Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal

Emerald Article: The perceptions of Malaysians in a Japanese company Yeap Peik Foong, Stanley Richardson

Article information:
To cite this document: Yeap Peik Foong, Stanley Richardson, (2008),"The perceptions of Malaysians in a Japanese company", Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, Vol. 15 Iss: 3 pp. 221 - 243 Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13527600810892521 Downloaded on: 26-03-2012 References: This document contains references to 39 other documents To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.com

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by BCU BUCURESTI For Authors: If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service. Information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Additional help for authors is available for Emerald subscribers. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com With over forty years' experience, Emerald Group Publishing is a leading independent publisher of global research with impact in business, society, public policy and education. In total, Emerald publishes over 275 journals and more than 130 book series, as well as an extensive range of online products and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 3 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.
*Related content and download information correct at time of download.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1352-7606.htm

The perceptions of Malaysians in a Japanese company

Yeap Peik Foong and Stanley Richardson
Faculty of Management, Multimedia University, Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract
Purpose The aim of this paper is to investigate the perceptions of Malaysian employees of ABC MSC (a Japanese company in Malaysia) in order to recommend changes in management practices. Design/methodology/approach Fieldwork was conducted using participant observation and interviews. Participant observation was conducted to investigate the flow of information, the implementation of decisions made by the top Japanese managers, problem resolution, and the reaction of the local staff to management practices. The interviews highlighted communication problems which have existed between the Japanese CEO and the local telecommunications companies since the company started operations in 1997. Findings Even thought the company is backed by a financially strong parent company in Japan and has a lot of growth potential, this potential remains partially untapped due to management strategies of the company headquarters. Research limitations/implications Japan remains an important Foreign Direct Investment country in Malaysia. The perceptions of employees of Japanese companies in Malaysia are worth investigating since changes of management strategies in the home country affect the direction and operations of the overseas subsidiaries. Further research should be carried out in other Japanese companies in Malaysia. Practical implications Suggestions to improve the management strategies are discussed. Originality/value It is believed that no other Japanese company in Malaysia has been investigated in this way before. This papers findings should be useful to many expatriate managers in Malaysia. Keywords Japan, Malaysia, Employee attitudes, International business, Expatriates, Corporate strategy Paper type Case study

Malaysians in a Japanese company 221

Introduction Japan remains an important source of Foreign Direct Investment in Malaysia. Japan ranked third in the list of Malaysias top ten trading partners in 2005 and it remained the largest source of imports for Malaysia and the third largest market for Malaysian exports in the same year (Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation, 2005). The perceptions of employees who work in Japanese companies in Malaysia are worth investigating since changes of management strategies in the home country affect the direction and operations of the overseas subsidiaries (Taira, 1980; Jaeger, 1983; Beechler and Yang, 1994). Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country. The Malays and other indigenous groups make up 61 per cent, the Chinese 24 per cent, the Indians 7 per cent, and others 8 per cent of the population. Thus, the study of Malaysian employee perceptions in a Japanese overseas subsidiary should show how Japanese management practices are viewed in a multicultural environment such as Malaysia. This paper concerns one Japanese company in Malaysia, ABC Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) (a pseudonym) engaged in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry. ICT in Malaysia The development of the ICT industry in Malaysia has received great attention from the government. The Malaysian government embarked upon the MSC initiative in 1996 with the aim of cultivating a knowledge-rich society in Malaysia and taking the country into
Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal Vol. 15 No. 3, 2008 pp. 221-243 # Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1352-7606 DOI 10.1108/13527600810892521

CCM 15,3

222

the information age. The MSC covers a 15 km by 50 km land area, stretching from the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur in the north to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in the south; and encompasses two new cities: Cyberjaya, the technology core and Putrajaya, the new administrative capital of Malaysia. It is also an integrated logistics hub with rapid rail links to Kuala Lumpur, and a new highway system. In order to provide high-capacity global telecommunications and logistics network services, a 2.5-10 gigabits digital fiber-optic backbone was built in MSC. Moreover, the innovative cyberlaws, policies and practices which govern the MSC allow investors to harness the full potential of ICT and multimedia. With this unique and ideal multimedia environment, Malaysia continues to attract leading ICT companies both local and international to locate their industries in the MSC and undertake research, develop new products and technologies and export them from this base. Japanese companies have taken the initiative to establish their subsidiaries in Cyberjaya while Malaysia is making efforts to expand Cyberjaya into a major regional IT hub. Background of the company The company ABC MSC was incorporated as a wholly owned Japanese subsidiary of ABC Corporation (also a pseudonym) on 2 July 1997. It moved operations from the capital, Kuala Lumpur to the newly established intelligent city of Cyberjaya, 30 km from Kuala Lumpur. Thus the ABC Group marked its debut in the MSC established in 1996. ABC MSCs principal activities are to supply and install telecommunication equipment, and to provide other value-added telecommunication and market research services relating to the local telecommunication industry. ABC MSC organizational structure On 30 June 2006, ABC MSC had a total workforce of 73, i.e. seven Japanese expatriates (9 per cent) and 66 locals (91 per cent). There are 32 technical staff (44 per cent), 24 sales staff (33 per cent), and 17 support staff (23 per cent). Table I shows the manpower structure by ethnic groups in the technical, sales, and support groups. The management prefers to hire Chinese because they generally regard them as better qualified and more highly motivated than members of other ethnic groups (this was stated by three Malaysians two department managers and the human resource manager). There are seven divisions and thirteen departments in the organization. Figure 1 shows the ABC MSC organizational chart at 30 June 2006.
Technical group Japanese Malay Chinese Indian Others Total 1 6 18 5 2 32 Sales group 4 19 1 24 Support group 2 5 9 1 17 Total 7 11 46 6 3 73

Table I. Manpower structure by ethnic groups at ABC MSC

Malaysians in a Japanese company 223

Figure 1.
ABC MSC organizational chart as at 30 June 2006

The aim The aim of this study is to investigate the perceptions of Malaysian employees of ABC MSC (a Japanese company in Malaysia) in order to recommend changes in management practices. Methodology Triangulation methods Various methods were used, including documentary analysis, participant observation, and interviews. Denzin (1978, p. 291) says triangulation is the combination of methodologies in the study of the same phenomenon. The use of multiple approaches allow an investigator to address a broader range of historical, attitudinal, and behavioral issues (Yin, 1994, p. 92). Multiple approaches and methods have been used by many researchers (Lam, 1992; Lee, 1998; Ogasawara, 1998; Wong, 1999). In an effort to examine the extent to which the growing pressures from equal opportunities between the sexes have caused Japanese companies to adapt and modify their employment and personnel management practices, Lam (1992) carried out comprehensive surveys of employment practices across companies and industries in Japan, combined with detailed fieldwork at Seibu in 1984 and again in 1988. Similarly, Lees (1998) study of gender in two factories owned by a Hong Kong-based company located in two sites, (in Hong Kong, China and in Shenzhen, China) aimed to investigate the factors that caused the implementation of different management practices between the two sites. She used multiple approaches, she not only observed the working of the factories, but participated in the work and involved herself personally in the relations and processes that she studied. In an attempt to investigate workplace politics between Japanese male and female workers in a Japanese company, Ogasawara (1998) combined participant

