Teamwork

I was doing some work with NYC Consultant LK for her business, and the following were some questions I answered regarding my experience in Japan.  These questions and answers were used as examples for her talks with small groups of professionals who wanted advice about working with Japanese employees or for Japanese companies.  The theme of today is "Teamwork in Japan."

"What are specific ways you see 'group effort' and 'teamwork' emphasized as a teacher in Japan?"

In class, teachers often ask the students to work in pairs, groups of three, or groups of four depending on the project.  Occasionally they are also asked to work in groups of six, but it's easier to feign participation in the larger groups so I think it's generally avoided.

Since I only get to see the English classes, I only know how the students interact when attempting to learn English.  The laws and procedure for English education is currently changing, but before recently English officially had to be taught starting in Junior High School.  These days, maybe elementary schools are changing their systems to adapt the new laws, and students who have had English education from elementary school are at a much different level.  Since most of the students have a very low level of English, group projects in English class involve a lot of doing nothing.  No one has confidence using English.  The good students pretend not to be good because they don't want to stick out, and the students who aren't good often do nothing because the simple JHS grammar is already far beyond them.  When we are doing reading exercises or group projects, everyone is encouraged to pull their weight regardless of their level ability.  They are encouraged to look up words they don't remember in the textbook or dictionary, or ask friends for help.  I remember doing more group work, projects and presentations in school in America.  Class in Japan tends to focus on more on lecture and listening, rote memorization.  Despite the teachers I work with telling the students to do all of these things, I find that there is a resistance from the students.

Teamwork and group effort I think is more emphasized outside of the class.  For example, students or teachers are not usually recognized as an individual, more so as a part of a certain group.  For example I am part of the 事務所 jimusho of the school.  Another teacher might be part of the 一年 ichinen group.  We are all part of 石和中学校 Isawa chugakko.   A student is usually associated with their class age and room number, as well as what lunch group they sit with.  Of course, individuals are recognized and names are used, but I think it is more common to associate oneself to a particular group than to claim individuality.

Being part of a club or team sport is also important.  In most schools it is mandatory in JHS and HS.  In Isawa it is not mandatory, but recommended.  People are then associated with their specific club or sport.  The whole team will do presentations together, and sometimes there are special events like cleaning the school grounds or doing volunteer work.  At this time too, students are recognized as a team.

Today the head of school discipline gave a speech to the school about student conduct during summer vacation.  I didn't understand his whole speech, but I think that I got this much from it:  Recently there was an incident in the town involving a JHS boy.  He was doing something bad, and someone recognized that he was from Isawa by the color and design of his sport jersey.  He was wearing the red school sports clothes, meaning he was a third year.  After the event the people involved didn't say, "x-san is bad," they said "Isawa School" is bad.  His behavior did not only reflect him, but it reflected the whole school and the head of discipline reminded the students of this very important fact.

When I came to Japan with the JET program, I was strongly warned about this.  I need to conduct myself extremely well because if anything were to happen, not only would I shame myself, I would shame the school and the city I work for.  I would also put a bad name on the JET Program, as well as taint the image for Americans in Japan as a whole.  So when someone sees me, they don’t usually see me as an individual, but as a part of the following groups – foreigner, American, New Yorker, City employee, teacher at Isawa JHS, and JET participant.  What I do reflects back to all of these different groups.

To backtrack a little, there are also a lot of student committees.  For example, there is a student council, lunch committee, maintenance committee, and many more.  Students in these committees have to work together as a team to problem-solve issues in their area around the school.  I find that the students, especially the leaders of these student-run groups, are often the most poised and well spoken of the bunch.  I don't know if they are "born" leaders or if they develop the skills by practice from being in the group, but I do see a difference in their performance.  Being in these groups is good practice for teamwork and group cooperation for future endeavors.

It may not be as well utilized in English classes, but I do know that the ability to work well in a group is stressed to and by the teachers.

"What are things that parents, teachers or others do to promote teamwork that you did not experience growing up in America?"

I do not have much exposure to parents of students at Isawa, so I cannot give any personal experience about this.  A few things that are emphasized more in Japan that I do not always remember from America include refraining from giving your own opinion at times, accepting that someone older than you who has worked at the job longer knows more than you regardless, that sometimes the old way of doing things is safer and more reliable, and that if anything new is going to go into effect it will take many hours/days/weeks/months/years of research and preparation.  Things are rarely decided by one individual or even by one department.  An idea/proposal for change has to go through many different people in many different departments and thoroughly thought through before any change can take place.  I am having trouble thinking of any specific examples for this question other than the ones I mentioned within the other sections.  In my opinion, it does not seem that teamwork is necessarily “encouraged,” but it is forced.  People do not really have a choice.  This may not only be at work, but also in society.  Riding the train is kind of like teamwork in its own way.  During rush hour, you work as a team to accept the crowded conditions, and ignore the fact that your face is in some stranger’s face or you are standing on someone’s foot because there is no space on the floor.  If someone gets angry within this system and doesn’t follow the rules, the team falls apart.  This also applies to trains that are not busy, but are very quiet.  Everyone works together to read the atmosphere and make the system flow.  If a group of noisy people comes in, someone may eventually tell them to be quiet and “join the team.”  Other times, people who don’t like the atmosphere will leave the train.

