2015 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Beyond Multiculturalism: Organizational Logics and Cultural Practices at Japanese Workplaces
| Project/Area Number |
15K03884
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| Research Institution | Waseda University |
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Principal Investigator |
FARRER GRACIA 早稲田大学, アジア太平洋研究科, 教授 (70436062)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
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| Keywords | Skill immigrants / Japanese firms / globalization / Japanese employees / meanings of work / career mobility |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
During the FY 2015-2016, this project focuses on collecting narrative data about foreigners' as well as Japanese employees' experiences working in globalizing Japanese firms. By documenting the narratives of their daily work tasks and office life, their relations with co-workers, what they render important for their work satisfaction and their imagined career development, this study aims to understand the nature of the difficulties corporate Japan has had in attracting and retaining foreign talents. It also aims to understand how Japanese employees experience the transition taking place in Japanese firms today.
The investigator and her research assistant interviewed 20 foreign employees and several Japanese employees, conducted a focus group with 5 foreign employees, and did participant observations at casual social gatherings participated by foreign professionals in Tokyo. In order to diversify demographic profiles of research subjects, the project has interviewed foreign employees from different national and racial backgrounds, both men and women.
Based on these interviews, focus group discussions and participant observations, this study finds that the apparent difficulty for foreigners to adapt to Japanese organizations, aside from work styles and office cultures, has to do with the different meanings foreign and Japanese employees attach to work and career as well as the uncertainties Japanese firms treat foreign employees.These findings lead to a theoretical attention to the changing meanings of work and career in the age of globalization.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The research project has been more or less following the initial time schedule, and has been progressing smoothly. This year our goal is to conduct interviews and collect data. The field research about the foreign employees in Japanese firms has been progressing very well. We managed to interview around 20 foreign employees. We have also succeeded in interviewing several Japanese employees, and conducted a focus group with 5 foreign employees. In order to diversify demographic profiles of research subjects, we have also interviewed foreign employees from different national and racial backgrounds, both men and women. In order to see how immigrants in different geographic areas have different work and social experience, the research assistant also conducted field research in Fukuoka.
Based on the initial data, we have had some initial findings which are leading us to explore a new theoretical direction, namely the meanings of work (MOW). This is a field that has engaged a lot of global comparative projects but hasn't included immigrants in the literature. We feel that this group of theories can help us understand the situations, especially immigrant employees' difficult adaptation process in globalizing Japanese firms. At the same time, our research project can potentially contribute to MOW research by bringing it out of the national framework to apply to globalizing workplaces and workforce.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
For 2016-7 financial year, our plans are as follows:
1) We will continue conducting interviews and focus groups with foreign employees, but with more attention on gender and racial balance. We will sample more Asian employees, especially the Chinese, because Chinese are the biggest immigrant employee group in Japan.
2) We will increase the number of Japanese employees in our sample in order to understand the difference between Japanese and foreign employees. By interviewing Japanese employees of different age group, we aim to also understand changing meanings of work among the Japanese employees.
3) In the second half of the year, we will focus on producing a research paper for conferencing as well as journal publication. We will carry out an intensive review of literature on meanings of work, continue analysing data, and draft a paper.
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| Causes of Carryover |
Because this project's data collection is heavily interview oriented, the personnel costs for interviewing and transcribing in 2015 exceeded expectation. I therefore reduced domestic travel and focused on collecting data in Tokyo area instead. Originally, I budgeted for an international conference trip, but in the end used a Waseda internal conference grant to pay for AAS-in-Taiwan conference presentation instead. I also cut down the expenditure on equipments so as to save funding for the personnel expenditure in 2016-7.
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| Expenditure Plan for Carryover Budget |
In 2016-7, there will be extra labour costs and multiple international conference presentations. The rollover from 2015 will be added to the funding of 2016-7 to be used mainly for personnel expenditure and international travel.
1) We plan to conduct 15 more interviews with foreign employees working for globalizing Japanese companies, mostly non-western interviewees, and 20 interviews with Japanese employees. I will contract two to three research assistants for interviewing, transcribing and coding. Additional costs will be for project participants' honoraria and other reimbursable items.
2) I have been accepted to present a paper at the International Sociological Association (ISA) Conference in Vienna in July. I will use Kaken-hi to cover the costs incurred.
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Research Products
(2 results)