CCM 15,3

224

observation and personal interviews in her methodology to carry out her study. She spent six months of participant observation as a temporary clerical worker at the Tokyo headquarters of a large bank and interviewed 40 office men, ten wives of office men, and 30 office ladies to collect data. Wong (1999) examined the success of a Japanese supermarket retailer in transferring its management systems to Hong Kong. He spent two years of participant-observer research in various branches of the department store to study the companys operations in Hong Kong, particularly the power relations between and among the Japanese expatriates and local Hong Kong Chinese employees. Collection of information Information was obtained from company annual reports, the employee handbook, newsletters, brochures, and the company website. Further information was obtained by:
.

Semi-structured interviews: interviewees were selected from the managers (including the President, and the directors of the main divisions); from the executives (senior technical staff, e.g. IT programmers, engineers, data entry staff, etc); and from non-executive staff (clerks, drivers, etc). All interviews were arranged and conducted after the official working hours from 1730 onwards, to avoid interrupting the respondents daily work. Participant observation: One of us, Yeap Peik Foong (YPF) immersed himself in ABC MSC alongside target participants, becoming an employee of the company. As far as possible, everything was observed and observations recorded as soon as possible after they had been made. Special attention was paid to the team process in order to determine weaknesses and strengths.

Results Respondents background A total of 53 interviews were successfully carried out (all by YPF). The profile of the 53 respondents from 14 departments is in the Appendix. The average age of the respondents was 31 years old and the average length of service in the company was four years two months. Most (60.4 per cent) of the respondents were graduates either from local or overseas universities. These respondents came from three levels of employees: management (14), executive (35) and non-executive (four). Among these 53 respondents, there were 32 Chinese, eight Malays, five Indians, two Kadazan and one Eurasian (all Malaysians) and four Japanese. Three of the local respondents spoke fluent Japanese and one of them had three years working experience in a Japanese company in Japan. Respondents perceptions Japanese company an attraction?. Did the respondents initially view the fact that ABC MSC was Japanese as an attraction to work for the company? Sixty-four per cent of the local respondents responded positively to this question. Respondent L32 graduated in Japan and had three years working experience in Japan before she returned to Malaysia. She felt that she has better prospects working in a Japanese company because she graduated from a university in Japan and speaks fluent Japanese. She believed her educational background and language ability are personal strengths in building her career in a Japanese company. For most of the management (75 per cent)

and executive staff (76.5 per cent), on the other hand, the opportunity to have training in and exposure to Japan was the initial attraction for them to join the company, given that some Japanese companies send their employees for training in Japan. Reputation of parent company. Most of the respondents knew of the company because of its links with the parent company. The brand name and image of the parent company give the impression that ABC MSC is financially strong, well established and secure. Respondents L6 and L9, who joined the company when it was first established in Malaysia, said that their interest in working for this company was because there were more opportunities for promotion while the company was still at the growing stage. Respondent L9 hoped for the opportunity to be sent to Japan for training. Respondent L15 who joined the company in April 2005 hoped to pick up knowledge and skills, and develop his career through working in a reputable foreign company such as ABC MSC. His intention was to gain as much knowledge and experience as possible and at the same time to upgrade his own profile. He further said that his working experience in a reputable foreign telecommunications company would help him to look for a better position in other companies in the future. It is clear that he was using the company as a stepping-stone in the development of his own career. Job security. To what extent does ABC MSC offer job security? The responses to this question can be categorized into three different groups. The first group of respondents included those executives who graduated in Japan and had working experience there. There were local employees who were attracted to work for ABC MSC because the company is Japanese. This is particularly shown by the respondents who graduated from Japan and had working experience in Japanese companies in Japan. Respondents L22 and L32 felt that a Japanese company would provide a very high level of job security to its employees. They felt that the company would never fire its employees and they felt secure working in ABC MSC. The second group of respondents consisted of employees in positions of assistant manager, manager, and senior manager. A majority of the respondents gave the same response, i.e. that the company is very secure and never lays off its permanent employees, even those that make mistakes and cause the company to lose money. Respondent L7 mentioned that there was a manager in the Data Centre who made a serious mistake and caused the company to become involved in a law suit. Eventually, the company paid a large sum of money to the client, which created bad publicity. However, the manager who made the mistake was still with the company, and was recently transferred to head a newly created department. On the other hand, respondents L5 and L9 commented that employment is not 100 per cent secure in ABC MSC. The top management can shift its subsidiary in Malaysia to other countries or to close it down any time, because ABC MSC is wholly owned by the Japanese. The third group of respondents consisted of the executive and non-managerial staff, including the IT engineers, general clerks, security officer, customer support engineers, and Data Centre operators. This group of respondents felt that the company does not provide job security to its employees because retrenchment occurred in 2003 where 45 executive and non-managerial staff were laid off. The Research and Development (R&D) Department was closed down that year. Communication with Japanese. The majority of the respondents did not find difficulty in communicating with their Japanese colleagues in the company because all the Japanese expatriates in the company speak fluent English, like the Malaysian employees. However, all the respondents felt that the Japanese dominate the hierarchy of the organization as 70 per cent of the division heads are Japanese expatriates. Thus,

