reaction paper # 2

Reaction paper #2                    Emmett Moore

We have cover many topics so far in the class this semester, so I am going to talk about what intrigued me most and was also new information for me and something that I had not know about before taking this class. I was surprised to learn at how the Japanese business structure works and the organization and idea behind large Japanese corporations who often have very strong loyalty to their employees. This stems from the fact that wages in japan increase more with the longer the person has been employed by the company and not always for skill, which I find very surprising compared to the western business model of role advancement which is primarily based upon skill level and education of an employee. Although this would help to explain the amount of loyalty the company receives from their employees, also the fact that these companies are often close groups of friends in some sense, since much business is conducted in formal dinning settings with other employees after work, which helps to create a more informal bond between employees. These companies also often provide many other benefits to their long-term employees including pensions, bonuses, hobby clubs, and even housing, thus becoming a key structure in their social lives as well. These companies there for have large to play in Japanese society and are often seen as the focus of many their own lives.

This leads me into my next topic I was surprised in learning about is how the education system works in japan and the amount of pressure but on children in japan to study and perform well on test that often determine their life paths in many senses. Its through these exams that children are able to gain entry to the schools of japan are used through out most grade levels in order to determine placement and ranking thus these test often define where a student can go to school. So a lot of importance is put on study for these exams not only in school but also in school after a school just for test taking, which is called cram school, which most of the students will partake in, in order to do better on the exams. This means there is not a lot of time for other activities and often puts large amounts of pressure on students to do well from their family and themselves. This can result in breakdowns some of which have been violent in the past; Japan is currently dealing with one of these issues stemming from the stress of the exams system. Its called Hikikomori which is were a person will lock themselves in their room and refuse to leave, I was quite shocked by this because although we do have loners in our society, I don’t not think this is as common in the west as in japan where new social services have popped up in order to deal with the issue. Many believe it stems from the stress that the exams system puts on trouble and I would have to say I would agree. It seems that student life in japan would be very competitive and time consuming all to prepare for test that might not accurately define ones ability but will decided their path in education which is a major factor in over all life quality in japan stems from their level of education and where. This is also true in the united states but too a lesser degree I believe, although it does benefit people to go to certain schools in order to gain access to certain programs or internship tend to have easier time is not always defined but what school you went too and the grades you received there. Which allows for mobility in the United States after school is over then I feel one would have in japan after schooling is over.