on program managing to

represent me on numerous occasions, especially in meetings with new clients and business

partners to show the respect and acknowledgment of the Japanese culture regarding gender roles.

KELLY’S ASSIGNMENT IN JAPAN 5

References

Brewster, C., Chung, C., & Sparrow, P. (2016). Globalizing human resource management.

Routledge.

Debroux, P. (2017). Human Resource Management in Japan: Changes and Uncertainties-A New

Human Resource Management System Fitting to the Global Economy: Changes and

Uncertainties-A New Human Resource Management System Fitting to the Global

Economy. Routledge.

Zheng, C. (2016). International human resource management: Trends, practices and future

directions. New York: Nova Publishers.

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