Malaysians in a Japanese company 225

CCM 15,3

226

all the local employees commented that they only had little or moderate influence on decision-making and little or moderate personal autonomy in work. Moreover, the local employees believe that little consensus decision-making was practiced in this company; their suggestions and opinions were sometimes solicited, but rarely implemented, they said. More than 80 per cent of the local employees believed that consensus decision-making is only practiced among the Japanese managers. Chain of command and transparency. Forty local employees (80 per cent) interviewed found that the job description, duties and responsibilities, and chain of command were not defined, or documented, in the company. Some employees complained that they needed to handle the work of two different departments and report to different superiors, which creates confusion among the locals. In addition, the company policies are only moderately transparent. Some respondents were not aware that they are entitled to apply for training or attend seminars or conferences that are related to their work once a year. This benefit is not stated clearly in the Employee Handbook. Pay. Forty-three of the respondents (85 per cent) were dissatisfied with the pay they received in the company! Respondent L7, L11, and L35 said that the salary they receive is marginally lower than other telecommunications companies in Malaysia. The reason they have stayed is that they are satisfied with the working conditions, including a healthy safe working environment, privacy, office space, a personal computer, and relations with her superiors and colleagues. The majority of the respondents were satisfied with the day-to-day working conditions and relations with superiors and colleagues in the company. However, they were dissatisfied with the conditions of service and contracts, e.g. job security, promotion, training, welfare, and benefits, etc provided by the company. Other financial benefits. All respondents commented that the difference in benefits between the Japanese expatriates and the local staff is too large. All the Japanese expatriates are entitled to a company car, housing allowance, and family allowance; but Malaysian employees get none of these. Thus, many local employees felt that it was unfair when they compared the fringe benefits the company provided to the local employees with those of the Japanese expatriates. Respondents L2 and L4 suggested that the company should reduce the fringe benefits of the Japanese expatriates and utilize the money more productively, for example, in upgrading the computer system and equipment in the Data Centre and providing medical benefits for the immediate family members of the local staff. Currently, the medical benefits do not cover the local employees immediate family members. However, some respondents felt that even though they were not satisfied with the big difference in staff benefits between the Japanese expatriates and local staff, they had to accept them without any hard feelings because it is the company policy. A study carried out by Keeley (2001) among Japanese expatriates and local employees in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand revealed that this gap in compensation and benefits often leads to friction between Japanese expatriates and local employees. Redress of grievances. How do local employees redress their grievances since there is no union in the company? The first approach used by all the respondents is to have face-to-face talks with their immediate superior. They felt that this is the most appropriate way to express their dissatisfaction; 76 per cent of the respondents talk to colleagues to share their feelings, 62 per cent of the respondents send email to their superior or colleagues, while 26 per cent of the respondents speak to the human resource manager. Respondent L15 said he would talk to the most vocal person in the

company and hope that this person would convey his dissatisfaction to the management. But in the final resort, all respondents said all they can do is to keep quiet, even if they are not happy with the management practices: this may be a reason for labour turnover. Labour turnover. From 1 October 2005 to 30 June 2006, nine local employees and two Japanese employees who were recruited in Malaysia left the company. The labour turnover rate was about 15 per cent and the majority who resigned were the IT engineers and staff from the sales division and system operations division. The high turnover rate, especially among the younger engineers, has caused the company to lose its trained manpower and indirectly lower the morale of the local staff. Between February and June 2006, five IT engineers resigned because of better offers from other companies. Two of them had more than five years working experience in ABC MSC. Many employees resigned from the company after they received the announcement of salary increments from the management at the end of the year 2005. Some employees even appealed to the human resource manager, who is a local, but she was not able to revise the salary increments. The ultimate decision was made by the Human Resource Director, who is Japanese. Since the management did not make any changes regarding the increment, the local staff member resigned. Some of the experienced IT engineers managed to get better offers in terms of salary and position from other companies; two of them were respondents L10 and L12. Ironically, the human resource manager who had been in the company for five years resigned at the end of December 2005. One month later, her assistant, the human resource and administrative officer with nine months service also resigned and left the whole human resource department without any local employees for about a month before the new human resource manager was hired. The high turnover of local employees from various departments in the company was reported to the regional manager, a Japanese, in the Singapore office. He came to the company in Cyberjaya and held a meeting with all the employees in February 2006 to discuss the issue. In the meeting (attended by YPF), he explained to the local employees that the management practices in ABC MSC are different from the parent company in Japan. For example, the practices of lifetime employment and enterprise unions are not implemented in ABC MSC. Since there is no union to represent the voice of the local Malaysian employees, he encouraged open communication with employees. Those facing problems with their work or are unsatisfied with the management can call or write to him directly. He even met individually with those who have tendered their resignation letters to ask the reasons for their resignation. However, the local employees still opted to leave the company since they managed to get better offers elsewhere. Perception of Japanese colleagues. How did the local employees view the Japanese expatriates? There were pros and cons. Generally the Japanese staff were viewed as friendly, hardworking and easy to approach in a social context. However, the general perception was that they act differently when it came to work-related issues. Respondents commented that Japanese colleagues feel that they are superior and see themselves as the bosses when they deal with work and formal issues. They rarely listen to the opinions of the local employees, and even when they do, they generally do not implement them. Respondents L1, L4, L9, L12, and L38 viewed the Japanese staff as only focusing on their own work and having short-term commitment to the Malaysian company: they are in Malaysia only for a few years after which they return to Japan. Thus, there is little effort to strengthen the relationship between the Japanese and the local staff. The interests of the local staff in relation to fringe payments and benefits are

Malaysians in a Japanese company 227

CCM 15,3

228

not cared for effectively. Respondents L7 and L14 felt that the Japanese expatriates were not the people to look to for direction. This is because the Japanese expatriates do not listen to the local employees and they will not change once they have made their decision. Respondents L2 and L4 had the same perception. They said that even though there are some Japanese expatriates who are highly respected, 90 per cent are not. Some of them appear incompetent and they do not try to improve. They behave as if they are in Malaysia on holiday. They called this group of Japanese expatriates the holiday makers. Japanese perception of Malaysian colleagues. How did the Japanese view the local employees? Generally the local staff were viewed as hardworking, cooperative, enthusiastic to learn, easy to work with, and friendly. Informant L53 who had three years overseas working experience in an ABC subsidiary in Manila, the Philippines, commented that the Malaysian colleagues were more disciplined, well educated, and responsible than the local employees in the subsidiary in Philippines. He enjoyed working in a multicultural environment and even practiced his limited Malay language skills with the local staff. Informant L42 shared the same perception. She felt that the Malaysian colleagues were friendly and helpful. She had no problem mixing with them, especially the Malays, because she spoke fluent Malay, which she had learned in her university in Japan. However, informant L52 commented that the morale and commitment of the local employees was low. He felt that some local employees were not putting their full effort and commitment into their work. He further commented that the local employees, especially those who were young and single, were less loyal than many of those who had left the company after a few years of service. Discussion The changing Japanese work ethic Japanese attitudes toward work have changed (Mohwald, 2000), along with social change (Eades, 2000) and increasing affluence, especially among the younger generation who are more concerned with personal pleasure and enjoyment. The stereotype of the workaholic Japanese is no longer true. The Japanese attitudes in relation to work have been changing since the mid-1970s. Even though work is still important to the majority of Japanese, however the value system which used to stress the importance of hard work, diligence, commitment, etc has changed among the young workers. A survey of work-related attitudes among youths who consulted the Tokyo and Osaka regional offices was carried out by the Employment Security Bureau of the Labour Ministry in 1990. The result of the survey showed that the majority of the respondents belonged to a type they called shinjinruigata. This type of worker displays a low level of loyalty to the company, dislikes hard work, and prefers leisure to work, opts for free time rather than extra income where the two conflict, has no interest in the content of work nor in responsibility, aspires to high salaries and short working hours, rejects socializing with colleagues after hours, and favours frequent change of jobs. New value patterns have emerged in Japanese society and this has strongly affected the work motivation of Japanese (Mohwald, 2000). ABC MSC problems past and present The idea of the MSC was conceptualized in 1996 to support the development of the global ICT industry, not only in Malaysia but globally. One of the problems faced by the company was the need to relocate its workforce from the sales office in Kuala Lumpur to the new office in Cyberjaya. Most of the staff were requested to move from

