Workplace Diversity Managing In Japan iii

This is part III of the post on this exciting subject as; living in Japan certainly has changed my life and points of view even though it’s some seven years since I returned to the U.K. I relish the opportunity to live and work there again someday soon.

As things related to this move very slowly in Japan, I worked closely the Human Resources team to give them the benefit of my experience in workplace diversity training and to assist them in raising the awareness of Diversity amongst the management team and the employees. Of course we had to couple the implementation with the tightly integrated customer base of the other Japanese companies who were more traditional than the company for which I was working at the time and who had the traditional management structures of men, men and more men. This lead into the long some unnecessary meetings, drinking sessions and related activities which; were all part of the business structure and; had to be respected as we dealt with interpreting Diversity from the western perspective into the Japanese company culture and the necessary impact of the management, employees and also the customer base.

It has been a few years since I left the great country of Japan which will also have a special place in my heart. The lesson here for us all is that the implementation of Diversity must be coupled with and interpreted for local cultures and practices as we management folks seek to create inclusive workforces in today’s multi location organizations. This leaves open the challenge to us global managers and consultants who manage in cultures which are largely alien to ours.

Thaks for reading, get in touch if I can be of assitance to your or your organisation.