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.
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