the Kuala Lumpur office to Cyberjaya. Since the infrastructure of Cyberjaya was not fully developed at that time, transportation was the main problem for the staff without their own transport. Besides, other facilities such as banking, clinics, and lunch facilities were very limited. The company failed to attract sufficient local talent to work in the new location. On the other hand, the most prominent external problem faced by the company was to establish good relationships with the local telecommunications companies. Since ABC MSC is a company that provides global network services to customers, it needed to establish good relationships with the local telecommunications companies in order to get a licence as a network service provider and also to be able to share the domestic network and infrastructure with the local telecommunications companies in Malaysia. Communications problems existing between the Japanese top executives and the local telecommunications companies caused a delay in getting the right partnership agreements to share the telecommunications infrastructure. This was partly because the Japanese expatriates did not speak good English and they did not feel comfortable negotiating with the local partners. In addition, the Japanese expatriates in ABC MSC only mingle with the Japanese community in the city. They rarely socialize with the local business partners. Thus, the Japanese top management depended on the local managers to deal with the local telecommunications companies. Poor communications and conflicts of interests with the local telecommunications companies remain among the continuing issues faced by the company. This may be due to the three changes of CEO since the establishment of ABC MSC in 1997. The first CEO was replaced in 2002 because ABC MSC was not performing well financially. When the second CEO arrived, drastic changes took place. The R&D Department was closed down because the department was not profitable. In addition, 45 local employees were laid off in 2003 and a new organization structure was implemented. A few employees were transferred to other departments. The second CEO was transferred back to the parent company in Japan in July 2005. The current CEO came to ABC MSC in August 2005. He restructured the organization and created new departments two months after he assumed his position. The local employees are reluctant to plan long term because the new CEO may restructure the organization and implement new policies, they believe. Furthermore, a lack of proper maintenance of equipment and of plans to invest in new technology and to upgrade the current system are affecting the companys aim to achieve a top position in the industry. Meanwhile, the company is facing other challenges, including the need to reduce its prices, to introduce more new products and services to cater for the needs of its customers, to improve its employee compensation and benefits packages in order to retain staff, and to provide training to upgrade employees skills and knowledge. Even though on-the-job training is provided, many staff learn mainly through trial and error. Besides, the manpower is insufficient in a few departments, for example the Data Centre Operations Department (see Figure 1); or so the Malaysian Data Centre Operations department manager and the assistant manager (Corporate Department) said. However, the Japanese Human Resource Director denied that manpower was insufficient. Perceived future of the company by local employees All the respondents view ABC MSC as a financially strong company because its ultimate holding company is ABC in Japan, which is well established. Besides being financially sound and having a good brand name, ABC MSC has developed new products and has joint research activities with numerous local universities, etc. Thus,

Malaysians in a Japanese company 229

CCM 15,3

ABC MSC has a lot of potential to grow. However, this potential is unfulfilled due to the Japanese headquarters management strategies to cut costs and reduce investment in its people and equipment. Employee perceptions of the multicultural work setting Japan prides itself on homogeneity but many scholars (e.g. Refsing, 2003) write about the homogeneity myth arguing that Japan is a society much like many others, with a great deal of variety among the population that lives within its boarders and with constant new additions to the mix. If it is different from other heterogeneous societies, it is only in its reluctance to accept and deal with this reality . . . Refsing might have added that the number of Japanese working overseas has made Japan more heterogeneous in its outlook. Malaysia has had Japanese working in several organizations for many years including the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. In this context Malaysia is probably unique. No other country exemplifies such a strong example of the practicalities of managing cultural diversity . . . (Smith, 2003) with its three major ethnic communities and many minor ones, especially in Sarawak and Sabah. Interacting with Malaysians is a fundamental theme of this paper and Malaysians in subordinate status are observed to be fearful of commenting and communication to their superiors about things that are bothering them. They are not specific in giving feedback . . . (Abdullah and Pedersen, 2003). All this is true of Malaysians in ABC MSC. The broader issues involved are discussed by Fontaine and Richardson (2005). These arguments help to explain most of the respondents perceptions of ABC MSC, and hence the high labour turnover rate especially as Malaysian employees feedback is ignored, they believe. Recommendations and conclusions Recommendations Top management local staff. Local staff who understand the local conditions should be put into top management positions so that the voice of the local staff can be heard, as a union does not yet exist in the company. Keeley (2001, p. 219) reported that The importance of integrating home country national managers into the management process of Japanese overseas subsidiaries should be understood in the context of the increased focus on international human resource management as a competitive factor. Many multinational corporations have appointed local employees to hold major positions in the top management of their overseas subsidiaries in Malaysia. For example, Dell has announced the appointment of a Malaysian as general manager of Dell Malaysia from September 2006 (The Star Online, 2006). Similarly, IBM announced the appointment of a Malaysian as Managing Director of IBM Malaysia in February 2007 (The Star Online, 2007). Thus, ABC MSC needs to deal more effectively with international human resource management issues and integrate managers from the host country into the management process in Malaysia, and ideally in the parent company as a whole. Japanese top management. Japanese top management should improve their leadership style to provide a clear and consistent long-term direction for the company. Moreover, the Japanese top management should associate more with the local CEOs in other companies, especially in the local telecommunications industry. Good rapport and communication will enhance good relationships between the CEOs. This is important because it will make negotiation processes smoother and faster. Long ago,

