Outsourcing and Offshoring in Japan

        Several countries, most predominantly the US, have developed outsourcing and offshoring economy to the point where there is exponentially increased pressure on foreign countries to cut costs by adopting similar outsourcing/offshoring policies, in order to compete fairly in the world economy. Japan is powerful example of this trend. However, Japan has taken to outsourcing white collar jobs,  in contrast to the US where the jobs outsourced are principally blue collar jobs. Regardless of the particular skill levels of the jobs being outsourced, Japan has faced some significant cultural backlash in attempting to adopt an American system, and therefore the development has happened slowly and indirectly. Due to the meticulous nature of Japanese culture, outsourcing jobs completely to the citizens of other countries is not really an option. Instead, Japanese companies are moving Japanese workers to outposts in other Asian countries like Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, New Delhi, Shanghai and Singapore (Tanikawa) because it is cheaper to conduct business in those places.

        Culture is a huge barrier to the Japanese in their journey towards hardcore outsourcing and offshoring; since Japan has traditionally been a “land of lifetime employment, outsourcing conjures up an image of job-cutting, which is still in many ways taboo” (Strom). It seems almost like America finds it so easy to outsource because we don’t experience the dedication to loyalty and lifelong service that the Japanese do, and do not have a specific business culture to preserve. Or it may be that our culture simply does not posses the same multitude of nuances; Kazuyuki Ichikawa, an employee for a company that deals with outsourcing Japanaese workers, describes the general importance of these Japanese nuances, saying; “You say one thing and Japanese employees will understand three things... In Western cultures, you might be straightforward with what you want your staff to know, but a Japanese manager would want you to understand it without having to say it” (Tanikawa). Yet, despite this, Japan continues to experience pressure to outsource—something that will drastically alter the composition of the Japanese business culture—even if done in a style that “allows everyone to save face and is not as harsh as outsourcing U.S. style” (Strom).

      The pressure is especially acute in light of the devastating earthquake Japan recently experienced, destroying many factories and businesses, the owners of which see recovery in a the disabled Japanese economy as nearly impossible. Trade Reform reported that “In a recent survey [circa 2011] sent to domestic manufacturing companies, METI [Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry] found that almost 70 percent of responding firms indicated the possibility of “accelerating” relocation of manufacturing and supply chain operations in full or in part, due to the earthquake and tsunami” (Stumo). These shocking statistics were not taken lightly; the Japanese government responded with many programs working to rebuild factories and businesses to prevent a wave of outsourcing. It continues to become evident that “the Japanese Government sees outsourcing as a long-term problem that will require government attention and financial support for years to come” (Stumo), and we can only wonder if the combination of cultural and governmental resistance will be able to stop the infectious force that is outsourcing from taking over Japan’s economy.

                                                                          Works Cited

Murphy, Marian. "Outsourcing Japan - OECD Observer." Outsourcing Japan - OECD Observer. OECD, Dec. 1999. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.

Strom, Stephanie. "THE BUSINESS WORLD; In Japan: Outsourcing Without A Capital 'O'" The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 July 2000. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.

Stumo, Michael. "Japan'€s Offshoring Problem -- Post Earthquake-- Trade Reform." TradeReform.org. Trade Reform, 08 Aug. 2008. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.

Tanikawa, Miki. "Many in Japan Are Outsourcing Themselves."  NYTimes.com. New York Times, 21 July 2010. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.

Outsourced! Take 1

Dura Nail Polish- USA
Plastic frame- China
Candle- USA
Urban Outfitters hand statue- China
Old Kodak Brownie Camera- London
Kodak film- USA
Small plastic unicorn figurine- China
Snow Globe -Taiwan
Instant Camera -China
Light up Moon Light -China
Nikon Camera Battery -China
Chanel Eyeshadow -France
Hairbrush -China
Goldfish shaped bowl -China
Japanese Moistureizer- China
Hairbands -China
Incense stick holder -India
Neanderthal shaped Eraser -China 
Really cool frame -India
L'Oreal lipstick -USA
Perry the Platypus lanyard -China
Easel -USA
India ink -USA
Crayola chalk -China

This exercise mostly reinforced my previous conceptions about outsourcing and offshoring. Basically, nearly all of our everyday objects are made in China. It is austounding that a single country can produce so many diverse and seemingly compeltely culturally unrelated objects. I found it especially ironic that the Japanese moisturizer I bought from an asian cosmetics store was actually manufactured in China, not Japan. This trnd repeated with my "Japanese" Fujifilm camera being manufactured in China. I began to see two levels of outsourcing/importation. I also noted that this trend with China/Asia is a more recent development, as my vintage Kodak Brownie camera (it was my grandparent's in England) was actually produced in the city it was sold -London- whereas my modern kodak cameras bought in the US all list China as their place of manufacture. This is evidence of a seminal shift in product manufacturing that occured in the last 3rd of the 20th century- during which much of our manufacturing was outsourced to poorer countries like China, India, and Taiwan. In contrast, many products that claimed to be affiliated with a specific first world european country (L'oreal with France, Pablo easels with Italy, etcetera), shifted production from those expensive first world countries to less glamourus 1st world countries like Canada and the US, or developing 3rd world/2nd world countires like China, Taiwan and India.

Ay Yay Yay! Rewrite

It doesn’t take a yiddisher kop to understand that language is an integral part of culture. Nishme’r, languages that have been around for centuries are dismissed as mishegoss- just because they’re primarily spoken and not often used in literary works! Maven are so quick to dismiss these languages as bubke that they fail to appreciate the beauty of an adaptive oral language like Yiddish. Many of my mishpocha use this language to casually shmooze with each other, but they feel like schmos when talking to shiksas and shegetzes this way. Ironically, goyishers often use parts of the Yiddish language callously without realizing and appreciating the rich cultural origin of the words. It is cultural appropriation, nu? Oy! How can some words of a goyish language be adopted and basically re-dubbed “English” words, and yet the rest of the words are not? Feh!  Standard 'Goyisher English' is really a combined oral language anyway, so why do goyim kvetch and plotz about other combined languages? Those who praise standard English -yet denounce Yiddish and Black English and Chicano Spanish nach a mool- are shmendriks and cause tsuris for those whose natural language is not Standard English. I kvell my haimish language although many kibitzers huck me about it. Fershtay? Those who speak yiddish mixed with a goyisher language should not be made to feel like they are hok a chaink.

   I found this assignment incredibly challenging. Writing about the philosophy of language in a mixture of Yiddish and English was nearly impposible for me- not because the Yiddish language itself is incappable of expressing the ideas, but because the extent of my knowledge of the language is not sufficient. Yiddish is a sarcastic and satirical language, used primarily by myself and my family as an impetus for humor and exagerration. I connect with my history through this language; but following the traditions of my ancestors, I use Yiddish mostly privately, among family and friends that share Jewish culture. I think that in Europe this language has much more autonomy, but in the US much of the language has been unknowingly adapted into standard English and is therefore often overlooked as its own language. This makes me both happy and sad, as I know that I will always be able to express a part of my cultural heritage in Standard English- but most of it will go unappreciated. The pious attitudes scholars of standard english have towards other languages combining with standard English seem silly when I realize just how much our language is comprised of other languages. Although it was challenging, I really enjoyed writing this paragraph  because I was able to use some of my favourite words and expressions- ones that make me feel at home and smile (not to be cheezy or anything.) The Yiddish language expresses things with degrees of sarcasm and meaning that cannot be done through standard English. I would recommend you have a few good Yiddish insults in your pocket!