#tagged

willkommen-in-germany:

4 differences between Japanese and German approaches to work, communication and customer service by Pernille Rudlin, Oct 31, 2014

There are well-known similarities between Japan and Germany - they are both manufacturers of exports which are in demand across the world, they have excellent engineering skills and leadership in manufacturing and craftsmanship. Furthermore, both are serious about their work, precise in time keeping and execution of their work, and are reliable and trustworthy. Many German and Japanese companies are similar - Toyota and Volkswagen, BMW and Honda, Thyssen Krupp and JFE Steel, BASF and Mitsubishi Chemical, Siemens and Hitachi, Leica and Nikon, etc. Both countries recovered after WWII through their hardworking attitudes. 

So says Ulrike Schaede, Professor of Japanese Business at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California, San Diego. However she also sees four fundamental differences, particularly with regard to the average white collar worker.

1. Life priorities. Most Germans (so long as they are not consultants or lawyers or top executives) will leave work somewhere between 5 and 6 pm at night, so they can return home to eat dinner with their families or meet friends. However it is almost unheard of for a Japanese salaryman to leave at such a time on a regular basis. Even without counting “service” overtime (unpaid) that most Japanese put in, the average working year is 350 hours longer in Japan than in Germany. 

This is because Germans believe that they have a contract which pays them for 40 hours of work a week with their employer and therefore if an employer wants more hours, then they should pay more. If a Germany employee can’t finish all their work on time, then they will either try to work more efficiently, even skipping lunch, or they will blame the employer for giving them too much work to do. Work life balance in Japan has come to mean how to have better day care facilities so women can work, but in Germany it means a good balance between work and private life for all employees.

2. Process and result. Both Japanese and Germans believe there is a correct way of doing things. Consumers read instructions for the products they have bought and workers obey the rules. But the big difference is that Germans also value the result and getting to the result in the most efficient way. So they are fine if someone finds a quicker way to do something. If too long is taken on a business process, they start to become impatient. in fact they become downright rude. However for the Japanese, the process is just as important as the result. It should always be done the same way by everyone, then no one will feel left out. For a new way to be accepted, everyone has to agree. There is no room for individual initiative.

3. Say what you think. Germans on average are much more direct than most other nationalities. In fact they like to share opinions with others. Japanese people feel “debate” has negative connotations. Schaede says she has found it very hard to have discussions about politics world affairs or business with Japanese people, which to Germans means it is hard to make friends.

4. Customer service. German customer service is the exact opposite of Japanese customer service. Whereas a Japanese server might say “I am sorry to have kept you waiting”, in Germany the customer expects to have to wait to be served. In fact if you turn up too close to closing time in a shop, you might be refused service. The belief is that shop assistants have rights too - to go home on time. There is no concept that the customer is more important than the employee.

As Schaede says - and as a cross cultural consultant, who am I to disagree - there are two learnings from this. One is the importance of understanding cross cultural differences at a profound level if you are going to do business across borders. The second is that when you have a multicultural team each will have different priorities and different processes to reach a result. These are deep rooted and it will be difficult to bring everyone round to one point of view.

As seen on Japan Intercultural Consulting.

I’m going to answer the tagged questions that I have left hanging due to school stuff. Here is my previous post, and this is my second one.

Thank you, yabooksweekly;)

Rules

1.Always post the rules

2.Answer the questions the person who tagged you wrote and write your 11 new questions.

3.Tag 11 new people. (i’ll be tagging 21 people but you don’t have to)

4.Tell them you’ve tagged them.

5.@ me so I can see your answer.

Questions:

1. A book you think should be a show/movie
One of my faves, Anansi Boys :)

2. Something you wish they (had) taught you in school?
Books are the greatest escape from reality.

3. What kind of phone do you have?
A crappy, worn-out Samsung Pocket.

4. Are you easily distracted while reading?
Yes. I lack focus and have short attention span most of the time.

5. A book/show/movie you are excited to come out/premier
I hardly anticipate books/shows/movies, but I read/watch whatever’s available.

6. Least favorite place to read?
Classroom. -_-

7. When someone doesn’t use proper grammar do you get annoyed?
Most of the time, yes.

8. Is there a book/event/opinion that changed you? If so how?
There are too many for me to mention but when it comes to books, Thirteen Reasons Why really motivated me to reach out onto others. 

9. Fictional world you wish you could live in?
Hogwarts :)

10. How do get over a book hangover?
Read another book :)

11. Ear buds or headphones?
Earphones, because they’re easier to carry around.

I can’t think of any more questions to ask. I’ve already did this a lot of times. I just can’t help but to answer the questions given to me though. :))) anyone can answer the questions I have answered here :>

I was tagged by greatmindreadalike:)

Rules

1.Always post the rules

2.Answer the questions the person who tagged you wrote and write your 11 new questions.

3.Tag 11 new people. 

4.Tell them you’ve tagged them.

5.@ me so I can see your answer.