230

Dore (1979) criticized the image of Japanese managers as unable to adapt to foreign languages and cultures, and for some individuals, this is still the case. The crucial change needed is in managements thinking about the nature of the relationship between the employees and the company. The top management should be more Malaysian-oriented and treat the local employees more as partners (see Drucker, 2003, p. 89). The commitment of staff and the retention rate could be increased if the top management listens more to the local staff, takes greater care of employee morale, and provides more attractive benefits and compensation packages to Malaysian staff. Japanese expatriates constrained by the language barrier or lacking confidence in English must admit to the need for further language training. It is an area of selfdevelopment for enhancing working ability in the language of international business. Many schools and institutes are offering language-training programs in Malaysia. For example, the British Council in Malaysia offers English for work course which aims to improve communications at work and to enhance knowledge of international business communications practice. It is an English language course for a business context. In addition, corporate training programs, including courses and workshops tailored to the objectives and schedules of the corporation are also available. For instance, the written communication course includes report writing skills, grammar for business, and writing skills for managers. The interpersonal communication course includes presentation skills, effective negotiation skills, and essential skills for training-the-trainer (The British Council, Malaysia, 2007). Some Japanese expatriates must take advantage of these programs to improve themselves. Whitehall noted some years ago that Greater efforts to improve Japans scorecard in international communication are needed and cannot be left to chance (Whitehill, 1991, p. 283), and these problems still persist. Job satisfaction. ABC MSC should develop policies to improve the level of job satisfaction among local employees. The top management of ABC MSC must seriously consider the level of dissatisfaction among the local employees and take action to improve their so that they have a sense of security and the belief that top management understands their concerns and is taking action. Management localization programmes and initiatives should be implemented to increase local employees participation in decision-making. Such steps will help to increase the level of job satisfaction (cf Serapio, 1995). In the effort to help improve decision acceptance among the local employees in ABC MSC, top management should encourage group-oriented and participative decision methods so that the local employees may gain understanding and become committed to the process. This is one of the benefits of participative decision methods and effective leadership recommended by the Vroom-Jago model (Campling et al., 2006). Local staff benefits and compensations packages should include medical benefits that cover immediate family members, the spouse and children of local staff. This is common practice among many large employers in Malaysia, for example the American International Assurance Co. Ltd. The company should set up a training department under the corporate division and provide more training for the local managers to upgrade their management skills and to promote team spirit among them. Furthermore, the training manager should invite professional trainers to conduct train-the-trainers programmes in order to upgrade the skills of the in-house trainers and also to invite speakers to conduct seminars to boost the morale of the local employees. The communication climate within an organization is one of the factors to stimulate the strategic business alignment, i.e. the

Malaysians in a Japanese company 231

CCM 15,3

232

degree to which employees understand, support, and are able to execute the companies strategic initiatives (Riel et al., 2005). Since Japanese dominate top management in ABC MSC, a union should be encouraged among the local employees so that the union not only represents their voice, but also takes care of the welfare of the local employees. Hence perception of top management by locals would be enhanced. Office seating. Despite Japanese office culture, the design of office space and sitting arrangement in ABC MSC should maximize efficiency and effectiveness and increasing the possibility of interaction, and opportunities to accommodate a wide range of different tasks simultaneously (Duffy, 2000, pp. 331-2). A study[1] by Kroner et al. (1992) at an insurance company in the USA revealed a statistically significant positive association between the change in productivity and the change in overall satisfaction with the workspace. Furthermore, researchers found that improved indoor architectural and environmental design contributed to an overall increase in productivity of 16 per cent (Kroner, 2000, p. 293). Even though the study was conducted in the USA, there is no reason to suppose that it will not apply in Malaysia, where the application of the traditional Japanese seating plan based on seniority was sometimes misunderstood or resented. Hence, the management of ABC MSC should seriously consider how to redesign its workplaces to revitalize not just how office organization performs but also offices appearance, especially in view of the need to break away from the Japanese hierarchical office layout. Conclusions Regarding the transfer of the four core principles of Japanese management practices, i.e. lifetime employment, the seniority-based wages and promotion systems, enterprise unionism, and company welfare services and benefits, these practices were not found in ABC MSC. This finding conforms the study of Raduan (2002) that such practices are not the priority of the management strategy in running the subsidiaries operations of Japanese overseas subsidiaries in Malaysia. In addition, many of the supporting features of the Japanese management practices including consensus decision-making, practice of internal promotion, and the development of skills through consistent training have not been used in ABC MSC to any significant degree. The parent company in Japan and the Regional Office in Singapore control the extent to which the top management in ABC MSC needs to, or indeed is able to, transfer the Japanese management practices to Malaysia, and it is possible that the high turnover of staff in Malaysia has prevented them from doing so. Major decisions such as the control of budget, the development of R&D activities, the distribution of technology know-how, the implementation of new products and services, and the dispatch of Japanese expatriates are determined by the headquarters in Japan. Hence, the top management in ABC MSC has a limited degree of freedom in implementing Japanese management practices in its Malaysian subsidiary. There were local employees who were attracted to work for ABC MSC because the company is Japanese. This is particularly shown by the respondents who graduated in Japan and had working experience in Japanese companies in Japan. However, a majority of the executive and the non-managerial staff do not view ABC MSC as providing job security. They feel that they can be laid off anytime. This is because of the retrenchment of executive and non-managerial staff and the closure of the R&D department in 2003. This incident has changed their perceptions of the job security offered by ABC MSC.

The mismatch of aims between the top management and local employees could be one reason for the dissatisfaction which has led to the high turnover rate in the company. The President/CEO has changed on average every three years. Each new CEO, has meant changes in the corporate strategies and the organizational structure. The changing corporate strategies have affected the long-term plans of various departments and the motivation of many local employees. Furthermore, many local staff believe the differences between employee benefits for Japanese expatriates and local staff are too great. The Malaysian employees perception that their Japanese colleagues are serious about their work is not surprising, despite the fact that some interviewees thought that the Japanese were in Malaysia on holiday. In Japan, performing at ones highest level is not simply promoted as a way to make it . . . The motivation to realize individuals competence stems from the fact that doing so helps secure ones place in a society that emphasizes and values interpersonal bonds (Gardner, 2006), but maybe the Japanese change when the come to work in Malaysia. The top management of ABC MSC emphasizes soft skills, for example, the skills to organize, to lead, and to communicate. This is clearly stated in the key performance indicators for salary increment and promotion. Thus, the local employees in ABC MSC, (particularly employees in the technical category) should learn these skills either through on-the-job training or by attending seminars and courses provided by external trainers since there is no in-house training programme in the company. Japanese expatriates dominate the top management positions. At ABC MSC, all important decisions that affect the organization such as the restructuring of departments, change of company policies, and transfer of staff are made by the Japanese top management, then announced to the local staff, without consideration for local staff opinions. It was perceived by the local employees that group consensus decision-making might have been practiced among the Japanese in ABC MSC; however, when the decision had been made, an authority decision approach (Campling et al., 2006, p. 372) was implemented to the local employees. There was no significant relationship between entry salary and seniority, educational qualifications, and years of working experience in ABC MSC. The differences of entry salary between and within the different categories of employees may have been due to negotiating ` skills of individual local employees vis-a-vis the management. The more they were able to negotiate, the higher the entry salary, but of course, this was not confined to ABC MSC. However, these inequalities helped reinforce the sense of dissatisfaction which many felt. ABC MSC does not offer a direct monetary reward, such as a higher salary, to encourage local employees to stay longer in the company. Its strategy to retain the local employees tended towards offering other benefits such as transport allowances, cell phone, and car parking allowances. However, these allowances were not good enough to attract the local employees. Firstly, the transport allowance was revised from RM200 per month in year 2000 to RM220 per month in year 2005. An increase of RM20 (10 per cent) or an average increase of merely 2 per cent per year was considered insufficient by the local employees as the average inflation rate in Malaysia was 2.9 per cent per year over the period 1991-2005 (Malaysia, Government, 2006). Secondly, the cell phone allowance up to a maximum of RM160 per month was not enough because Malaysians spend an average of RM100 a month on short message service alone (The Star Online, 2007)! Thirdly, it was stated in the Employee Handbook 2005 under B5-1.6 Car Park Disbursement that employees who based in the sales office in Kuala Lumpur were

