Japan: Background
Questions?
Facts About Japan
Landscape and Ring of Fire
Landscape:
Map, general locations
Ring of Fire
need for flexible building
Government: Parliamentary with constitutional monarchy
Capital: Tokyo
Population: 127,368,088
Population Growth Rate: -0.077% (2012 est.), World Rank: 198th
Birth Rate: 8.39 births/1,000 population (2012 est.),
World Rank: 217th
Industries: Consumer electronics, motor vehicles, machine tools, steel, and nonferrous metals
Currency: Yen
Facts Continued
Life Expectancy: Average: 82, Male: 78.8,
Female: 85.6
GDP: 4.34 Trillion (2008)
GDP per Capital: $33,800
Literacy Rate: 99%
Unemployment Rate: 4%
Quickrete
Cement & Concrete Products
- Family owned Company
- 70 years of experience
- Low cost quality product
- commercial construction & home improvement
- Global company
Entry Strategy
Operations
Joint Venture
- Obayashi Corporation
- Global Company
- Top construction company
- Corporate ethics
- Information security
Tokyo
- Largest city in Japan
- 2020 Olympics
Kansai Region
- Great opportunity for business
Manufacture in Kansai Region
Quikrete in Japan
Japan Culture Profile
Hofstede Country Comparison
Brad Dickinson, Sam St. Germain AKA your Boy, Stephen Cote, Komot Gabriel, Aseeb Niazi
Negotiation
Religion
- Freely practiced
- Private Family Affair
- Syncretism
- Japaneses are very cultive
- Negotiate in groups
- Usually a central figure that would ultimately make the decision.
- High Power distance
- Need to develop trust before doing business
Shintoism
- Concerned with spirituality
Buddhism
- Concerned with the soul and the afterlife.
Interpreter Strategy
Bamboo Strategy
Shintoism
- Native Religion of Japan
- The worship of all things in nature including ancestors
- Kami- The line between the living and the dead
- Belief that community life and religion are one
Japanese Etiquette
Greetings
Communication
- Respect must be shown to elders in the company
- Japanese people do not use the word “no” when doing business
- Non-verbal communications are very important for the Japanese
- Business cards should contain name, title of businessman, company name, address, and phone number.
Outline
Quikrete Intro
Japan Background
Entry Strategy
Japan Culture Profile
Marketing Strategy
Construction Industry in Japan
Organizational Structure and Staffing Policy
Japanese Labor Laws/Construction Codes
Leadership Training and Motivation Systems
Marketing Strategy
Marketing
Marketing cont.
- extensive pre-purchase evaluations
- consumer are very loyal to a product
- Commercials with Obayashi
Pricing in Japan
Concrete Mix:
80lb Bag: ¥ 384.95 = $3.77
60lb Bag: ¥ 299.95 = $2.93
Mortar Mix:
60lb Bag: ¥ 489.95 = $4.79
Leadership Training and Motivation
changes to the products
Change Bag writing
and art directions
Japanese Labor Laws/Construction codes
Leadership:
- older person, hopefully Japanese
- Clarity is critical. Extreme knowledge to ensure faster decision making for Japanese vertical decision making process
Training:
- Focus on breaking into markets (changing perceptions)
- Product knowledge for suggestive selling and technical support
Motivation:
- Competitive from birth, continue the competition
- Incentives based on numbers that are clear and known to all
- Posters/Plaques for great performance
- Money and promotion incentives
Japanese Building Codes
- Forefront of seismic
- Dampening technology
- National Seismic Code (1924)
Base Isolation
Organizational Structure & Staffing
Construction Industry in Japan
Organizational Structure
CEO of Quikrete
V.P. of International Operations
Construction Industry In Japan
- Vertical structure with clear lines of hierarchy/authority
- Corporate Division of Japan
- Mimic the structure of Japanese organizations
Quikteams
International Manager of Japan
Obayashi Corporation
- Similar to U.S. construction industry
- Contractors generally specialized
- Licenses: Don’t need if...
- Non-building construction work under ¥5 Million or roughly $48,000 USD.
- Building construction under 15 million yen or roughly $145,000 US
- Earthquakes create constant Infrastructure repair/preparation
Construction Industry
Staffing Policy
- Must be a male manager (Japan highly masculine)
- Confident in international management abilities
- International Manager: liaison for the V.P. of International Operations of Quikrete.
- Quikrete Engineers: maintain quality of Quikrete products.
Labor Contract Act
- “Quikteams”= Japanese+Americans (group work)
- Extensive knowledge of Japanese marketing and construction industry knowledge
- Expatriate: manager with international experience
- Interested in Asian culture/business
- Workers employed on fixed-term contracts for five years must be granted open-ended employment if they apply for it.
- Contract workers make up 25% of Japanese workforce
- Found in construction, manufacturing, blue collar employment
Tokyo Olympics 2020
Labor Standards Act
Labor Union Act
- 8 hour work day
- 1 day rest per week
- 10 days of leave w/ 6 months of continuous employment
- Under 15 yrs of age must NOT be employed
- Established 1949
- Collective Bargaining
- Promote safe working conditions for employees with hazardous jobs.
- Wages/Salaries
- Ability to conduct Strikes/Lock outs