2016 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, 国際学術院(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 | global talents / internal labor market / foreign employees / global labor mobility / meanings of work / career mobility / Japanese corporations |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
During the 2016-17 financial year, this project managed to collect more narrative data from both foreign and Japanese employees. We interviewed 12 more individuals, including both Japanese and foreigners, and organized a focus group with 5 women participants. We have also interviewed Human resource managers from 5 Japanese companies. These data allow us to have a clearer picture of what is at stake in the incorporation of global talents in Japanese corporations.
The main findings are: 1) The internal labor market in Japanese corporations and the practices it entails are a major hurdle in retaining global talents. Without changing such labor market practice, not only foreign employees, but Japanese employees will also choose to exit. Japanese companies have seen increasingly higher job turnover rates among young Japanese employees. 2) Global labor market conditions are such that it is unreasonable to expect life-long committment to firms. The meaings of work and career, and how career is structured in the global age have changed. Firms need to deal with the increasingly globalized labor market.
Our main research outputs include journal article publications and presentations at internatioanl conferences. Among them, “Invisible Borders and Disappearing Borders: Japan-bound Skilled Migrants in an Age of Mobility,” Association of Asian Studies Annual Conference, Toronto, Canada, March 16-19, 2017.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
1: Research has progressed more than it was originally planned.
Reason
For this project, over the past two years, we have accumulated close to 50 interviews with Japanese and foreign employees, and with human resource managers. We have also been able to present our findings at various international conferences and workshops. These empirical findings and theoretical inputs from participating in international workshops and conferences have allowed us to think more deeply about the issues confronting labor mobility in an age of globalization, and give possibility to broader theoretical insights. For example, how mobile labor force construct meanings of work and career in an global age and the problems of international labor market were not concepts I originally hypothesized, but gained through empirical research and communicating with international researchers. Our presumption that foreign employees are different from Japanese employees was also challenged. Young Japanese employees have demonstrated similar patterns of labor choices.
Based on the empirical findings, the Principal Investigator has developed a broader comparative project to compare labor market experiences of global talents in Japan and those in Germany, aiming to explore the fundamental conditions that promote and halt geographic and career mobilities. This new project is funded by JSPS International Joint Research Grant (2017-2020).
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
This project is entering into its final year. Many of our analyses and reports will be presented at several international conferences. We hope to complete the writing projects we have started and increase research outputs in forms of journal articles.
Moreover, to prepare for the comparative project that spins off from this project, we will continue explore areas that can be compared with situaitons in Germany. More interviews will be conducted with corporate managers and global talents.
We will continue to develop theoretical knowledge about global human resources management and the conditions of Japanese labor market.
We will also adopt Qualitative Comparative Analysis as a methodological tool to process the data we have collected in Japan and prepare for a comparative analysis with the German case.
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| Causes of Carryover |
Last year, because I continued fieldwork and spent more than planned on research assistants, I tried to reduce costs on other items, such as equipments and overseas travel expenses. As a result, there is a small amount left.
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| Expenditure Plan for Carryover Budget |
This year, there will be several international conferences trips for both the principle investigator and the research assistant Helena Hof, including trips to AAS-in-Asia in Seould, ICAS 10 in Chiang Mai. These trips will take up a bit share of this year's funding.
Moreover, in order to have a smooth transition toward the International Joint Research project that has just started, we need to create a systematic database for comparative study. This will entail some labor costs.
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Research Products
(6 results)