Malaysians in a Japanese company 233

CCM 15,3

234

entitled to claim the reimbursement of car park fees up to maximum of RM50 per month. This allowance was too little because the minimum cost for parking in the surrounding areas was RM5 per day. Thus, the change of policies revealed that top management did not take into consideration some of the economic factors before the policies were implemented. ABC MSC has considerable potential for growth. The strong financial support it receives from the parent company in Japan and its brand name are the major attractions for local talent. The company can achieve greater success if the management focuses on job security and fringe benefits that foster organizational commitment among employees. If ABC MSC can retain its experienced employees, it will not only save the expense of training new employees but also generate greater long-term productivity and profitability, as experienced employees allows the company to continue to grow. The importance of knowledge workers is constantly increasing (see, for example, Richardson and Tan, 2006). However, ABC MSCs Japanese managers need to understand this and its importance for attitudinal change.
Note 1. The study analyzed the impact of environmentally responsive workstations, ERWs on office worker productivity and worker response to individualized environmental conditioning. ERWs integrate and provide heating, cooling, lighting, ventilation, and other environmental qualities directly to the occupants of workstations. Additional integrated components may include: communication and information systems, electric power service, optical view panels, and fragrance options. The key feature of an ERW is that the occupant controls, modulates, and maintains the environmental conditions. ERWs are designed to operate when the workstation is occupied. ERWs are at their best if they are integrated with an environmentally responsive architecture. (Kroner, 2000, pp. 296, 303). References Abdullah, A. and Pedersen, P.B. (2003), Understanding Multicultural Malaysia, Prentice Hall, Petaling Jaya. Beechler, S. and Yang, J.Z. (1994), The transfer of Japanese-style management to American subsidiaries: contingencies, constraints, and competencies, Journal of International Business Studies, third quarter, pp. 467-91. (The) British Council, Malaysia (2007), Courses and training programmes, available at: www.britishcouncil.org/malaysia.htm (accessed 5 July 2007). Campling, J., Poole, D., Wiesner, R. and Schermerhorn, J.R. (2006), Management, 2nd Asia-Pacific ed., John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, Sydney. Denzin, N.K. (1978), Sociological Methods: A Sourcebook, McGraw Hill, New York, NY. Dore, R. (1979), The Internationalization of Japan, Pacific Affairs, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, pp. 595-611. Drucker, P.F. (2003), The Essential Drucker, HarperCollins, New York, NY, pp. 87-90. Duffy, F. (2000), New ways of working: a vision of the future, in Croome, D.C. (Ed.), Creating the Productive Workplace, E & FN Spon, London and NY, pp. 323-33. Eades, J. (2000), Introduction: globalization and social change in contemporary Japan, in Eades, J.S., Gill, T. and Befu, H. (Eds), Globalization and Social Change in Contemporary Japan, Trans Pacific Press, Melbourne, pp. 1-16. Fontaine, R. and Richardson, S. (2005), On cultural values in Malaysia, cross cultural management, An International Journal, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 63-77.

Gardner, H. (2006), Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons, revised ed., Basic Books, NY, p. 201. Jaeger, A.M. (1983), The transfer of organizational culture overseas: an approach to control in the multinational corporation, Journal of International Business Studies (Special Issue on Cross-Cultural Management), Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 91-114. Keeley, T.D. (2001), International Human Resource Management in Japanese Firms, Palgrave, New York, NY. Kroner, W.M. (2000), Employee productivity and the intelligent workplace, in Croome, D.C. (Ed.), Creating the Productive Workplace, E & FN Spon, London and NY, pp. 295-303. Kroner, W.M., Start-Martin, J.A. and Willemain, T. (1992), Using Advanced Office Technology to Increase Productivity: The Impact of Environmentally Responsive Workstations (ERWs) on Productivity and Worker Attitude, Rensselaer, Center for Architectural Research, Troy, NY. Lam, C.L. (1992), Women and Japanese Management: Discrimination and Reform, Routledge, London. Lee, C.K. (1998), Gender and the South China Miracle: Two Worlds of Factory Women, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (2005), Malaysia trade information: top 10 trade statistics, available at: www.matrade.gov.my/foreignbuyer/Msiatop10.htm (accessed 25 July 2006). Malaysia, Government (2006), The Ninth Malaysia Plan, 2006-2010, National Printing Department, Kuala Lumpur. Mohwald, U. (2000), Trends in value change in contemporary Japan, in Eades, J.S., Gill, T. and Befu, H. (Eds), Globalization and Social Change in Contemporary Japan, Trans Pacific Press, Melbourne, pp. 55-75. Ogasawara, Y. (1998), Office Ladies and Salaried Men: Power, Gender, and Work in Japanese Companies, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. Raduan, C.R. (2002), Japanese-style Management Abroad, Prentice Hall, Kuala Lumpur. Refsing, K. (2003), In Japan, but not of Japan, in Mackerras, C. (Ed.), Ethnicity in Asia, RoutledgeCurzon, London, pp. 48-63. Richardson, S. and Tan, W.K. (2006), The implications of knowledge management development for globalization, paper presented at the International Conference on Globalisation of Business, 28-29 August 2006, INTI University College, Nilai, Malaysia, unpublished. Riel, C.B.M., Berens, G. and Dijkstra, M. (2005), The Influence of Employee Communication on Strategic Business Alignment, Report Series Research in Management, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), Rotterdam. Serapio, M. (1995), Management localization in Japanese subsidiaries in the United States, in Shenkar, O. (Ed.), Global Perspectives of Human Resource Management, Prentice Hall, New York, NY, pp. 211-25. Smith, W.A. (2003), Culture and management in Malaysia, in Warner, M. (Ed.), Culture and Management in Asia, RoutledgeCurzon, London, pp. 115-34. (The) Star Online (2006), New Dell country manager for Malaysia, available at: http://startechcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file/2006/9/7/technology/20060907164942&sectechnology (accessed 12 September 2006). (The) Star Online (2007), New MD for IBM Malaysia, available at: http://star-techcentral.com/ tech/story.asp?file/2007/1/11/technology/200701111181326&sectechnology (accessed 12 January 2007). (The) Star Online (2007), Malaysians spend average of RM100 a month on SMS, available at: http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file/20070131123123&sectechnology (accessed 5 February 2007).