If a group of noisy people got onto a train in America and someone told them to shut up, the group would say that it’s a free country and the individual can leave the train if he or she does not like their behavior.  I think that Americans are told and believe they have the right to be right, the right to be who they want to be, and the right to do what they want to do.  This may only sometimes be the case in Japan, for example, people are usually one way in private and another way in public.

It is definitely still difficult for me to separate honne and tatemae, but it seems that this is changing little by little even within Japan.  When I asked a teacher sitting across from me to confirm what the concept was called, she asked why I wanted to know.  I told her that I was writing something about Japanese and American culture and she felt that although this is the case in Japan, she kind of likes the situation in America better.  She says that maybe it is better to be honest about what you’re thinking and to disclose it.  This may depend on the situation, but she and another teacher thought that American culture regarding this was interesting, and Japanese culture regarding this can be quite difficult but is steadily changing.

"How do you observe 'gaman' at practice among school kids?"

It's not so much that I observe gaman among the students as much as I observe the teachers forcing it on them.  The most recent thing I observed happened only a week or two ago.  One of the first-year students took a drink out of his personal water bottle during the middle of class.  Drinking is only allowed during the 10-minute breaks in-between class periods.  The student took a drink of water during class, and the teacher scolded him right then.  The sensei, teacher, said that if all of the students weren’t allowed to drink, why should he be allowed special treatment to drink?  If he’s really feeling ill in the heat and can’t wait until class is over, he is instructed to go to the nurse’s office.  The same usually applies to using the bathroom and getting up from the desks.  Also, even though it is very hot, they are still expected to wear their uniform according to all of the rules and use gaman until they get home.  They must keep their shirts buttoned and tucked in, pant legs rolled down, and neckties on.  If a student has un-tucked his or her shirt because they are hot, the teacher will ask them to tuck it back in.

Gaman is not only important for students in schools but is also expected almost everywhere.  Things are changing slightly over the years, but at a very slow rate.  Most women prefer to keep their skin very white and will wear many layers of clothes even in the summer to prevent tanning.  Despite the heat, they use gaman.  This goes the same for people who don’t care about tanning, but don’t want to be “indecent” and wear tank-top shirts.  This is changing however, and it is more acceptable of late to wear spaghetti straps or sleeveless outfits.

Eating and drinking “on the go” is not widely accepted.  I have heard this comes from the idea that if you can’t share with everyone around you, you shouldn’t have it yourself.  If people want to eat or drink, they find a sitting area or go into a shop.

Sometimes in restaurants or izakaya, a large group of people may go together and order food to share.  The last piece of chicken or the last French fry on the shared plate often tends to go uneaten, despite the fact that everyone wants it.  Everyone pretends that they don’t want it, so that either someone else can eat it, or so that they don’t break the rules and eat when no one else will be able to enjoy it too.

"What are your observations of highly individualistic Japanese (either teachers or students or others)?  How do they behave in ways that are different from the group and what is the response to these individuals?"

From my point of view, I tend to really respect certain types of highly individualistic Japanese, while on the other hand I resent other types.  For example, I tend to be inspired by artistic individuals, those who are not in the arubaito, NEET, salary man or shufu molds.  I like meeting, talking to, and observing entrepreneurs, artists, farmers, and others who have slightly unconventional professions.

I do not like talking to or interacting with the kind of Japanese person who diverges from the norm and joins the “underworld.”  People who are involved in gambling or related to gangs are best left alone.  I also find that individualistic people who disrupt the flow of the system with their personality tend annoy me.

Students in the classroom who do not do exactly what they’re supposed to do are sometimes fun to interact with, but are reprimanded and often forced to do what is expected of them.  Also, sometimes students who complete an assignment in a way that is not expected may be asked to do the assignment again the same way that everyone else does it.  I do not agree with this philosophy, but this is a long-term cultural value that would be difficult for one foreigner to change in a two-year period.  If a student is doing an assignment for me specifically, I try to encourage that they think outside of the box.

I think that I respect these individuals, especially regarding their choice in the workforce because of the culture I came from.  In America, we are encouraged to be individuals.  I think that these types of Japanese people get along well with foreigners.  I do not know how they get along with other Japanese people however.  I have a sense that there are feelings of animosity or resentment.  What gives these individuals the right to break out of the system?  Is it OK to succeed this way in Japan?  Then again, there are highly respected people in these professions so I don’t know when or why one person may be respected while another is resented.

-Lana