U.S. interns' perception of time in Japanese corporations

Cross Cultural Management

Cross-Cultural Management

The article this analysis is based on, Learning to 'Do Time' in Japan a Study of U.S. Interns in Japanese Organizations, presents a theoretical framework for analyzing the impact of U.S.-based interns travelling to Japan to work in corporations there with specific focus on studying how time is perceived differently between their Japanese managers and their U.S. intern counterparts. Tomoko Masumoto 2004. (p. 19) defines the framework as focusing on how the expectations of time itself vary between the two groups, measures the time taken to adapt and become productive, and also defines how space allocation and use of space correlate to the Japanese perception of time. This shared space and socialization aspect of the study presents a culture shock to American students, who have long equated status and independence with the relative level of privacy in American and westernized corporations. The study concludes with an analysis of the variation of how the relative level of feedback and its frequency fuel a sense of security on the job or not, and concludes with an analysis of short-versus long-term orientation on the part of each group. What is fascinating about this study is that the interns arrive in the Japanese companies fully intent on making large contributions quickly, looking for cause-and-effect in their efforts (Tomoko Masumoto 2004, p. 33) yet are frustrated at the clarity of this connection. The Japanese managers counter that many efforts are undertaken, specifically in the areas of research cited, yet the work completed may not ever be used. There are additional dichotomies such as these, all pointing to an urgency to attain mastery of the performance aspects of their positions on the part of interns, yet the Japanese managers see the experience more as an opportunity to learn from them on how to involved more globally-based associates in decisions (p. 20).

Assessment of the Theoretical Framework

In defining a framework to illustrate the significant variations in the perception of time and its very nature across the culture of U.S. interns vs. career Japanese managers, Masumoto has successfully created a comparison-based approach to gleaning insightful and useful information from the analysis completed. The strength of Masumoto's framework is seen in Figure 1 (p. 26) that illustrates the vast variation in the perception of time to attain Job Skills on the part of a U.S..-based intern relative to their Japanese Manager's estimate. An intern approximated 3 weeks to 5 months for job skill mastery, while the Japanese managers had a median level of between 3 to 5 years for Job Skill mastery. Clearly the Japanese managers, as shown in this framework, value socialization and understanding the formal and informal interpersonal relationships and structure vs. pure performance. This variation in the perception of the value of work would later come out in other aspects of the research as well

Second, the framework specifically shows that Japanese supervisors have a much higher level of expectations with regard to socialization and the ability to assimilate quickly into groups. These Japanese managers expected an assimilation process of 1 to a few weeks, while the U.S.-based interns assumed several months to literally "never." The fascinating findings of this part of the framework suggest that assimilation into groups and the ability to become socialized into new surroundings is an innate strength of the Japanese due to their culture stressing these values over individuality and independence. Conversely the interns were not nearly as willing to let go of their independence and sense of personal space at first, until the collaborative aspects of the working conditions became apparent. Further, there is the implication that the framework shows that trust once earned through socialization actually made the open room seating arrangements more conducive to higher levels of communication as well. The implications of higher levels of communication, coupled with the emphasis on socialization and assimilation in the Japanese culture is supported by empirically-based studies of trust as well (Downes, Hemmasi, Graf, Kelley, Huff, 2002, p. 616). The framework also illustrates how drastically different long-term orientation is between interns and Japanese managers, including how interns continually held to a highly segmented view of time while Japanese managers underscores how much more fluid time was in their perception. This is exemplified in the normative behavior being to stay after 5pm to have a time to socialize both about work and also transition from the purely task-oriented communications of the day to more interpersonal ones. This is in direct opposition to the perception of time by interns that 5pm was "quitting time" and it was time to go and get started on personal agendas including dinner with friends and getting out of work. The fluidity of time as evidenced by Japanese' managers' concentration on socializing and work, including long sequences of time taken in meetings to think through responses, is characteristic of polychronic time (p. 20). Conversely the interns were seen as having more of a sequential view of time considered to be monochromic (p. 20) in structure and perception. This difference in the perception of how time is managed and used daily is one of the primary differences in how interns vs. Japanese managers also viewed time from a much longer-range perspective as well. To the Japanese managers, the time required to do a specific task was incidental to the year spent committed to learning the organizational structure and core aspects of a company's business. In effect the framework suggests that Japanese managers have developed the ability to delay gratification in their roles as managers and also as contributors for the common good of a more comprehensive set of solutions to problems. This is supported by empirical research that shows Japanese managers have consistently shown the ability to delay gratification for extended periods of time to ensure consensus was achieved through appropriate channels (Beldona, Inkpen, Phatak, 1998; p. 240). Consistent with the framework as defined by Masumoto, Japanese managers advise an intern to not be frustrated if immediate results are not achieved, or immediate contributions made. The process of learning how to make a contribution in a Japanese corporation appears to be even more important than the contribution itself.

