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> Any company that would like to see itself become multinational has to adapt to local cultures Good luck on that. General consensus out here in Asia is that w

> Any company that would like to see itself become multinational has to adapt to local cultures Good luck on that. General consensus out here in Asia is that western people are lazy ( but not everyone feels this way! Some people consider westerners to be lazy and nice..) Traditional Asian culture, this is my own Non controversial opinion coming, values hard work. A bunch of people I know who work in Science park in Taiwan are actually afraid of being productive because if they were to become more efficient then suddenly they would be working so much more. No managers reward productivity out here with a shorter work day. If the rest of the world were to mandate four day work weeks by law, and flourish doing such, then the companies out here would rub their hands together greedily because they will dominate with their work culture and punishingly long hours. So much about Japan is best in the world but their work culture is soul crushing.

stickfigure 6y ago
"How's that working out for you?" 'Dominating' doesn't seem like the appropriate word to apply to Japan right now? From Wikipedia: Japan's asset price bubble collapse in 1991 led to a period of economic stagnation known as the "lost decade", sometimes now extended as the "lost 20 years." From 1995 to 2007, GDP fell from $5.33 trillion to $4.36 trillion in nominal terms. Japan today has the highest ratio of public debt to GDP of any developed nation, with national debt at 236% relative to GDP as of 2017. This debt is predominantly owned by Japanese nationals. The Japanese economy faces considerable challenges posed by an ageing and declining population, which peaked at 128 million in 2010 and has fallen to 126.5 million as of 2018. Projections suggest the population will continue to fall to potentially lower than 100 million by the middle of the 21st century. Economies are complex. It's not clear that punishingly long hours at work are an advantage.
- kinghtown 6y ago
  I don’t think long hours are an advantage. Honestly, it’s a cultural divide which probably won’t go away. I know someone who works at a German owned branch for a manufacturer in Taiwan. The previous Taiwanese head guy got let go because for years they would be very behind schedule for deliveries. Like months behind. So new big boss is a German. He gave a big talk to introduce himself to the factory. One of his main points was to reward productivity, KPI shouldn’t be the only metric, whatever. He recommended a book called The Lazy Project Manager and emphasized that this is the mindset he wants everyone to be in. Funny thing is, the Taiwanese engineers kind of zoned out on everything he said but perked up at the word “lazy” in the book title. To cut to the chase, the factory thinks the new boss is lazy. The hard working mentality is very deeply ingrained out here.
- kmlx 6y ago
  Economically Japan is the most stable country in the world, and the Yen is the number 1 safe haven currency. Regarding long hours, some Chinese co's use the 996 system, 9am-9pm, 6 days a week. This is one of the many reasons for their 7% increase in GDP YoY. The 4 day work week in the West would simply cement the current idea of Western laziness (not necessarily unwarranted unfortunately).

stickfigure 6y ago

"How's that working out for you?" 'Dominating' doesn't seem like the appropriate word to apply to Japan right now? From Wikipedia: Japan's asset price bubble collapse in 1991 led to a period of economic stagnation known as the "lost decade", sometimes now extended as the "lost 20 years." From 1995 to 2007, GDP fell from $5.33 trillion to $4.36 trillion in nominal terms. Japan today has the highest ratio of public debt to GDP of any developed nation, with national debt at 236% relative to GDP as of 2017. This debt is predominantly owned by Japanese nationals. The Japanese economy faces considerable challenges posed by an ageing and declining population, which peaked at 128 million in 2010 and has fallen to 126.5 million as of 2018. Projections suggest the population will continue to fall to potentially lower than 100 million by the middle of the 21st century. Economies are complex. It's not clear that punishingly long hours at work are an advantage.

kinghtown 6y ago
I don’t think long hours are an advantage. Honestly, it’s a cultural divide which probably won’t go away. I know someone who works at a German owned branch for a manufacturer in Taiwan. The previous Taiwanese head guy got let go because for years they would be very behind schedule for deliveries. Like months behind. So new big boss is a German. He gave a big talk to introduce himself to the factory. One of his main points was to reward productivity, KPI shouldn’t be the only metric, whatever. He recommended a book called The Lazy Project Manager and emphasized that this is the mindset he wants everyone to be in. Funny thing is, the Taiwanese engineers kind of zoned out on everything he said but perked up at the word “lazy” in the book title. To cut to the chase, the factory thinks the new boss is lazy. The hard working mentality is very deeply ingrained out here.
kmlx 6y ago
Economically Japan is the most stable country in the world, and the Yen is the number 1 safe haven currency. Regarding long hours, some Chinese co's use the 996 system, 9am-9pm, 6 days a week. This is one of the many reasons for their 7% increase in GDP YoY. The 4 day work week in the West would simply cement the current idea of Western laziness (not necessarily unwarranted unfortunately).