Section A Case study (50 marks)

A Selfish Request in Japan

NOGI and the Culture of Japan

As the second largest English school chain in the country, NOGI boasted over 350 schools throughout Japan. Each school averaged from two to four American teachers who had been hired on a one-year contract in America. The rest of the staff was entirely Japanese and work for the school for at least 8 to 10 years. Although the interview process to secure a job at NOGI was rigorous, nothing can properly prepare an American for immersion into Japanese culture. Indeed, many NOGI teachers had broken their contract and returned home because of the very different lifestyle. For this reason, NOGI managers were very skeptical of their American staff and watched them carefully to ensure they were taking their jobs seriously and not out for a free vacation.

Americans working for NOGI had contract that spelled out their relationship with NOGI, specifying such issues as mandated specific dress codes (including unacceptable colors) and hairstyles. The attempt here was to present a standard appearance of professionalism and not to distinguish oneself from other teachers. It also included numerous regulations that required American teachers to participate in non-work-related activities on unscheduled workdays. However, these are not applied to Japanese teachers.

The Japanese corporate system is very rigid and structured. NOGI was no different. Extremely centralized and top-down, any problem at one of the local schools was documented and dealt with at the corporate headquarters. Local managers were instructed to handle personal problems but to direct all professional matters to the head office. Meetings, reports, and faxes were an important and time-consuming part of the business process at NOGI.

Tobys Case

Toby Lee, an American, was employed as an English teacher in NOGI a few months ago. Recently, Toby decided to move back to US and attend the Drucker School of Management in USA in next year. Before he applies for the degree programme, he has to take the GMAT test, dated on Saturday, October 17. Therefore, Tony requested for a day-off in July.

However, Ms. Hisami Davies, who was a Japanese vice president of HR at NOGI, told Toby that his request had been denied. NOGI could not allow employees to take a personal day off at their discretion because it endangered the efficient operation of their business. Ms. Davies told him that his contract required him to work from Tuesday through Saturday without exception. The only exceptions were defined as attending a wedding or funeral for direct family members. In these cases (except funerals), written proof from the families had to be submitted one month in advance for approval. NOGI considered Toby's request a selfish one. It was a personal day that, from the company's perspective, was equivalent to spending the day playing baseball because both activities failed to add value to the corporation.

Toby argued that this test was for the betterment of his future and that it was only offered on Saturdays. He believed that he had provided them sufficient time to accommodate his request and that notifying him of their decision a week before his test was unprofessional. NOGI had a division of emergency teachers whose sole purpose was to cover for other teachers who were sick. Toby argued that he could have just called in sick and that this would have been deemed a legitimate absence. Ms. Davies reminded him that the students were paying a lot of money to be taught by him and having another teacher provided them with a lesser service. She urged him to think of the team and not just himself. He was told that being absent that Saturday would result in serious disciplinary actions.

After his phone call with Ms. Davies, Toby was very upset. He had prepared for the GMAT over the past three months and filed all the appropriate paperwork to take the test in Japan. He believed that he had acted extremely professionally with respect to the bureaucratic process at NOGI. Only four months into his job, which he was thoroughly enjoying, he faced possible termination. Toby believed that NOGI's actions were illegal and decided to sue the company.

Source: Adapted from Tompkins, T. C. 2002. Cases in Management and Organizational Behavior, Volume 2. Prentice Hall, pp. 1-5.

Discussion questions

1. From the perspective of the Hofstedes five dimensions of national culture, illustrate with examples the differences between the Japan and the American culture. (20 marks)

2. Discuss how NOGI establish and strengthen their culture among 350 branches.

(10 marks)

3. Identify the possible sources of conflict between NOGI tutorial school and Toby.

(10 marks)

4. Suggest and explain any resolutions can be used to solve their conflict. (10 marks)