Japanese company tries Englishnization
Japanese company tries 'Englishization '
Introduction
The Rakuten Inc is a Japanese electronic commerce and Internet company based in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1997 by chairman and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani. As the CEO of Rakuten, Mikitani aims to position Rakuten at the forefront of global business. One way he feels this can be achieved is by introducing an English policy in his firm. He therefore, makes a dramatic decision by introducing ‘Englishnization’ program among 7,100 employees and all the employees must learn and become proficient in English within two years. "English is the only global language,” "We 're doing a global business. I think this is the only way a Japanese service organization can become a global organization. If you want to become successful in other countries, you need to internationalize the headquarters," as cited in (Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO Rakuten).
At the present time, 10 percent of the workforce can run official duties in English. The CEO has given warning to the employees that whoever fails to master English during the time given they will be facing consequences. Moreover the language shift happened very quickly where employees almost overnight were required to order at the cafeteria in English and all the formal documents are in English. As the program begin the employees of the Rakuten struggle to learn English and they were facing many challenges. Rakuten only offers little initial training or support to workers, who were expected to pay for their own English classes and learn during off-hours. “Two years into an English-only implementation at one company, 70% of employees reported feeling frustrated with the policy” said by (Tsedal Neeley, 2011).
Organizational culture is about an organization 's expectations, experiences, philosophy, and values that hold it together, and is expressed in its self-image, inner workings, interactions with the outside world, and future expectations. It is based on shared attitudes,
Introduction
The Rakuten Inc is a Japanese electronic commerce and Internet company based in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1997 by chairman and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani. As the CEO of Rakuten, Mikitani aims to position Rakuten at the forefront of global business. One way he feels this can be achieved is by introducing an English policy in his firm. He therefore, makes a dramatic decision by introducing ‘Englishnization’ program among 7,100 employees and all the employees must learn and become proficient in English within two years. "English is the only global language,” "We 're doing a global business. I think this is the only way a Japanese service organization can become a global organization. If you want to become successful in other countries, you need to internationalize the headquarters," as cited in (Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO Rakuten).
At the present time, 10 percent of the workforce can run official duties in English. The CEO has given warning to the employees that whoever fails to master English during the time given they will be facing consequences. Moreover the language shift happened very quickly where employees almost overnight were required to order at the cafeteria in English and all the formal documents are in English. As the program begin the employees of the Rakuten struggle to learn English and they were facing many challenges. Rakuten only offers little initial training or support to workers, who were expected to pay for their own English classes and learn during off-hours. “Two years into an English-only implementation at one company, 70% of employees reported feeling frustrated with the policy” said by (Tsedal Neeley, 2011).
Organizational culture is about an organization 's expectations, experiences, philosophy, and values that hold it together, and is expressed in its self-image, inner workings, interactions with the outside world, and future expectations. It is based on shared attitudes,
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