Re: [tlug] (OT) The enigma of Japan (was: UNIX jobs on TLUG)

[Gernot Hassenpflug <aikishugyo@example.com>]

On Thu, Jun 11, 2009 at 10:18 AM, Clemens
Schwaighofer<gullevek@example.com> wrote:
> On Wed, Jun 10, 2009 at 19:45, Josh Glover<jmglov@example.com> wrote:
>>
>> Honestly, the more you try to respect the Japanese culture when
>> working in Japan, the better your experience will be. That doesn't
>> mean that you have to do things The Salaryman Way; it is possible to
>> effect change provided you understand the Japanese way of doing that.
>
> On the other hand, you will slowly slip into the Salaryman way anyway
> if you are not careful enough.

Hmm, I wonder if this is not simply the procedure that one sees among
Japanese students wishing to join graduate school: they personally
come to the labs of those professors in whose work they have some
interest (however that may be defined), in order to see the culture of
that lab, persumably to determine if they could fit into the
environment successfully.

With companies I would say this is a bit more difficult to see
personally, but some research in advance, questions to known employees
or ex-employees, and deliberate questions at interviews can help one
judge these things.

Then, inside a company one would have to fit into the mold of work
(both the profit-based and bureaucratic processes) in the section/team
one is assigned to. For example, in the company I am in now, we tried
"agile programming" in one team, and a half year later I had to adapt
to different work flow on another team. Similarly, the inter-company
communication style is radically different from the university
environment I was used to, and from that of more staid Japanese
companies some of my friends work(ed) in. Once you're in the company,
flexibility is probably a key attribute, since there is little resort
in cases of management choices as to how teams work except to leave
the company.

Thus, I would say that "Salaryman" is not really as uniform as is made
out, but I agree with the general sentiment of your post that you are
going to (have to) become like those in the place you work in, or else
find a different environment. As an IT worker I would think that one
is lucky in the sense that the field and circumstances of application
are so wide that one can conceivably find a place/position where one
can "fit" in without too much adjustment (or else experiment if one
wishes with different "fits" to gain experience/insight). My previous
direct boss loved Excel and hated plain text; my curent one is quite
the reverse....

Regards, Gernot