Implications for Individuals Working Multinationally with the Japanese

The work completed by Masumoto has major implications not only for expatriates working in Japan yet for anyone going to work for a Japanese company anywhere in a westernized nation. The vast differences in how space is allocated are diametrically opposed to how western nations view work space given in companies being more of a relative indicator of independence, individuality, achievement and status. In Japan there more of an orientation on arranging working space to speed up the assimilation and socialization process. This is a critical point for anyone joining a Japanese corporation anywhere in the world to keep in mind, as many Japanese corporations continue this practice of using space for collaboration in the U, S, and Europe as well.

Second, the fluidity of time and its polychronic state in Japan needs to be underscored through training, examples, and internships that show how time is blended, not segmented, in Japanese society vs. western nations. It is the exception rather than the social rule for Japanese managers to not socialize every night after work, yet in the U.S. In many businesses the converse is true. This is again attributed to the differences in the perception of time and its value from a continual acculturation standpoint in Japanese corporations. Time is not "metered out" by Japanese managers as is the case with their western-based counterparts; rather the Japanese managers see the majority of their time as being available for continual "learning" of the interpersonal relationships throughout the organization. This varying perception in time alone needs to be taught to American employees joining Japanese corporations to understand the expectations their manager swill have of them in the future.

Third, the implications of trust on the part of interns and Japanese managers wasn't measured by Masumoto yet this entire area of reciprocity across cultural boundaries is a fascinating one that deserves more research to empirically measure and understand. While the Japanese managers viewed their role as instructors or parents in a parent-child scenario, the interns saw themselves as peers willing to contribute to the company's objectives once they had become assimilated to their new positions. In fact the interns' level of trust only grew after they realized that they were as much expected to learn their interrelationships and how the basic organizations functioned as much as they were expected to excel in their specific professional areas. It is one of the more fascinating aspects of Masumoto's work that illustrates how Japanese managers were able to provide a sense of contribution to interns when the managers' expectations were to provide their guests with a sense of the acclimation process worked. This aspect of the research, worth additional study by Masumoto, speaks to the abilities of Japanese managers to both provide guidance on acclimation of the interns in addition to providing leadership in regard to potential contributions the interns could provide.

Fourth, Masumoto doesn't share the key success factors from both sides of his study, specifically how the interns rated the performance of their managers over time as their orientation of time changed, and conversely, how Japanese managers' perception of interns' performance changed as both groups' perception of time became more congruent with each other. Additional research of this type would also need to measure how closely or loosely interns began to map from a psychographic standpoint to their peers who were Japanese. That would be a fascinating study to see how over time interns came to approximate the level of performance of based on the extent of their internalization of Japanese values.

Fifth, the perception of time being monochromic vs. polychronic speaks to the expectations of interns of their own present and future performance in Japanese firms relative to American firms. As the perception of changed from monochromic to polychronic, expectations of performance each intern had of themselves changed, yet the extent of that change needs greater clarification. The implications for cross-cultural professionals are that literally what success looks like in an American-based corporation is significantly different than those of Japanese corporations. Working hard at cause-and-effect in an American-based corporation is always celebrated; and in Japanese firms working hard at interpersonal relationships and understanding the processes by which consensus is achieved is paramount. The implications of this are essential for any professional looking to work in a Japanese corporation.