Malaysians in a Japanese company 235

CCM 15,3

Taira, K. (1980), Colonialism in foreign subsidiaries: lesson from Japanese investment in Thailand, Asian Survey, Vol. 20 No. 4, pp. 373-96. Whitehill, A.M. (1991), Japanese Management: Traditional and Transition, Routledge, London. Wong, H.W. (1999), Japanese Bosses, Chinese Workers: Power and Control in a Hong Kong Megastore, Curzon, Richmond. Yin, R.K. (1994), Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 2nd ed., Sage Publications, London. Further reading Hofstede, G. (2001), Cultures Consequences, 2nd ed., Sage Publications, London. Nyland, C., Smith, W., Smyth, R. and Vicziany, M. (Eds) (2001), Malaysian Business in the New Era, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham. Richardson, S. (1991), Southeast Asian Management: Cases and Concepts, Singapore University Press, Singapore. Richardson, S. (Ed.) (2005), How to Research, Thomson Learning, Singapore. Shaughnessy, J.J. et al. (2000), Research Methods in Psychology, 5th ed., McGraw-Hill, Singapore. About the authors Yeap Peik Foong is a Lecturer in global management, Faculty of Management, Multimedia University, Malaysia. Yeap Peik Foong is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: pfyeap@mmu.edu.my Stanley Richardson is an Associate Professor and a consultant at the Faculty of Management, Multimedia University, Malaysia. Since 1963 he has taught in various countries, especially in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.

236

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints

Appendix

No. Management Management Management Management Management Management Management Management Management Management Management Management Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Corporate Sales Product Management Bus Supp & Comm Network Operations System Operations Corporate Sales Corporate Customer Relations Data Center IP Backbone Oprns Product Management System Operations IP Backbone Oprns Bus Supp & Comm Data Center Data Center Product Management Project Management System Operations System Operations System Operations System Operations System Operations System Operations System Operations System Operations Data Center Data Center Data Center Data Center Data Center Male Male Male Male Male Male Female Male Male Male Female Male Male Male Male Male Female Male Male Male Female Male Male Male Male Male Male Male Male Male Male Chinese Chinese Chinese Eurasian Chinese Chinese Chinese Chinese Chinese Chinese Chinese Chinese Indian Chinese Indian Chinese Chinese Chinese Chinese Indian Chinese Malay Chinese Indian Chinese Chinese Kadazan Kadazan Malay Chinese Malay 36 35 32 31 34 33 32 31 31 30 32 30 33 27 28 28 30 36 28 28 24 27 30 27 26 29 26 24 27 28 30 Dec-99 Oct-98 Mar-01 Jun-98 Nov-00 Jul-97 Sep-04 Aug-04 Dec-97 Oct-99 Aug-98 Apr-99 Jun-01 Nov-00 Apr-05 Nov-04 Aug-00 Jul-01 Nov-05 Dec-04 Sep-04 Aug-04 Nov-03 Nov-03 Aug-01 Oct-00 May-05 Oct-04 Sep-04 Dec-03 Nov-00 Manager Senior IT Consultant Manager IT Engineer Assist Manager IT Engineer Assist Manager Assist Manager IT Engineer IT Engineer IT Engineer IT Engineer IT Engineer IT Engineer IT Engineer IT Engineer IT Engineer IT Engineer IT Engineer IT Engineer IT Engineer IT Engineer IT Engineer IT Engineer IT Engineer IT Engineer NOC Engineer NOC Engineer NOC Engineer NOC Engineer NOC Engineer (continued)

Informant

Nationality

Staff level

Department

Gender

Ethnic group Age Year joined

Position when joined

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L12 L13 L14 L15 L16 L17 L18 L19 L20 L21 L22 L23 L24 L25 L26 L27 L28 L29 L30 L31

Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian

Informants profiles at ABC MSC

Malaysians in a Japanese company

Table AI.

237

238

CCM 15,3

No Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Non Executive Male Female Male Male Male Male Male Male Female Female Chinese Chinese Indian Malay Malay Malay Malay Japanese Japanese Japanese 32 30 47 33 47 39 36 48 33 42 Jun-00 Apr-01 May-01 Jul-98 Aug-97 Oct-97 Sep-97 Oct-05 Jun-02 Aug-04 Female Female Female Male Male Male Female Female Male Female Female Female Malay Chinese Malay Chinese Chinese Chinese Chinese Chinese Chinese Chinese Japanese Chinese 27 30 29 32 32 31 32 30 29 33 30 23 Jul-05 Jun-01 Aug-00 Nov-00 Aug-00 May-01 May-01 Dec-03 Apr-05 Jun-01 Jul-01 Aug-05

32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43

44 45

46

47

48

49

50

51 52 53

Table AI. Staff level Department Gender Ethnic group Age Year joined Position when joined Cust Supp Eng Cust Supp Eng Cust Supp Eng IT Consultant IT Consultant IT Consultant IT Consultant IT Consultant IT Consultant IT Consultant IT Engineer HR Office Accounts Officer Customer Administrative Officer Security Officer Customer Relations Customer Relations Customer Relations Corporate Sales Corporate Sales Corporate Sales Corporate Sales Product Management System Operations Sales Adminstration Wholesale & GIN HR & Administration Accounting Customer Relations HR & Administration HR & Administration Administrative Assistant cum Receptionist Driver Driver Driver Director Manager Manager (continued) Non Executive Non Executive Non Executive Management Management Executive HR & Administration HR & Administration HR & Administration Presidents Office Corporate Customer Relations

Informant

Nationality

L32 L33 L34 L35 L36 L37 L38 L39 L40 L41 L42a L43

Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Malaysian Japanese Malaysian

L44 L45

Malaysian Malaysian

L46

Malaysian

L47

Malaysian

L48

Malaysian

L49

Malaysian

L50

Malaysian

L51 L52 L53

Japanese Japanese Japanese

No 1 (2005) By agent None None None None None None None None None Diploma Diploma None None Degree None None Degree None None Diploma None None None Master By agent None None None Degree Sales manager Sales manager

Length of service (Year) Promotion Method of recruitment Qualification Japanese language fluency Working experience Experience of working overseas