Questions:

1. The last book you read and what you thought of it?
I can’t remember the last book I’ve finished. :( I hardly ever finish a book lately.  Been busy with school stuff :/

2. Future-set or history-set?
I haven’t read history-set books much so I’ll go for future-set. But I’m willing to read future-set books soon.

3. Do you read the book or watch the movie first?
Either. Either way, I’ll get disappointed when there are too much differences between the book and movie.

4. All time favourite?
Love Story by Erich Segal :)

5. Favourite book mum?
Mrs. Weasley of Harry Potter :)

6. Best female protagonist and best female antagonist
I think I like almost all of them in the same level, so I can’t think of any.

7. Best male protagonist and best male antagonist
Protagonist: Percy Jackson
Antagonist: none

8. Which character do you relate to the most?
I hardly relate my self to any character. I tend to veer away from my true identity whenever I’m reading, so I can’t think that the characters are like myself.

9. Can you read multiple books at once?
I tried but the results were not that great.

10. What time of day do you read most?
At night, when my mind is more active.

11. Recommend one book and why.
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. It is fantasy, adventure, and love story all rolled into one :)

I can’t think of any more questions to ask. I’ve already did this a lot of times. I just can’t help but to answer the questions given to me though. :))) anyone can answer the questions I have answered here :>

spidertams:

I started Haikyuu today and got told it’s hinata’s birthday!! so here’s a lil doodle of him!

imgetting2old4diss:

ofools:

juliemangoes:

morgluxia:

parrotiny:

mediocrechick:

parrotiny:

i want to know what bears think sometimes

They just wanna chill for a bit.

rylie-studies:

march 16, 2019.

There’s something about the way museums just make you lose your mind in a rather delicate, phantasmagoric way. It’s like being lost in the cosmos, but you’re not lost for this is the place that your heart has always considered home.

: young dumb & broke - khalid

danceagainmp3:

“Iwasanonlychild,andvery,verydramatic-whichIstillamtothisday.Ijustlovedperforming.”

cumwithsel:

,

fall-the-beast:

studyblrs irl:

moativational:

WEEK 1

What are your plans for this summer?

My plans for this summer are to work on my mental health and prepare for the years ahead of me as my schooling will come to an end and I’ll have to enter the realworld.

Have your plans changed at all because of the pandemic?

My plans have definitely changed. I was originally planning on applying for a summer study abroad this summer, but that got pushed back to next year due to non-pandemic related things. I was then planning on applying for internship positions which was then disrupted by the pandemic.

Do you have a specific goal for this summer? 

My original goal for this summer was to practice my filming and editing skills, which I guess I’ve done a bit of that, but I haven’t done as much as I would’ve liked. My goal now, before my classes start, is to read something from my TBR pile.

Do you have a lot of work to do for school or university or your job this summer?

I don’t have a lot of work for school, but I am working two jobs which take up a lot of my time. I don’t have a lot of work for those jobs outside of the hours I work in.

What is the most important task that you need to complete this summer?

My most important task this summer is to create the perfect study space. During online classes last semester I had a hard time focusing due to the lack of divided space. My desk is in my bedroom and I couldn’t mentally divide up the physical space so I realized I needed to create an actual, physical, separate study space for the future.

What do you usually do during the summer?

Usually during the summer I work and watch tv. I sometimes hang out with my friends, which I can no longer do outside of the moments I see them while I’m at work. I tend to play video games and watch a lot of Korean dramas.

What did you do during the summer when you were a young child?

As a young child I remember doing more outside activities. I would go to pool with my sister. My family used to always go to the amusement park that’s close by at least once a summer. After middle school I found myself staying inside most of the summer.

GENERAL UPDATES

I had a lot happen to me this week. I had good news and bad news. Good news is, I was able to buy myself a Nintendo Switch! They finally came back in stock and I had enough saved up and I bought myself a switch along with the games I wanted. I’ve been playing nonstop for the last three days. The bad news is, my school announced a new plan for opening campus which includes me not being able to move back to campus like originally planned. I was pretty proud of myself for the way I reacted to this news, I expected to start crying immediately but I didn’t. It took awhile and it was only a few tears. While I’m sad that I won’t be living with my friends and that I won’t be able to do my first club activities on campus, I’m alright with the decision and I completely understand it’s necessity.

That said, all of my stuff is in storage hundreds of miles away from where I’ll be living while doing my online semester, so I don’t have all of the study supplies I would like. I had started a kpop journal which is in storage along with all of my bullet journal/kpop journal decorations. If anyone has any recommendations for good notebooks for kpop journals or washi tapes, please let me know! I plan on trying to buy something so I can keep up the journal.

Currently listening to: All of Boyfriend’s discography because my OG’s are the only ones who can bring back my happiness in these sad times

Currently watching: It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, Itaewon Class, To All the Guys Who Loved Me, Was it Love?, New Girl, and desperately waiting for The Umbrella Academy season 2

lifeofthegrind:

it’s been a while since i’ve posted any original content bc….well the last four months have been extremely hard on my mental health and surviving became more of a priority than studying or learning. i’m back though, and am going to spend the 8 weeks i have before school starts again to read more, and get reacquainted with learning for fun