An empirical study of highly-skilled foreign professionals who graduated from Japanese universities

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26380651
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Sociology
• Research Institution: Kokushikan University
• Principal Investigator: Watanabe Ryuko (横須賀柳子) 国士舘大学, 政経学部, 教授 (90338294)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 外国人社員 / 日本国内企業 / 人材活用 / 元留学生 / 組織社会化

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study examines the socialization of highly-skilled foreign professionals who have graduated from Japanese universities and are currently working in enterprises in Japan. The focus is on the learning and adjustment process that enables the foreign professional to assume an organizational role that fits both organization's and individual's needs. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were given to the foreign workers as well as to the employees in the human resources division of the various enterprises. Results suggest that the organizational socialization of non-Japanese workers correlates (1) to the difference in expectations of the foreign worker and the company during the pre-employment stages, and (2) to the language problems and cultural differences that both parties incur at the workplace. It should be noted, however, that the study also acknowledges that the support system for promoting non-Japanese workers' organizational socialization is still under development.

Free Research Field

応用言語学(日本語教育）