Current position

Experience of working in Japanese company

6.4

4.9

Senior Manager Senior Manager Manager 2 (2001, 2005) None First Job

IT System Executive

7.7

Manager

5.2

Manager

3 (2000, 2002, 2004) 1 (2004)

IT System Executive

8.6

By replying to advertisement By replying to advertisement By replying to advertisement By agent 1. 2. 1. 2. 3. Master

1.3

Assistant Manager Assistant Manager None None None None

2 (2003, 2005) None

IT System Executive IT Analyst Account Assistant Corporate Executive Personal Assistant 1. IT Analyst 2. IT Consultant

1.5

Assistant Manager 1 (2000) None None None None None None None None

None None None None

Degree Diploma Degree Degree

10

6.3

11

7.6

1. Draughtsman 2. System Engineer 1. System Engineer 2. IT Analyst IT Analyst First Job (continued)

12

6.9

Assistant Manager Assistant Manager Assistant Manager Assistant Manager 2 (2001, 2004) 2 (2001, 2005) 2 (2001, 2004)

By applying through companys website By applying through companys website By personal contact By replying to advertisement By replying to advertisement By replying to advertisement

Malaysians in a Japanese company

Table AI.

239

240

CCM 15,3

No 1 (2005) None None None None None None None None Degree Degree None None None Degree

13

14

15

16

17 2 (2002, 2004) None None None None None

18

19

20 None None

21

22

Table AI. Promotion Method of recruitment Qualification Japanese language fluency Experience of working in Japanese company Experience of working overseas Working experience System Engineer First Job By replying to advertisement By personal contact Write in None None None None Degree 1. Auditor 2. Admin Assistant 3. IT System Support Executive 4. IT Engineer System Engineer 1 (2005) None None None None None Degree Diploma Master IT Consultant 1. System Engineer 2. IT System Support Executive IT Engineer By applying through companys website By replying to advertisement By personal contact None None None Fluent conversation None None Yes, 2 years None None None Degree Degree Degree 1. System Engineer 2. IT Consultant IT Engineer R & D engineer (continued) By applying through companys website By personal contact By personal contact Call in

Length of service (Year)

Current position

4.7

5.2

Senior IT Engineer IT Engineer

0.8

IT Engineer

1.2

IT Engineer

5.6

IT Engineer

4.7

Senior IT Engineer

0.2

IT Engineer

1.1

IT Engineer

1.4

IT Engineer

1.5

IT Engineer

No None None 1 (2004) None None None Degree None None None Diploma None None None Diploma

Length of service (Year) Promotion Method of recruitment Qualification Japanese language fluency Working experience Experience of working overseas

Current position

Experience of working in Japanese company

23

2.1

IT Engineer

24

2.1

IT Engineer

By personal contact By personal contact

25

4.5

IT Engineer I

1. System Engineer 2. IT Consultant 1. IT System Support Executive 2. System Engineer First Job

26 None None None None

5.3

IT Engineer I

1 (2005)

None

None

None

Degree Diploma

First Job IT Engineer

27

0.8

NOC Engineer

28 None None None None None None None None

1.3

NOC Engineer

None

None

None

None

Degree Degree Diploma

System Engineer System Engineer IT Engineer

29 30

1.4 2

NOC Engineer NOC Engineer

31 None Near native fluency

5.2

NOC Engineer

None

None

None Yes, 3 years

None Yes, 3 years in NHK, Japan

Diploma Degree

System Engineer Broadcaster/Translator

32

0.6

Cust Supp Eng

By applying through companys website By personal contact By applying through companys website By personal contact Write in By applying through companys website By personal contact Through ABC MSC Career Fair in Tokyo

(continued)

Malaysians in a Japanese company

Table AI.

241

242

CCM 15,3

No None None None None None None None None None None None None None None None None None Write in None None None Degree Master Diploma Diploma Master Degree Write in None None None Degree

33

34

35

36 1 (2005) 1 (2003) None

37

38

39

40 None

41

42

43 44

Table AI. Promotion Method of recruitment Qualification Japanese language fluency Experience of working in Japanese company Experience of working overseas Working experience Trainer in Insurance Company Management Executive IT Engineer 2 (2003, 2005) 1 (2005) By replying to advertisement By replying to advertisement 1. IT System Support Executive 2. System Engineer System Engineer IT Consultant IT Consultant None None None Diploma Certificate Degree None None Degree Diploma Fluent conversation None Native Yes, 3 years None 1. Planner 2. System Engineer Assistant Sales Executive Sales Executive Yes, 7 years None None First experience None None Personel Officer Accounts Assistant (continued) 2 (2002, 2004) None None By personal contact By personal contact By applying through companys website By personal contact By replying to advertisement By personal contact Write in By replying to advertisement

Length of service (Year)

Current position

4.7

5.5

5.2

5.5

Cust Supp Eng Cust Supp Eng Senior IT Consultant Senior IT Consultant

4.8

4.8

2.1

Senior IT Consultant Senior IT Consultant IT Consultant

0.9

IT Consultant

4.7

IT Consultant

4.6

IT Consultant

0.5 5.7

HR Officer Accounts Officer

No None None By agent None Yes, 1 year O Level By replying to advertisement None None None Certificate

Length of service (Year) Promotion Method of recruitment Qualification Japanese language fluency Working experience Experience of working overseas

Current position

Experience of working in Japanese company

45

4.9

1. Purchaser 2. Accounts Assistant

46

4.8

Customer Administrative Officer Security Officer

47 None None None None 1 (2003) 1 (2005) Native Native None None Native By agent None None None

7.6

None

By agent

None

None

Yes, 1 year in Indonesia and 2 years in Cambodia None Diploma

1. Royal Malaysia Airforce 2. Technician 3. Chief Security Officer 4. Main Contractor Secretary in legal firm for 4 years

48

8.5

Administrative Assistant cum Receptionist Driver

49 50 51

8.3 8.4 0.2

Driver Driver Director

Junior High School O Level O Level Degree Degree Degree

52

3.7

53

1.5

Senior Manager Senior Manager

By agent By agent Transfer from Headquarter Transfer from Headquarter Transfer from Headquarter

None None Yes, ABC Headquarter Yes, ABC Headquarter Yes, ABC Headquarter

None None First experience First experience 3 years in Philippines

1. Office Assistant 2. Driver Driver Driver Global Sales Administrative Executive Global Network System Engineer

Notes: aEmployee L42 was recruited in Malaysia; Bus Supp & Comm Business Support and Communication; IP Backbone Oprns Internet Provider Backbone Operations; Wholesale & GIN Wholesale and Global Integration Network; HR & Administration Human Resource and Administration; Cust Supp Eng Customer Support Engineer

Malaysians in a Japanese company

Table AI.

243