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What does it take to 'get ahead' in Japan? More than anything it means that you graduated from the right university. At the top of the pack is Tokyo University (東大 pr./tow-dai/ -- short for 東京大学 pr. /Tow-kyou Dai-gaku/). If you have aspirations to work as a
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When working with my colleagues the most useful tool in my communication arsenal (besides my mouth) is my whiteboard. I had originally intended to write this post in reference to working with my Japanese co-workers, but on reflection it is equally applicable to working with fellow Americans. Whether we are
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Many times when working with international groups there can be confusion on people's names. Seeing "Jin Hu" on an email can be confusing to people who don't know if it is Mr. (Mrs?) Jin, or is it Mr. (Mrs?) Hu?. Which is the first
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I work with many Japanese engineers. They have varying levels of language fluency, but most can communicate fairly well. I recently had a conversation with one engineer, who has made great strides in grammar and vocabulary while working in the United States. I suggested to her that she might want
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What is the psychological contract? For Americans, I believe that there are 2 basic types of employee, and two basic types of psychological contract. Short-timers who are happy to be paid until they move to the next job, and long-timers who want to dedicate themselves to their organizations. I am